How it works

Step 1 : Choose your contract

Step 2 : Choose and review services needed

Step 3 : Estimate your changeover cost

Step 4 : Contact us for a quote

Choose the contract that suits you best!

In order to use our changeover service or additional services, you are required to take out one of the contracts below. With these contracts, we commit to taking care of your property, year-round or seasonal.

Please note that only the GOLD Year Round Contract and the GOLD Summer Contract secure South France Holiday Villas as your property manager. With all other contracts, you will need to have a local contact in case of any issues. Please also note that personalised contracts are a possibility if none of the below suit your needs.

Please see lower on this page for in-depth details on what is covered by the different contracts. 

Our Range of Property Management Services

Keyholding and third-party liaison

An often underestimated task when owning a property in France is the bureaucracy that comes with it. It takes many years of experience to fully understand the system and the best way to tackle situations – made even more difficult if you’re not fluent in the language. 

Thankfully, our trilingual team can navigate these tricky waters for you, certainly as most of us have lived in the South of France for over 10 years and have rental properties, so have been through the entire process from beginning to end. This experience has also enabled us to build up our large network of trusted professionals – from accountants and notaries to builders and plumbers.

We are also on-hand for smaller situations, such as translating and questioning a water-bill or obtaining planning permission from your local Mairie. No matter what you need, we’re here for you. 

Keyholding, third party liaison works and access to our vast network all come as part of our contract. Please note that certain works may be billed.

Property maintenance

For many owners, this is what property management is all about – having someone on the ground to look after the house and be on-hand in emergencies. Whether you let your property seasonally or use it privately, it is necessary to have someone on the ground to complete year-round maintenance. 

Emergency repairs, garden maintenance, pool maintenance, project management, surveillance visits and general maintenance of the house.

Cleaning and laundry services can also be included in your property management package. Please see further on. 

Marketing

For owners who are already letting their property seasonally, or for those who would like to start, then we are happy to help you with your marketing material. 

South France Holiday Villas started as a seasonal lettings agency and remains so to this day, which means that our team has first-hand knowledge of how best to sell a villa and of exactly what holidaymakers are looking for. We are also up to date with the latest technologies that can market your property to its full potential. 

The most important factors of marketing your holiday home online are photos and description. 

Photos say more than a thousand words and we consider them the single most important ingredient of advertising a property online. We offer our property management clients reduced rates on a non-professional photography session carried out by our team. For some examples of our work, you can view the following references on our website SAUV107, AUT102, VLN101. If professional photos is what you’re looking for, we can point you in the direction of experts. Drone shots and videos as well as 360 photography for virtual tours can also be arranged.

Descriptions sound like an obvious and easy task, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Achieving a perfect description is an art, not a science – it is one that we have perfected over the past 15 years. All of the questions that a holidaymaker may have, must be answered in the description but without overwhelming them with too much information. Your description also needs to be enticing enough for them to want to press that “Book Now” button, which is tricky with countless similar holiday homes out there and certainly when attention spans are at an all time low. We can help you find the perfect balance and give your property as much chance as possible of being the chosen one. 

Last, but not least, we can also advise on rental rates, seasons, stay-lenght and much more.

Advertising and rental management

Once you have excellent marketing material, it is time to look at the myriad of platforms where you can advertise your property. For first time letters, it can be an onerous task attempting to make sense of the thousands of different advertising platforms and their dashboards, commission schemes, terms and conditions, payout schemes, etc. Once you’re finally all set up, you then need to monitor your listings and make sure to answer all emails, questions and booking requests whilst keeping all of your calendars up to date and making sure that all prices match – it’s all a lot more work than anticipated! 

That’s where we come in – we can either advertise you solely on our own website, or we can branch out and also add you to our SFHV Partner Network, therewith taking on all of the hard work and worry. The SFHV Partner Network covers all the large platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO (HomeAway), Tripadvisor, Booking.com, HomeToGo, Holidu, and many more. We work on a pick and choose basis so you can choose where you would like to be advertised, and where not. On the following page, you can find all information on letting your holiday home with us.

Changeovers and Guest Care

If you are letting your holiday home, or if you are thinking about it, then changeovers and guest care are the two single most important aspects of property management. Service must always be top-notch – something we guarantee. 

Whilst you may think it a good idea to ask your friend who lives nearby to keep watch over the house, this isn’t always ideal, certainly not during the summer months when there is so little room for error. A forgotten changeover, a lost key or a mixed-up arrival date are easy mistakes to make and can not only cause unhappy guests, it could even cost you a valuable friend.

See your second home as an investment and revenue stream and act in accordance – by taking on a professional company to handle your property management and changeovers. We only use cleaners sent by professional cleaning companies or cleaners that we have been working with for many years. 

We can answer questions that your guests may have during their stay, be their emergency contact in case of a loss of electricity or water leak, or we can serve as translators in the unfortunate case of medical urgencies. This service is for your guests, whether they have booked via us, privately via yourself or via a platform that you manage privately.

• 24/7 emergency contact
  
• Day-to-day contact during office hours
• Opening of the season
• Standard changeover services
• Deep-cleaning services
• Laundry services
• Mid-stay cleans and linen changes
• Hire of baby-equipment
• Shopping service and linen changes
• Departure checks
• Closing of the season

We advise having a deep clean done regularly in order to keep your property spick and span throughout the entire rental season.

Estimate your property changeover costs

The above contracts secure us as your property manager (for GOLD contracts only) and for the organisation of changeovers, laundry, etc. The costs of the cleaning and laundry for a changeover depend of course on the size and location of your property, but you can find estimates in the below table.

Of course, keep in mind that gardening work, pool maintenance, and other jobs are not included. Estimates for these can be found below.

Gardening: £25 per hour estimated, depending on the work that needs doing and how often.

Swimming pool maintenance: £40 per hour estimated, depending on the location, size and type of swimming pool. This price excludes chemicals. 

Baby equipment hire: £15 for a cot, £12 for a highchair. £25 for a set of both.

Payment notes:

• Contracts will be invoiced annually, but you have the choice of paying quarterly if preferred. 
• Any services used during the month will be invoiced at the end of that month. 
• Invoices are payable within 7 days of receipt and payable by bank transfer. We do not accept cheques.

Contact us for a personalised quote

At the end of the day, every house and every situation is different, therefore we will always aim to meet up with you and visit the house before giving an official quote. Are you in the area, and would you like to meet us, or do you have any further questions about our services or how we operate? Then don't hesitate to get in touch with us.