"I have a second home nearby so will do everything myself!"

In that case, this section isn't for you and you should continue onto the next.

But what if you won't be living nearby? You'll need to consider the need for 'other' people looking after your property for you from:

• Cleaners (either daily/weekly or only at the start and end of a rental)
• Pool Maintenance - Often overlooked by some owners and only cleaned once a fortnight which isn't good practice when your renting your property out. A swimming pool should be maintained, at the very least weekly. The water level should be checked, chemicals added, leaves and other 'unwanted' items removed - How often do YOU clean the pool for yourself to use it properly? Take a trip to your local pool shop and ask them for advice.
• Gardens/Groundsman - Cutting of grass, keeping the hedges/shrubs and plants trimmed back and watered. This really only needs to be done at the beginning and end of a 2 week rental (Depending on the weather of course)
• Meet & Greet - Who is going to meet your guests? Hand over and receive the Keys, attend to the house at times where something might go wrong
• Chef/Nanny/Shopper/Chauffeur or even Security - Perhaps you may want to provide services such as these too

Always have a backup plan - What happens if the 'friend' looking after your property is unavailable or falls ill? or the Company you hire are out on another job or can't fulfil its obligations?

Most importantly, you'll need to choose a Company or someone that lives/operates nearby and won't let you down! The last thing you need are complaints! Word spreads quickly in forums and 'other' ways on the internet today and bad publicity is not what you need!

If you do choose to use a rental management company to maintain your enquiries, handle your bookings, accept payments, guest requests and complaints, schedule staff and maintain your property for you, you'll need to pay them a commission. Commissions vary obviously from Company to Company, but you need to ask yourself "Will I get a quality service for the price?" - A cheap Company may sound and look good on paper, but can they provide the level of service that you, and ultimately your guests are looking for? And most importantly - Are they Bilingual? Not all your potential guests will be able to speak conversational French!

An eye catching headline

	"Old house in the woods and you have to travel for miles to get anywhere"
	"Beautiful 19th century woodland property with peaceful surroundings"
(remember not to go overboard and never say something that is misleading or untrue)

A GREAT Description

Your time to really 'sell' your property to the public - List in detail:

• Each room (The living area, kitchen, dining room, television room, bedrooms, bathrooms - The open fireplace, the flooring, the books games and videos/DVD's available)
• The Garden (size, concrete or grass? trees and shrubs, shaded areas, the barbecue and outside seating)
• A description of the Pool (the size, does it use salt or chlorine, the pool alarm and safety equipment etc)
• List important features of your property (Exposed oak Beams, Satellite television, Internet connection or even use of a Telephone)
• What appliances do it have? (Cooker, Washing Machine, Juice Maker etc)
• Local Activities (Fishing, Golf, Horse riding or Mountain biking)
• Will you be providing a welcome pack? normally people spend around 10€ to 20€ on a welcome pack which normally consists of:
  
  • A baguette (or French stick to us Brits)
  • Butter
  • Jam
  • Fresh fruit (perhaps from the garden)
  • Milk
  • Tea bags
  • Coffee
    and even
  • A bottle of Wine
  It doesn't have to be expensive or 2 weeks supply, just something that they can eat/drink the night and in the morning after they arrive

A more detailed description of 'things to do' within a reasonable distance to the property, some websites (like Dordognehomes.com) call this "Location"..

Write something about places like:

• Theme Parks
• Public activities
• Local Markets
• Historical sites
• Interesting Hamlets, Villages and Towns
• Distances and times from locations of interest/Airports/Ferry Ports

Instant appeal.... Instant appeal.... Instant appeal - The 3 main rules of your property listing.

You don't need to be David Bailey, but you know as much as the next person that the more appealing your photographs are of your 'product', your property, the more likely you are to 'sell' your product

Use a good quality camera, not a photo from a mobile phone, you don't need to go out and buy the best camera in the World, just use one that does the job to a good quality

Never make small images bigger - The quality will diminish and your property could end up looking like its made out of Lego (pixelated) or blurry. It's always best to start large and crop or resize the images DOWN.

