Finding a French estate agent

admin — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:41:58 +0000

FRENCH estate agents (agent immobilier), just like their British counterparts, are there to bring buyers and sellers of property together.

To work in their own right an agent must possess a carte professional which is granted to those who have met standards or have considerable experience.

They must also hold indemnity insurance and some may have a fidelity bond, piéce de garantie, which covers the payment of any deposits.

Those who do not have a bond set-up are not in anyway lesser just remember that any deposit will be paid to the notaire.

There are professional bodies that agents can join these include FNAIM (Federation Nationale des Agents Immobiliers et Mandataires) or SNPI (Syndicat Nationales Professionals Immobilier). Both sites feature property to buy and rent.

FNAIM website
SNPI website

On the sticky question of fees there are no government guidelines just expect to pay a higher percentage for cheaper properties.

Also prices can be quoted net vendeur, which excludes the agents fees, orcommission comprise (written as C/C) which does include the fees.

Many websites with UK connections will split the commission but just make sure, you shouldn’t be paying more if you buy through such a site.

And be aware when you are meant to pay any commission – you don’t want to be left short!

Once you have found an agent the details you receive might not be exactly what you were expecting.

Often in rural areas you may only have a sheet of paper with a couple of particulars, possibly a photograph and a price, the rest is left to your imagination.

What the agent is hoping is that they can get you to view the property on a one-to-one basis, but often they are small set-ups with little time for detailed print outs.

Also don’t expect to be able to drop in on an agent’s shop and go off and view a property.

Although there is no harm in looking at particulars you will most probably arrange a time to view at a later date.

So if you are short on time visit agents first, then view properties with them and decide later if you have found what you are looking for.

And if you are viewing in a rural area make sure you have a good map, a mobile phone, the number of the agent, plenty of petrol and a bite to eat.

Rural properties can be difficult to find for both yourself and very often the agent and remember many shops and petrol stations close for two-hour lunch breaks.

It is also the case that large amounts of property are sold without the services of an estate agent.

Tracking down these properties can be very difficult especially if you are only in the region for a few days.

If you can spend some time in an area pick-up the local newspaper or property magazines and look out for the letters AV on property, which means a vendre, or for sale.

Take a first step by renting

admin — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:43:24 +0000

FINDING a property in France can be a real challenge if you are sat in front of your computer back in the UK.

Letting a property could be a solution allowing you to spend time searching the area and seeing what it has to offer.
However, people who have yet to sell their UK house will have different demands than those who have sold up and are ready to live in France.

Someone with a house in the UK may only be able to get a week or two away from work in one go, so it’s vital you are well prepared.

Renting a holiday home out of season would naturally allow you to see an area when it is quiet and often when the weather is at its worst.

Many property owners would be delighted to have someone rent for a short time in February or March, just check the heating is sufficient.

But before you head across make sure you have the address details for estate agents close by and try and plan out your viewings.

It may also be worth dropping in on some French website message boards to see if someone has a place available.

Or you may find someone willing to meet up with you for an hour when you are in France to give you some pointers.

So if you can find the time to get away from work there could still be time to hunt down a property this spring.

But what about those people who have sold their UK house or let it for six months or more?

One of the major problems when searching the internet for property to let is that your searches are often mixed up with holiday lettings, so you need some patience.

If you use Google enter key words such as ‘homes to rent’ and areas and if you want to target French possibilities then ‘to let’ is ‘louer’ and the word used for ‘lettings’ is ‘locations’.

The cheapest way to rent a place is to contact the landlord directly but for this you will need to have access to local newspapers and possibly village shop windows.

Remember, many of the larger local newspapers will have online versions that you will be able to search, again type the title into Google.

Estate agents will very likely have some property to let and again you may find a holiday home that the owner is tired of cleaning every week and may let long term.

You also need to take into account your notice period for leaving the property.

If it is three months and you are well on your way to buying a property you could well lose your deposit if you leave early.
If you can time your departure with your purchase that would be perfect.

There is a real advantage from being in an area longer term before buying as it gives you an idea of the facilities, local schools and you can visit the Mairie.

French Property Buying

Finding a French estate agent

FRENCH estate agents (agent immobilier), just like their British counterparts, are there to bring buyers and sellers of property together.

Take a first step by renting