Take the stress out of renting a vacation home
Renting a vacation property in the Aude can add a wonderful dimension to your holiday. The right house or apartment gives you the kind of freedom that hotels and resorts just can't achieve. In a small way you experience everyday life.
In January 1989 I rented a tiny apartment in Manhattan for a four day weekend with my daughter. It was the smallest apartment I had ever seen. One room with a bathroom. The main room had a "kitchen" at one end - sink, cook top, and bar fridge - a "living room" in the middle - tiny sectional sofa, little TV and a trunk - and the "bedroom" at the end - a double bed with drawers underneath and a shelf for a light above.
It had french doors opening onto a bricked courtyard filled with potted plants. It was wonderful.
Since then I've rented houses or apartments whenever I can for a holiday.
These days I use the internet to look for properties. I no longer have the patience to wait for a printed brochure.
Tips:
Read the ad carefully. I actually rented an apartment that had 4 bedrooms and NO sitting room. The ad said that it "combines kitchen, dining and living area in the best rural French tradition". I assumed a comfortable chair.
Find out if bedding is included. In France, outside of Paris, it is quite usual to expect the tenants to supply bed linen and towels, even tea towels for the kitchen. Most owners will arrange to supply them, sometimes with a charge. Make sure you ask. You can't travel a great distance by plane lugging your bedding, especially if you're traveling with a family. Can you imagining arriving and finding no sheets or towels. Having said that, no one supplies beach towels. Make sure to take them if you're planning on swimming.
Check to see what else might incur an extra cost. It's not uncommon to charge for electricity. The meter is read on your arrival and departure and you're charged at the meter rate.
How much cleaning are you expected to do? I think it's part of the French "Gites" tradition that you leave everything perfectly clean and ready for the next tenant. Not my idea of an ideal end to a vacation, especially when I have to leave at 5 am to drive to an airport to catch a 7 am flight. Some properties include cleaning, some offer it at an extra charge, and some expect you to clean. Up to you and your budget. Remember, it's not nice to leave a pigsty.
When and how do you pay the damage deposit. Some owners want the damage deposit in cash, euros, when you arrive and return it when you leave. I don't really want to leave France with a wad of currency that I have to exchange when I get home. Ask if you can leave signed travelers cheques in your own currency instead.
Look at a map. There are very few straight roads in the Aude. If you are going in the summer and plan to spend everyday at the ocean make sure you have a good idea how long it will take to get there.
Get directions and a contact number. A few years ago I rented a house in Paraza, a tiny village on the Canal du Midi. It would probably take less than an hour to knock on every door in the village. In retrospect, that's what I should have done. I had two maps with directions written out. I had to pick up the key in one part of the village and go to the house in another. It took 30 minutes to find where to pick up the key and another 40 to find the house. There was no one home at the "key" house so we couldn't ask them for directions. My French speaking daughter was with me so we did ask for directions but there weren't many people around and no one seemed to know where the house was. Get a map, written directions and a phone number to call if you get lost. Also stop at a gas station on the way from the airport and buy a Telecarte so you can use a payphone if you have to.
Relax, enjoy your vacation.