The picture on the left is from a smaller image made to the same size as the picture on the right

Set the Scene:

• Lighting - The sun is up, the sky's blue, the shutters are open and the curtains are tied back, perhaps turn the lights on, take a set using the flash and a set without it and compare the quality
• Remove Clutter - The magazines and newspapers have been removed from the coffee table and replaced with perhaps a vase with bright colourful flowers, maybe some from your garden
• Straighten the beds - Why not run an iron over the quilt cover and pillow cases
• Mop or polish the floors and make them shine
• Props - Borrow someone else's children and stick them in or around the pool (or use your own of course), have someone lay on a lounger in sunglasses reading a book showing how peaceful and relaxing your property can be, let people see how user friendly the table-tennis table actually is, instead of looking all robust and stuck folded up in the corner of the barn

YOU have an important choice to make, Do you use a calendar or not? It's a tricky subject that no one seems to agree on and ultimately lays with you.

Some rental websites say that you "absolutely MUST have a calendar", some say that "actually you don't" (like Dordognehomes.com)

Well - Some websites use a template driven listing display that is exactly the same from client to client and that you MUST have a calendar displayed because everyone has one.
Some actually believe that a calendar is so important that you'll fail in securing your booking potential if you don't use one.

Maybe they're right? Maybe not...

Just a few things to think about (and hopefully help you in making your decision):

Firstly, Calendars rely on you to update it every time you receive a booking or cancellation. Which doesn't sound like too much hassle does it! But what if you advertise on 10 different sites and use 10 different calendars or more? Can you use a calendar from 1 site on other sites without having to advertise the other site?

"But everyone will know that dates marked off are unavailable and they shouldn't inquire about those dates" I hear you say... But:

• That potential client looking for a specific week or two may just navigate away and look elsewhere instead of staying with you
• What if you only have a few bookings to show or haven't updated your calendar recently? People could think that there's something wrong with your property

So you see, 'sometimes' calendars can actually work against you!

Quite often not having a calendar can produce more potential clients and can also reduce any 'empty periods' between the bookings you already have.

"Excuse me? How does that work?"

Well, lets say you don't have a calendar and you already have some bookings. Someone contacts you to see if the property is available for a couple of weeks. You look at the dates and realise that they're already booked, or their requested period is mid way through booked weeks. Your obvious reply to the person is "Sorry, those weeks are already booked" - Right?

Wrong... That's a potential client getting away. They've made the first step in contacting you, you know they're interested in your property. Don't let them get away - It's your turn to sell!

Why not ask if they can be flexible with their dates and offer them an available period either side of the booked period or maybe even attach a special discount if they agree or failing that, something else that they simply can’t refuse.

This way you could still secure a booking! Some people are willing to be flexible if they can get a better deal on their holiday! That's mainly because they're looking for the right place to stay before they arrange how to get there or even book time off work. By doing this you could both win! The client because they secure the property/maybe even get a discount or another incentive and you because you’ve just filled another week or two, thus leaving you less 'empty periods' between your rentals.

Calendars are YOUR choice! What is YOUR marketing strategy?

How much is your property worth (realistically)? Everyone wants the top price for their property, but finding the right market value for your property is extremely important!

You WILL affect your enquiries if your property is too expensive (and surprisingly, if it's too cheap).

Market research is invaluable here! Look around for properties similar to yours and see their price ranges, if it fits in with roughly what you were thinking anyway, then that is what you need to go with - Ask friends and family to be harsh and tell you what they think. It won't do you any favours if they just agree with you! Harshness is your friend here and to hear it from them will let you know if you're good to go with your figures. The public (your potential guests) wont mind being harsh!

Try your prices for the first year and adjust accordingly there after.

Remember when pricing your property to include ALL the costs that you will have to lay out first (and it mounts up if you have a Company or friend looking after it for you!). Think about the little things too. The petrol for the lawn mower, the pool chemicals, the washing up liquid, toilet rolls. Will you be providing a welcome pack? Will it be the bare essentials of Bread, Butter and Milk, or be more expensive and have Wine included too? Your advertising costs, and most importantly, Household and Liability Insurances and of course your Tax considerations.

A general rule of thumb (for owners that do not manage their own properties) is roughly between 35%-50% of your rental WILL disappear before you've even seen it to pay for these services. Come back, don't run away - It does sound like a lot to lose out on, but yearly tweaking of your pricing and more exposure over time will start to bring you the revenues that you're after.

