Is A Gite Business in France a Good Idea

Information Websites Aubout Languedoc Sud de France

Property Sales and Fractional Ownership

Live in France and Work on the Internet, Perhaps!

Solution for the English Property Market

Our Local Town of Vias

A Gibbous Moon

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Greetings from a cooling south of France -

If you are interested in photography, from learning how to us eyour digital camera to working with large format cameras and prining. I am making my course available online, no charge – all completely free. I was going to start my photo courses in Villa Roquette this September, but we simply got too busy, all our accommodation was fully booked with guests leaving no room for students. This gave me a strong sense of deja vu, so I am planning another approach.

To get started, go to my photo website at 2337.com and register – there is no charge, no credit card request, just your name and email so I can keep in touch – you can then immediately login to your own private section and access my first teaching modules for photography – when I have a few members, I can open the forums and personal tuition parts of the site.

There will be a public area where you can share your photos, create your own gallery and invite comment from other members and you will be able to subcribe to the members forum where I will answer your questions and advise.

I costs nothing and I hope you will have a lot of fun – go to photo courses now and register.

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Christmas Cracker Fair at Cassan

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Ryanair have annouced a new route from Oslo to Beziers starting next March, this makes 5 destinations Ryanir service for our local airport. It also, of course, goes from Beziers to Oslo, so with ticket prices often lower than the taxi fair to the local shops – I may be tempted to seek the midnight sun next year

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Thinking about Christmas, why not winter with us in the South of France – contact me, I will be offering super deals on our Facebook page, but would like to first offer these here exclusively to my newsletter friends.

…. read more about our Autumn Sale

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In a few weeks the last section of the super highway from Paris to Spain will be completed. We are the perfect distance from the main junction to the south, close for convenience but distant enough for total calm and privacy. If you are travelling to or from any corner of France to the Mediterranean, we are the perfect place to stop for a night (or ten).

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Pezenas, only ten minutes from our home in Montblanc, was the capital city of the state of Languedoc. Princes and courtiers came south from Paris in the summer and ‘amused’ themselves in their private palaces. Many of these Rennaisance buildings remain in town, Pezenas is a treasure trove of history.

Each year Pezenas closes off the streets and hosts two huge antique fairs, bringing hundreds dealers from all over the world and miles of stalls to sell and trade everything under the sun. The next one is on October 10, so if you are interested book to stay with us and I can take you to the market and introduce you personally to some of the dealers -

….read more about Pezenas Antiques

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I am working on some websites to help owners get rental business for their vacation properties in Frace. When we started this business in 1997, the Internet was a blank page – no Google, no Facebook, No Twitter. I made simple websites RentalsFrance.com and 1stVacations.com were a couple I created, we got literally millions of visitors each month and very successfully marketed thousands of rental properties in France. There were only a few websites listing rentals then, pioneering days.

Now there are thousands of rental listing sites and millions of personal websites renting apartments, gites an villas. There are also many more properties on offer and fewer people spending less each year on their vacations, so to succeed you have to be much more visible, attractive and competitive every year.

I am writing a series of articles and tutorials to share my experience and knowledge on Internet marketing for vacation rentals. The first of these covers advertising services and the Internet and explains some important points about the way the Internet is changing from search and email services to mobile applications and community interaction.

In this first introductory article about marketing vacation rentals in France, I stress the importance of niche markets several times. I will be expanding on this in future, but you can begin to see some examples on our site at Local Activities where we offer local activities such as golf, cycling and rock climbing, as well as courses in paiting history and photography.

It is also important to give services which serve the needs of guests, such as; traveling with children, bringing your pets and facilities for people with mobility difficulties.

Skills and studies are niches where owners can offer opportunities; learning photography, painting, cooking or studying local history – these are some of the opportunities we offer to guests from our own accommodation here in Languedoc.

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I live in the South of France, our children are building their own lives and we have made a small business from our property and home at Villa Roquette. A stranger in a strange land, I am happy advise and comment on questions about life and living here.

