In February's issue of French Property News I offer some suggestions on how to present your French house or apartment ready for sale, including some room by room recommendations about what improvements will add value and those that do not. Essentially, the property should be impeccably clean and tidy, and generally de-cluttered. Owners should attend to all those minor repairs and renewals they have kept putting-off and which are a certain deterrent for would-be purchasers.
Going back to basics, in the March issue just out, I offer some suggestions on how to hold onto your French second home, if you are tempted to cash-in your property asset in time of crisis. Surprisingly, the majority of French second homes are sold by their owners within 10 years of purchase, despite the disadvantages of capital gains taxes and sometimes the inability to recoup the high transaction costs (agenncy commissions on buying and selling, Notaire fees, land registration costs and taxes).
Instead I suggest ways to hold onto your property, through letting long or short-term, or if it is your main home and the situation is serious, returning to the UK to work for a while, and renting out your French property for a year or more. Harsh decisions may have to be made but selling-up is often not the best or only option.
French Property News is available in newsagents or see http://www.french-property-news.com/
(Picture shows lovely holiday studio at Argelès-Port recently sold by its owners within a few weeks of going onto the market).