Second home in Dinard: the guide

The Belle Époque villa, on the Moulinet or in La Malouine, is bought to be kept and handed down: the family house par excellence, the rarest segment, largely traded privately. The sea-view apartment near Écluse beach locks and reopens without logistics, for short and frequent stays, the resort on foot. The more sheltered house at Le Prieuré, turned towards the estuary, suits those who look for calm and evening light rather than the open sea.

Saint-Énogat and the coast towards Saint-Lunaire and Saint-Briac open the same coastline at more measured values, with a village life that holds out of season: that is often where a family finds the space and the garden that a front row does not offer. For each use, three points to look into before the offer: exposure to the wind off the open sea, the condition of the roof and the timber frame, and the authorisations if the property is protected.

The real question of a second home is the time between stays. In Dinard, part of the shutters stay closed in winter, and a closed villa must be ventilated, minimally heated and watched, especially facing the open sea, after every gale. Roof, timber frame, joinery and heating on a Belle Époque villa need regular follow-up, the sea air wears ironwork and renders, and the wooded plots of La Malouine call for a gardener between stays.

The heritage framework adds to the upkeep: within the protected heritage site, façades, roofs and surroundings are regulated, and works go through the Architecte des Bâtiments de France, which lengthens timescales and steers materials. On the apartment side, seaside co-ownerships see their façade works come round more often than elsewhere. Home Select builds this cost of absence into the selection, on paper and on video: have the works priced before the offer, heritage constraints included, and choose a property that can be closed without worry.

Dinard lives a short and intense season, from June to September, extended in autumn by the British film festival, then a very quiet winter. Properties come onto the market mostly in spring and at the rentrée, once the season is over. The right district is the one that holds in both seasons: the video pre-viewing also shows the street out of season, and the trip for the decisive viewings is best set outside summer, when the resort shows itself as it lives all year.

On a protected stock where the finest villas find a buyer before any advertising, watchfulness counts as much as price. Home Select steers the search from its management with its network of 15,000 partners and receives more than 100 off-market properties every day: a brief by video call or by telephone, qualification on documents, video pre-viewings with the seller’s agent, the price set against comparable DVF sales, then negotiation, securing the deal and coordinating the notary, with a single trip for you. The taxation of a second home according to your country of residence belongs to the notary and a tax adviser.