butzee

Myself and Girlfriend are looking at purchasing a property in the Midi Pyrenees region for the above business opportunity and moving to France.
Are there any Brit ex pats that have moved to this region doing the same thing?
We are thinking of selling up and changing lifestyles. I am 49 and GF 44!!
We have visited the region once and have seen a few properties, one is a chateau near st noble val that looks a good bet.
There seem to be many brits in the age group 60-75 wanting to move back for health family reasons and people are willing to drop prices considerably?
What is the climate like for tourism in this region?
Anyone doing the same thing or who has succeeded or failed please let us know?
Cheers
Butzeee

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!
Make a forum search (top right) and you'll find plenty of threads on the subject of creating a gîte in France.
The first thing that comes to mind is that you'd have to register as a business structure, the simplest being an Auto-Entrepreneur (forum search again, or google the French). This would give one of you health coverage but AFAIK the "partner" would have to find work or take out private insurance (as you aren't married or pacséd).
You don't say how your French is - you need to speak it adequately to cope with bureaucracy and communicate with French artisans at least for the plumbing and electricity, and potential French clients.
Others in the know will come along with pertinent advice, I'm only going from what I read on the Forum, but wouldn't advise selling up in the UK in case everything goes pear-shaped here. You may discover too late that your new life-style isn't very comfortable!

cjm

With dmu on this. However, my reading of your post is flagging up concerns. You have visited the region once. You are thinking about a Chateau. You talk of Brits moving back. That won't fill beds. You need to research the area, check if there is competition? Why would Brits or anyone else want to book a holiday with you in that part of France? It's a big country. I live near the coast, summer-time we are drowning in French on holiday, mostly from Paris. I love it, but why would French, Brits, Dutch, Belgians, Germans want to stay in your area? As dmu says if your French is poor, this may well create obstacles. I'm being negative only because my gut says you are trying to build and live a dream. I admire you for this, but counsel you spend a lot of time doing research. Many on this site have quality information on the details of living and working in France. If you can pose precise questions I feel sure you will receive responses that will help.

cyrian

We had a walk through the town this afternoon and commented on the number of businesses that were closing(ed).
Things are tough in France just now - people are cutting back and tourists are fewer.
I have experience of starting a business from scratch in the UK and it can be difficult building up clients so you have to budget enough cash to live off for up to 3 years. You could consider buying an existing gite business with a customer base and perhaps a little bit more modest.
You could contact some gite owners in other areas and ask their advice.
Would you consider opening an accommodation rental or small hotel business in the UK?
If the answer is no because of the economy then that is even more so for France.
Life as a tourist is not the same as living and working in another country.
Good luck with your choices.

wetwang

Started a B&B from scratch in 2006 which is very successful.
The secret is obviously Dordogne and the Australian and Amarican markets. Brit holidaymakers often want to dicker on prices yet the Ausies and Yanks simply book up. However if you don't deliver perceived value watch out on Trip Advisor.

My brother tried something similar in Aveyron and failed because unlike Normandy/Loire/Dordogne/Provence it was not a recognised international destination.

butzee

Thats very interesting re the Aveyron area where your brother failed which is an area we are looking at st noble val etc near montebaun.
The property is cheaper and tourism probably not so prevalent? We have been over once looking at properties and its going to be a long process getting info from people on this site etc.
obviously the areas you mentioned are more expensive but the bottom line is people and the more that visit an area the better!! We've been getting lots of positive stuff from estate agents but then i guess we would with the kind of money they get from the sale of a property in France
butzee

dmu

Hi, without wishing to split hairs, "the Aveyron" is a département to the east of Montauban. Your St Antonin-Noble-Val lies on the river Aveyron further west.
I would urge you to do your homework, read or watch French news to keep up with the economic crisis here.
Come down to the area for a holiday and observe the local amenities for tourists. Take a gîte and act as residents here, not as tourists. You'll then discover the nitty-gritty of daily life here and have a better idea of making a living in France and surviving....

wetwang

There are reasons why property is cheaper in more remote and less touristy areas.
For all my experience and success with B&B in the Dordogne I know it would be difficult to make a living outside the previously mentioned areas. Anywhere else and you have to sell your region whereas ,theDordogne for instance is already sold. Ask yourself what you would Google to find your B&B . If you cannot find it easily don't buy it.

