How Often Do You Need to Visit Your French Holiday Home?
Buying a holiday home in France sounds idyllic.
A place you can escape to whenever you want. Long summer evenings in the garden, weekends exploring local markets, Christmas in a cosy French village and somewhere to stay whenever you fancy a break.
But once the excitement of buying your French property has settled down, a more practical question can appear:
How often do you actually need to visit your French holiday home?
The good news is that there isn't a magic number of visits you need to make each year. You can own a property in France without being there every month. However, an empty house still needs looking after, and how often you visit may depend on the type of property you own and where it is located.
Once or twice a year may not be enough
If your French property is going to be empty for several months at a time, you need to think about what happens while you're away.
A house can develop problems surprisingly quickly. A small leak can become a much bigger problem. Storms can damage roofs, fallen branches can block gutters and winter temperatures can cause problems with pipes and heating systems.
Then there is the garden. What looks beautifully manageable when you're sitting in the garden in July can become rather different after several months of growth! For this reason, many owners arrange for someone locally to check their property while they're away.
How often should someone check it?
There isn't one answer that suits every property, but regular checks can give you peace of mind. Some owners arrange for a neighbour, friend or local property manager to visit every few weeks. They can check for obvious problems, look at the water and heating systems, collect post and make sure everything appears secure.
If your property has a swimming pool, extensive grounds or other features that require regular maintenance, you'll need to consider those separately.
You may not need to be physically present yourself, but someone needs to be keeping an eye on things.
What about your insurance?
Your French home insurance is another reason to check the small print. Some policies have specific conditions relating to properties that are left unoccupied for extended periods. There may be requirements around security, heating, water systems or regular inspections.
Don't assume that because you've arranged insurance, you can simply lock the doors and forget about the property until your next holiday. Check exactly what your policy requires.
Can you leave your French holiday home empty for months?
Yes, many people do. In fact, one of the attractions of owning a holiday home rather than moving permanently is being able to use it when it suits you.
The key is making sure the property is properly managed while you're away.
For some owners, that means having a trusted neighbour with a spare key. For others, it means paying a local property management company to carry out inspections and arrange maintenance when necessary. This can be particularly useful if you live several hundred miles away and can't simply jump in the car when something goes wrong.
Think beyond your own visits
Before buying a French holiday home, don't just ask yourself "How often will we come to France?"
Ask:
"Who will look after the house when we're not there?"
That question can make a surprisingly big difference to the practicalities and cost of owning a property abroad.
If you plan to visit regularly, perhaps every few weeks or throughout the year, you may be able to keep on top of many jobs yourself. If you're only expecting to visit once or twice a year, you'll probably need to factor local help into your budget.
And that is worth considering before you buy.
A French holiday home can be a wonderful investment in your lifestyle, but it is still a home. It needs maintaining, securing and checking, even when you're back in the UK.
Plan for that from the beginning and your trips to France can be about enjoying your home rather than worrying about what you might find when you open the front door.