B&B owners Jonathan and Jill Merrett recently opened for business in France’s southern Languedoc region. They spoke to local resident and friend Alexis Goldberg of FranceBuyingGuide.com about realising their dream

What made you move to France?

We had wanted to live in France for a long time, having had many family holidays there. We are both teachers but were keen for a change and running a B&B sprang to mind. We chose the Languedoc mainly because of the climate and the tourist trade in spring and summer. We noticed that lots of B&Bs seem to work here and we knew the area reasonably well. We moved here in September 2011, having bought the house in December, 2010.

Did you do much research into running a B&B?

When house-hunting we knew we needed a property with a section that would be private and separate for our own use. We stayed in many B&Bs and began to form ideas from what we had seen. The internet was great for general information and an idea of how we could price our rooms. We wanted to make ours comfortable and relaxing and not too rustic with good beds and decent showers.

How long did it take you to find the property?

We came for a holiday in 2010 for two weeks and spent four days looking. We ended up buying the last house we saw. Having spent about half an hour looking around, we took the agent’s advice and made an offer of around four fifths of the asking price. It was accepted!

When paying for the property, did you use a specialist currency company?

Yes. We have transferred money before in various ways and currencies, having lived in Poland for some time, as well as having funds in Sterling. We used Smart Currency Exchange for our transfers on this house and found them efficient, very helpful and very patient with our questions.

How’s your French?

We both could get by but we’re now having lessons with a lady in our village and are making progress. We listen out when in company and find we are learning gradually that way. Being in the rural south of France where there aren’t too many English speakers, we feel it’s important to try.

How long has it taken to establish your business?

We already have had some bookings and have used the internet for links with three or four other sites. We have our sign up now and are investigating putting signs up at the entrance to our village, so we anticipate a good summer and hope it will build up from there. We do think a lot of the established business will come from word of mouth.

Were you helped with the red tape locally?

Jill did a three-day course on licensing in order to get a “Permit d’exploitation” and we opted for the full licence which means that our guests can enjoy any sort of alcohol. There are different types of licence but we found our Mairie to be very helpful with this. There are only so many of each type of licence issued in each commune, so this does need investigation.

What tips do you have for anyone setting up a B&B?

Do it! Many people comment to us that we are living our dream but if you want something badly enough, you have to find a way and do it. For us, this is something of a journey of discovery but so far it is fine and we look forward to building up our business in a lovely community. We would say to anyone to go ahead and make their dream real as we did.

For more information on the Merretts’ B&B click here

For details of the Languedoc, or all properties for sale in France, visit the French listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying in France, or moving there, is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into euros to complete the purchase of your property. For more information on this, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in France, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘France Property Buying Guide’