Twelve questions to ask before entrusting your villa to anyone

The difficulty in finding someone to look after your house remotely is that there is very little you can verify. References are supplied by the provider, online reviews are rare in this trade, and results only become apparent after a winter or two.

What remains is the questions. Here are the ones that, in our experience on both sides of the table, yield the most information.

On the actual service

1. How many out-of-season visits, and how long are they?

A ten-minute "visit" to collect post is not an inspection. Ask for the average duration, what is checked, and whether a report is produced. A serious inspection of a 200 m² villa takes between forty-five minutes and an hour and a half.

2. What exactly do you check, and against what list?

A methodical provider has a written checklist. Ask to see it. If none exists, every visit depends on whoever makes it and their mood that day.

3. Who goes up on the roof, and how often?

The roof is the leading source of deferred damage and the least often inspected. Acceptable answers: an annual inspection by a roofer, or an internal inspection by drone. "We look at it from the garden" means no inspection takes place.

4. What actually happens on 15 January?

Ask for the programme of a typical winter week. It is the most discriminating question on the list. Winter is when the property deteriorates and when most providers' activity is at its lowest.

On traceability

5. In what form do you report, and how often?

A written, dated report with photographs is the minimum. A voice message is not traceability. Ask to see a real, anonymised example.

6. What happens to the history if I end the contract?

If the record stays with the provider or disappears, you have consumed a service. If it is handed to you, complete and usable, you have built an asset. The difference is decisive at a sale or a succession.

On emergencies

7. What is your real on-site response time, in January and in August?

Ask for both figures, because they differ. Around the Bay, summer traffic between Arcachon and Cap Ferret changes journey times completely.

8. Who decides, and up to what amount, in an emergency?

A provider who must reach you before doing anything can do nothing at three in the morning. You need a written delegation with a spending limit — often a few hundred euros — above which the owner's agreement is required.

9. Which trades do you work with, and for how long?

An established provider names firms, trades and years of collaboration. A recent one looks up a directory at the moment of the emergency, exactly as you would have done.

On money

10. How exactly are you paid?

Retainer, commission, per-task fee? And above all: do you take a commission on works? A provider commissioned on the works they specify has a structural conflict of interest. The answer must be clear, and it must be in the contract.

11. What is not included?

The most useful question on the list. Have the exclusions itemised: additional visits, attendance for trades, claims handling, out-of-hours work, administrative fees. That is where apparently comparable quotations diverge.

On legal security

12. What is your insurance cover, and what does it cover?

Ask for the professional liability certificate, check it is current and that it covers goods held in custody. Check too that key holding is governed in writing: who holds them, where, and with what record of handovers.

What the price tells you

A word on the price differences, which are often puzzling.

A service under €200 a month for a 200 m² villa cannot include regular documented visits: the billable time does not stretch that far. It generally corresponds to a telephone standby and an occasional visit.

Between €300 and €800 a month you find serious monitoring services, with documented visits and coordination.

Above €1,500 you enter dedicated presence or hotel-style service, which answers a different need.

A quotation far below the others is not a bargain: it is a different scope. Ask which one.

One free piece of advice

Before signing, call the provider on a Saturday evening out of season, on the standby number they advertise.

You will learn more in thirty seconds than in three sales meetings.

Frequently asked questions

What should I ask before choosing a concierge?

The real frequency and duration of out-of-season visits, the checklist used, how they report, the emergency response time, the delegated decision limit, the payment model and any commission on works, and what the client is left with when the contract ends.

Can a provider take a commission on works?

It happens, but it creates a conflict of interest: whoever specifies the work earns more when there is more of it. If it exists, it must be disclosed and set out in the contract. A retainer with no commission on the works it covers aligns interests better.

What monthly budget should I allow to manage a villa on the Bay?

As an order of magnitude, a documented monitoring service with regular visits runs between €300 and €800 a month for a 200 m² villa. Below €200 the billable time does not allow documented visits; above €1,500 you are into dedicated presence.

How do I check a property manager is serious?

Ask for an anonymised sample visit report, the checklist used, a current professional liability certificate, local references going back more than two years, and test the standby number on a weekend evening out of season.

What should a second-home management contract contain?

A precise description of the content and frequency of visits, the form and timing of reports, the emergency response time, the delegated decision limit, the payment model and exclusions, key-holding arrangements, and the term and termination conditions.