THIS IS NOT A GET RICH QUICK SCHEME AND WILL TAKE (a lot of) TIME AND EFFORT!

Some things to consider when preparing your property for its first rental are:

Will you be providing a folder with:

• A welcome message
• Leaflets and brochures of local attractions
• A local map
• Directions to the local supermarkets/petrol stations/local bar/restaurants/chemist (including opening/closing times)
• Emergency information (Police/Fire/Ambulance/Local Doctor & Dentist) 

Have you checked the rooms:

The Kitchen

• Are there sufficient utensils? (what would YOU like to have available if you went on a Self-Catering Holiday?) 
• Is there sufficient Cutlery for the capacity of your property??
• Are the fridge, freezer and cupboards empty? Your guests need room for their own shopping too!
• If you have a dishwasher - Is it empty and clean? Will you be providing the liquid/tablets for guests to use?
• Have you got a Fire Blanket, Extinguisher and First Aid kit available?

The Dining Room

• Are there sufficient seating arrangements at the table for the capacity of your property?

The Living Room

• Make sure there is sufficient seating available for your guests - They wont be out all the time.
• Are the batteries in the remote controls new (or are spares available)

The Bedrooms

• Ensure that good quality Mattresses, Pillows, Linen, Blankets are available
• Have you got mattress and pillow protectors? (nights can be hot and sweaty during the summer)
• Perhaps some bedside tables with Lamp and Alarm Clock on?

The Bathrooms

• Access to at least:
  A Toilet roll in each bathroom
  2 Bath Towels per guest (one out and one in the cupboard or lay them on the end of each bed)
  2 Hand Towels per guest (one out and one in the cupboard or lay them on the end of each bed)

The Laundry

• Do you have laundry facilities available? If not where is the closest laundrette and how much does it cost?
• Will you provide washing powder/liquid?

Does your property have smoke detectors? Have you checked the batteries recently?

HAVE YOU TAKEN A FULL INVENTORY?
DO YOU STILL HAVE RECEIPTS? (in case items get broken, lost or even taken by mistake)

Successful rentals require some serious time and effort!

Emails:

• You'll need to check these daily, even if you haven't had anything for weeks. Don't get dismayed! You won't want to miss out on a booking!
• Try to answer your enquiries within 24 hours. You don't want your potential guest 'getting away' and go elsewhere!
• Always add your contact details to the footer of your emails, this way they may phone you which works two fold: 1) You can get a better idea of 'who' the client is by speaking to them and 2) your booking can be secured even quicker.

Flexibility:

• Most people searching for holidays on-line haven't booked any time off work until they have secured somewhere to stay first. This means that if a potential guest has asked for particular dates but they are unavailable, why not offer them some other dates that are available. You'll be surprised how flexible people can be, especially if you offer them an incentive (for example a discount).

Discounts:

• People ask -Sometimes you'll even think their being a little cheeky, but everyone wants to save money, especially on a holiday. Have the actual rental costs (including outlays) in mind at all times, but sometimes you may be in the position to budge a little if it's going to secure the booking.

Follow up your leads:

• Keep on top of people without being pushy. Maybe they had forgotten where they saw your property listing or even deleted an email in error
• Fire off an email to them and ask if they would like to continue with the booking or should you release the dates so someone else can book them? 

IMPORTANT

NEVER LOOSE HOPE - YOU BOUGHT THE PROPERTY FOR A REASON, OTHERS WILL LIKE IT JUST AS MUCH!

How will you accept payments for rentals?

What payment methods will you offer?

• Credit/Debit Card
• Cheque
• Bank Transfer
• Paypal

What is your payment structure?

• Some renters demand a booking deposit of 10% of the total rental value at the time of booking, some demand 40%
• When is the Balance to be paid by? Some renters request the remaining value of booking to be paid at least 8 weeks before the booking commencement, some 6, some even less.
• When do they pay the security deposit? and how much will it be? - Don't risk your booking by having a security deposit through the roof! If you have an expensive crockery set, a super sized television, priceless ornaments or antiques, perhaps it may be better to put them away than have a high security deposit.
• When will you repay the security deposit? Once they leave (or before they go) you'll need to check the property inventory to ensure that nothing is broken or missing. On average, the security deposit is returned within 1 month after the end of the rental for you to complete the necessary checks.