Amboise, ,Dordogne, Carcassonne, Arles, Avignon then the Provence coast is the well beaten tourist trail. Important when French is not your main language as your guest are generally English speaking and happy to pay a commercial rate.

There are B&B s even in the Dordogne for 35 € a night which the French want but international travellers feel is too cheap to risk. At those prices it scarcely covers the laundry so you need a market that will pay circa 100€ a night to enable you to deliver a product which gives a high rating on Trip Advisor.

butzee

I see your point and did stay for a week in the the Gers department near Condom/Auch with an English couple who had a gite for £250 for the week low season. They are fully booked for june july some of august at higher rate and did say that winter is tough.
To the person who said would i open a business namely a B&B in the UK? Absolutely not as i'm not the biggest fan of this country for a host of reasons and have lived quite a bit outside the UK as well.
We want to get off the hamster wheel and have a change of lifestyle. I am a photographer and do work all over europe my partner would find it more difficult but that is where you diversify and are open to other revenue streams.

EuroTrash

If you will need a steady income to live in, do the sums carefully - and make sure your sumes are based on French business regimes, not a UK business model. Business cotisations and taxes are very high in France relative to the UK. If you are planning on investing a lot of money in the venture, suggest you talk to a French business advisor first.

wetwang

Also buying property with a girlfriend is not as straight forward as buying with a wife. Marry the girl and do the decent thing?

EuroTrash

Wetwang's point is very important - and especially if she is also to be your business partner.

E.g. you own everything jointly, one of you dies and you are not married, the survivor has to pay a massive amount of inheritance tax on everything (I believe it's 60% or thereabouts) because he/she is classed as a non-relative.

If you are married or PACSd, the survivor pays 0% iinheritance tax.

That is a very big difference.

butzee

All positive stuff guys!! I'm doing the right thing by finding the right area to choose and as for marriage might be a good business move...haha
I'm doing the right thing i think research research research!!!
We want to get off the hamster wheel but not hide away from society and have a viable business that may take 2-3-4 years to build up!!!
Thanks for all your input keep it coming!!
Anyone who lives in the Auch/Condom St Noble Val areas please let me know what summer tourism is like plus living day in day out?
A lot of european economies are in trouble but when should you take something on if not now??
butzee

cjm

Butzee, a quick Google search brought up lots of existing 'accommodation' offers in your area(s). Auch has a site in English. Large holiday agencies can be a good source. Check for booking availability over the key June-August months. That's the money you make to take you through the rest of the year. Do the research. There is guidance within this site and lots of info on other sites if you search. I'm not a glass half full sort of person, but pull back on your obvious enthusiasm and spend the time looking. Advice and flagged warnings from others here is all spot-on. The £-€ has moved in the past three months from around €1.25 to around €1.15 today which is also against your investment. Remember also you pay the fees when buying, notaire and immobilier.

FSH

We stayed in the Gers region (Auch and Condom) at a couple different chambre d'hotes. But from what I gather it's a good revenue but only when you see it as additional income. There's for example a nice chateau for sale near Montreal. The guy can't keep up the building for 6 rooms(allowed max number). He used to have it as a hotel but authorities told him that he has to make it wheel-chair accessible ....so he only does the chambre d'hote thing. Perhaps the gascony is still underdeveloped in regards to tourism...I think it has more potential. I have been looking intensely to find a larger agricultural property and on my search i found a lot of smaller places for sale which were doing gites or chambre d'hotes, and I think their dream didn't work out.