Secrets of success for second-home owners

France has more second homes than any other European country, with 3.3 million second homes representing 10 per cent of the country’s properties. But owning a second home brings its own challenges, especially for those located several hours away from their property.  What might happen if it gets hit by extreme weather conditions? What should you do with your post? We suggest that you leave a key with a neighbour and inform the Mairie (local town hall) that you have done so.  If you can, get your neighbour to pop in occasionally to check everything is OK.  For a small fee La Poste (post office) will arrange to forward your mail to a foreign address, this will avoid your postbox overflowing.  Alongside this putting a small notice stating ‘Pas de Publicité svp’ (no junk mail, please) will prevent your mailbox being filled with advertising leaflets. Also check your insurance details – some policies are invalidated if your property is left unoccupied for long periods.  With these things addressed, you can relax and enjoy your second home when you arrive back. Here we provide three lovely examples that might tempt you to add to that figure of 3.3 million!

Lovely quintessentially French holiday home in the Perigord Vert of the Dordogne. The nicely renovated three-bedroom farmhouse comes with a small swimming pool so perfect for rentals.

In a beautiful area of central Brittany – handy for two coastlines – this is a charming four-bedroom house that is close to a lake with kayaking, paddle boarding and much more to keep the family busy!

Full of character, this is a four-bedroom house in the hamlet of Sanvensa in the Midy-Pyrenees. Only a tiny bit over £100k!