Hi Sara!

This is just my opinion obviously, but I would say purely because you are a novice at this, then it may be a good idea to use a management company, say for the first year? You could still oversee all bookings and have the company take care of the actual running of the villa.

They will have all the answers to the questions you have asked, they will be there to solve any problems and make letting as trouble free as they can. I know you are only a couple of hours away by car, but what happens say, if your clients have no electricity in the middle of the night, or no water, or an accident involving your property, etc etc? You could find yourself paying out more money and having more hassle trying to fix problems yourself than paying a company in the first place.

This is my first year of renting out my holiday villa in Spain so my experience is obviously limited.

I rent privately through the web and word of mouth. Usually to British families so payment is by sterling cheque.

I did have a very late booking and I did give out my account details ( I have a seperate account for this) and the guests went to his local High St branch and deposited cash) I then post keys out. I take a key deposit to ensure I get the keys back promptly and in case of damage

I have a Caretaker in Spain who handles all the property maintenance and also is there in case of emergencies, he's handled a couple so far with no problems (even when my guests managed to lock themselves in the house!!

It's early days yet but I've managed to book the house out all summer and it seems to be working fine.

There is an element of trust on both sides but I rented private villas for years myself before we bought ours and that experience is obviously invaluable now.

If I can help any more just ask.

Suppose we're a wee bit different, as I only rent to friends and family at the moment. Its gone very well for our first year, and we're getting quite a bit of interest for next year. Being close to your place is a big plus, so I would rent it myself, if I were you. There are lots of good sites that can give you advice. Just make sure you lay down accurate ground rules afore, and stick to em.
You may find this site helpfull

http://www.laymyhat.com/

You can also advertise on the web at reasonable prices for good sites.

Good luck

Thats a really interesting website - Thanks for that MadMick

Hope the cheques in the post lol

I don't how many actualy do this but have read that an option with the keys is to have a digital lock, then for each letting you can change the combination and email it to the new tennants.

interesting website Madmick

thanks for the advice. The website is great, MadMick.

Sara

Cant honestly remember where I found the site. Either from someone on here or maybe was just surfing. Anyways glad you find it useful.