Holiday homes in the Dordogne, large houses with pools to rent in the Dordogne, last minute bargains, cottages to rent in the French countryside.

Driving around the Dordogne in the nineties we would see properties that had been bought by Brits to restore and let out as holiday homes. You always new these houses had been purchased by expats because they were usually large with lots of outbuildings and had a swimming pool that could be seen from the road. Plus of course they had the typical Pierre apparent stonework and were sited on main roads.

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Now the whole point of someone wanting to take a holiday in the Dordogne should be to appreciate the stunning scenery and countryside. Plus of course the food, wine, history and culture of course. So when it comes to renting a house in the Dordogne; you should be looking for something that is secluded with panoramic views so you can watch the sun go down with a glass of Chateau La Gonterie in your hand.

HOLIDAY HOMES IN THE DORDOGNE

We were seeing properties being bought and restored that overlooked main roads, had a railway running nearby, one that was opposite an industrial laundry and others that were sited next door to barns that housed cows. The list is endless but as the supply of decent old properties in the best locations dried up, people seemed to turn a blind eye to locations so long as the property was large and cheap.

France One Call were having to decline more and more applications from people looking to advertise their holiday home on the basis of location or quality of property. Julia Herbert says. "I would see an application come in online along with photographs that had been taken at dubious angles and descriptions that may not have been misleading but deliberately left facts out. They didn't lie but they were sparing with the truth. Often, I would look at photos and recognise a property and know that it was on a busy road where lots of lorries passed right by the drive".

LARGE HOUSES WITH POOLS TO RENT IN THE DORDOGNE

The team at France One Call had to change the questionnaire on their website to ask pertinent questions about properties to ensure no one got the wall pulled over their eyes. No one wants to visit the Dordogne on holiday and rent a house that they would not want to live in full time. That's France One Call's ideal of a holiday home. Somewhere that a holidaymaker doesn't want to leave.

During the late nineties, France One Call was getting scores of calls a day from people who had booked holiday homes through other internet sites and were desperate to find alternative accommodation. Reasons varied from the house not being finished, (one family turned up at house that had no windows) house being unclean, (owners lived in UK and stupidly believed that the last set of guests would clean the house) house not turning out to be as advertised, (owners going off site to take photos of views and misleading renters into believing the views could be seen form the garden).

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Budget holiday insurance


LAST MINUTE BARGAINS

The list of complaints could be endless. Some people rented properties only to find that the owners had moved out and were camping in the barn next door or even in the garden. No one is going to feel comfortable staying in a property where they know the owner has had to move out because they need the money. And in some cases, people turned up at houses to find that the house had never had any work done on it or scaffolding and cement mixers were still in situ in the house.

Julia says. "Because we have always monitored the quality of holiday homes advertised on France One Call and have been selective about who we accept to promote, complaints have always been far a few between. We have ended up putting people up as guests at our house when they have booked unsuitable accommodation through other internet sites and we have been unable to find alternative accommodation".

Of course it cuts both ways. France One Call can tell you stories of having to deal with guests from hell too. One complaint about a dirty kitchen turned out that the guests had spent the weekend using brillo pads to remove the stain of a brand new lime stained kitchen. The kitchen had only just been installed the week before in readiness for the season. Another guest complained that a house had not been finished because it had exposed oak beams. (incredible but true) And another (first guests of the season) arrived, put a chip fan on, went down for a swim in the pool and burned the house down. France One Call had to find alternative accommodation for all the guests that were booked in for the rest of the season.

COTTAGES TO RENT IN THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE

However, in the main, complaints normally came because holiday home owners in their attempt to jump on the band wagon had failed to recognise what made an ideal holiday home and had purchased the wrong type of property in the wrong place. Internet sites were springing up all over the internet, built by expats who had moved to France and only too willing or desperate to accept advertisers no matter what they were offering so long as they paid.

The team at France One Call, who believe that someone's holiday is sacrosanct would see properties they had declined being advertised elsewhere with misleading photographs and descriptions. They new it tainted everyone in the industry and many people would go home from France with nightmare stories to tell.

Too many properties, too many houses in the wrong locations and too many owners too ready to take peoples money without a thought for the fact that it was their one chance of a holiday that year was damaging the self-catering holiday industry in France. And as the supply of decent properties in the Dordogne dried up, so estate agents started to expand their horizons and sell holiday homes in the Charente.

Holiday homes in the Dordogne, large houses with pools to rent in the Dordogne, last minute bargains, cottages to rent in the French countryside.