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Christmas is Coming, why not spend this Christmas this year in the South of France with us, we promise a warm welcome and Oysters with Champagne on the terrace. Book now and take advantage of our Autumn Sale

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Mentioning photos – here is a photo of me and Benny Hill http://2337.com/photography/benny-hill-a-memory/ If you have just landed from 75 years in a space capsule and you do not know who Benny Hill was, he is worth checking on YouTube.

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Many guests who stay with us in Villa Roquette are thinking seriously about buying property here in Languedoc.

It is easy to see why, the climate is wonderful and the quality of life is very good…..

…..Read More – Property in Languedoc

A report I did recently was for what sounded like the bargain of the year, a house in Languedoc for 14,000 euro – but not everything that glistens…..

……Read More – Less can be Less in Real Estate

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We now have a few days in Early to Mid September where we can offer you accommodation in our home in Montblanc some guests who booked most of the month, got to like France so much, they are renting a villa for a year from next week. Their two young children can start school from next week so they are moving into their new home straight away. We are very happy for them, but sad to see them go – so if you want to come and stay with us next week we can offer you a fantastic deal.

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For over twelve years I have been making Internet sites and blogging before the word was invented – I now have thousands of pages all over the place and my main server had to be updated – so this week a complete spring-clean, moving servers, sorting out a plethora of websites and all the usual problems of – crashes, incompatability, corrupted files and hours of downloads, uploads, coffee, waiting, more coffee, waiting, wine – more wine etc.

I am beginning to see the end of the chaos and hope to take the opportunity to structure the miasma of sites into a well structured and cohesive service (about as much chance as Brad and Angelina booking next week).

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We live right at the bottom of France – Here’s a Map, just before you get wet in the Mediterranean, turn right for Spain and left for the Riviera and Italy

If you are driving from northern Europe, then we are the perfect stopping off point for rest and relaxation before continuing your journey – they even decided to stop the new road from Paris just before Montblanc so you can stay with us Paris-Montblanc, Montblanc-Paris, clearly the two capital centers of France.

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I would greatly appreciate your feedback about how our page looks on your browser. Please look at these two pages Villa Roquette One and Villa Roquette Two Is there a difference in your browser? – if you are using a desktop or laptop computer then please click the little link at the bottom that says ‘Switch to our mobile site’ – and then if you are using a mobile iPhone etc, please click ‘Switch to our desktop site’ – and then write to me or contact me and let me know if anything is wrong or is all looked silly – whatever – OK this is a lot of work I am asking you to do, but it is very important for me – and when you come to stay with us I will ply you with wine, oysters, petit pate de Pezenas, or whatever your heart desires.

I am trying to make websites which work for both desktops and mobiles as this is the way things are developing more and more.

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The client, Jerry lives in the USA and says I can quote him as a reference – this is what he said when he got my notes and photos….

“I have showed family and friends your work and they were impressed – and impressed how important it is to NOT buy places sight unseen – but also to have someone who knows the ropes and can talk to the people. I am grateful……Doing some thing like this is insane without having a person you can trust. You’re it…..And I did the right thing is getting your services.
Sorry you ended up in some scary darn places in there!
Sure I will be keeping in contact,“

Basically I said the place was not as described and needed more work than was stated on the Internet.

The interesting thing about this was that this property was advertised for sale, freehold, in the center of one of the most beautiful villages on Souther France for ……14,000 euro – yes, Fourteen Thousand euro – and it was not worth the money asked

At first sight, any property in the South of France, not far from a large town and near the Mediterranean, costing 14,000 euro, must be a bargain – but not always – This is about the cheapest property, in this area, I have found on the Internet recently, but these old stone hovels cost a lot to repair – this one would only give about 30 square meters of living space, but the repairs to make it fit to live in would cost, if you got a local builder, at least 50,000 euro – so you end up paying 70k for a home that, when finished, would sell at a max for 50k – on top of that you have taxes and purchase costs.

I am offering anyone this appraisal and study for any property locally. Cost will vary depending on the size of the property, but from 200 euro for two reports (one detailed and objective – the other an evaluation based on local comparisons and independent opinion etc – plus a detailed photo study showing the good, the bad and the ugly.

Contact me for more information