Alexis Goldberg of the FranceBuyingGuide.com helps readers with their questions about buying and living in France. If you need a question answering, email france@overseasguidescompany.com

Our plan is to buy a renovation project and convert it into a home and a couple of gites to earn an income from. We are at the beginning of our journey and – perilously – have fallen for the first property viewed! Not ideal we know. The property is near to Lastours, set in an idyllic location in the Languedoc, but before we make any kind of commitment we would value any advice on the location and whether you feel it would be a viable location for making a success of a gite business. Heather and Trevor.

As you probably know I live in the Languedoc, in the Aude department, so I can certainly comment on your choice of area! Lastours is a lovely place, deep in Cathar country and with lots of interesting sites/villages/towns to explore around such as Carcassonne, Saissac, Limoux and the Canal du Midi. My own view is that this would certainly be a viable place to set up a couple of gites.

Things really kick off down here from Easter onwards and there is a good market for gites and B&Bs from then until well into October. The climate is very good – it does get very hot in the summer – and access from the UK is also good with regular flights to Carcassonne and of course the international airport at Toulouse a little further.

A good idea is always to go to your local Mairie to let them know of your plans and to enquire about becoming a member of “Gites de France”. Sometimes they will allow you to put signs up on the entrance to your village and around. Any decent gites will be welcome as they of course bring people to the community.

The Languedoc Roussillon in general is lovely – very beautiful and with so much going for it, being close to Spain, the mountains and the sea. We are busy undertaking our own renovation as I am sure you have by now gathered and it is hard work but also enjoyable, and one learns as one goes along. If you would like some more specific help on this aspect, I would be pleased to help you – I’ve done a brief guide, which you can download by clicking here.

I do hope this helps but don’t hesitate to write to me again with any questions – you will always receive a personal reply.

For details of 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’