Keyholding

Professional Keyholding and Caretaking across 87, 16, and 24.

As a property owner in France, there may be times when you are not at the property and jobs need to be done or checks need to be made. Whether you are a second homeowner with a private residence you visit regularly, a property you are in the process of renovating or own a property you rent out long term, we tailor our key holding and caretaking services to your exact needs. We work exclusively for private owners of private residences, and as such do not offer any services for commercial holiday accommodation such as gites or seasonal rentals. 

We are a professional, family business offering a range of services to help manage and maintain your property in your absence. We are specifically registered and insured to carry out the care and security of your home with keyholding and security as our primary activity. We are an established and experienced company that has longstanding clients across the world whose properties we take care of whilst vacant, as well as acting as their local point of contact. We carry out all property checks and management personally and do not subcontract or franchise our services to other providers as many other similar companies do. The main benefit of this is peace of mind for owners when they are miles away from their property. Knowing that there is someone who knows the property and can check everything is secure and as expected on a regular basis, and also someone that can deal with any issues that may crop up during such checks. We pride ourselves on an efficient, affordable and thorough service and care for our clients’ properties as if they were our own.

We understand with the travel restrictions due to Covid-19 and Brexit that many owners of second properties were, and some continue to be, unable to visit for some time or less regularly than they could previously. This means properties can be left vacant and unchecked longer than usual, and potentially be more susceptible to issues. Whilst many homeowners rely on neighbours, friends or other services providers like their gardener to ‘keep an eye’ on their property, this often does not include comprehensive or regular checks, and the latter may not be registered or insured appropriately to offer this service. Many homeowners do not realise that vacant properties should be checked regularly to comply with their property insurance (usually if they are left vacant for periods of more than 3-months at a time) and many insurers will only accept the proof of checks from a professionally, registered company.  As a fully registered company offering an essential service, we have been permitted to work throughout the Covid-19 restrictions ensuring continuity for the care of our client’s properties.

At the moment we have some limited availability for our Keyholding service, which can include the following as required, and tailored to your individual needs:

• Monthly, Bi-monthly or Weekly Security Visits 
• Full Interior & Exterior Inspections and Reports
• Additional checks after severe weather (storms, high winds, flooding)
• Checking Utilities & Meter Readings
• Collection & Forwarding of Post
• Emergency Contact, Emergency Callouts & Alarm Response
• Emergency Access or Replacement of Lost Keys
• Monitoring of CCTV, Remote Heating Systems etc

As part of our keyholding service, we can assist with any aspect of Property Management to keep your property or belongings in good order be it airing the house during inspections, pest control, vehicle management, taking delivery of wood or fuel, organising chimney sweeping, liaising with utilities or artisans requiring access to the property or suchlike. This can be particularly useful if you are away from your property for a long time, or have a vacant property that you are selling or renovating.

In addition to the caretaking aspect, if you, family, or friends are due to visit the property, we can visit in advance to prepare for guest arrival and ensure that everything is in good order and ready for their stay. For example- cleaning, changing bed linen, opening the shutters, airing the property, turning on the heating and making sure there is hot water. We can even have the fridge filled and a chilled bottle of wine ready!

We are:

• An Established, Professional Caretaking and Keyholding Company
• Fully Registered for all services offered, including specific “Gardiennage de Maison”
• Fully Insured for all services offered
• Holders of Casier Judiciaire Bulletin N°3 (the French equivalent of UK CRB Check)
• Speak English and French

We work with our clients to offer them the services they need to best manage their French property in an economical and professional manner. To ensure we offer a cost-effective and prompt service to all of our keyholding clients, we offer these services within an approx. 60km radius of Maisonnais sur Tardoire 87440 including all or part of the cantons of Ouest Limousin, Port-Ocean-Limousin (POL), Pays de Nexon-Monts de Chalus, Charente-Limousine, La Rochefoucauld-Porte du Périgord, Perigord-Nontronnais, Périgord-Limousin, Coeur du Charente and Grand Angouleme. Availability and regularity of certain services will depend upon the exact location. Other areas may be considered if in proximity to other properties we care for.

We offer flexible and affordable services to fit in with your schedule, open lines of communication with our clients and take great pride in our work. We have lots of existing clients who are happy to recommend our services. You can see more information about us here