Seven tips to look after your holiday home now that summer is finished

Hopefully, you will have been able to visit and enjoy your French holiday home this summer. But what should you be doing now that you may not be able to return for a while?

1. Tidy up the garden and prepare for Autumn. A freshly cut lawn and tidy garden will stop burglars from thinking that the property is empty. It also makes financial sense to keep the garden under control, so that you are not left with a huge “clearance” bill the next time you visit. Your neighbours will thank you too, nobody likes living next door to a jungle.

2. Clear out the gutters and check your roof. It is vital that your property remains safe and dry. Clearing the gutters is essential and you can check that no external pipes are loose or detached.

3. Close down your pool. Clear all the debris out, clean the stains off the liner, check the water levels, balance PH levels, shock and chlorinate the pool, backwash the filter and add any winterising products.

4. Get all of your appliances checked and tested by local professionals. During the winter, you may also want to turn off the water, drain the taps and leave the heating on a low setting.

5. Check the roof – borrow a pair of your children’s binoculars and check for slipped or broken tiles. Go up to the attic and look for signs of damp (particularly with dormer windows). Replacing a couple of broken roof tiles now could save you thousands of euros next year.

6. Look after the interior. By this we mean checking all internal windows for damp, covering furniture with sheets, and making sure all windows are shut (not just for burglars but to stop birds or stray cats entering the property).

7. Finally, don’t forget to empty the fridge. You don’t want to return to sour milk, mouldy cheese, or rotten meat. Make sure your letterbox is empty with a “pas de pub” sign on it.

If all this seems like too much to organise remotely then why not let Leggett Property Management take the stress away from you Contact them at [email protected] to see if they have a property manager near you or have a look at their website: www.leggettpm.com

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Property ref.: A06168