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: http://www.fnaim.fr
SNPI website: http://www.snpi.com
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, or commission 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.
Related article:
What should you ask of French estate agents?
Comments
18 responses to “Finding French estate agents”
Hello from Australia 12 May 05
I need a taxation agent that can attend to my taxation matters with regard to a unit rental in Cannes. I believe the best plan is someone situated in the Cannes area. I would appreciate it if I was offered a choice of more than one. Thank you.
Kind regards
Manny Jardim email mannyfj@hotmail.com.au
Hi,
The best things is to look in the French yellow pages:
http://www.pagesjaunes.fr
You can also visit our taxation guide on http://www.sextantproperties.com
Kind regards,
Matthieu
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Nice site. Looking for a house, we can help you! Have a look on our site http://www.francehouses.com.
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Freddy Rueda
You can safely have a look to this website:
http://www.sextantproperties.com
They only work with French registered estate agents
Hello you can always look at this site. We found a property in Spain but they also have in France.
http://www.overseashouses4u.com/
Hello we can recomend this site. We bought an old finca here in spain the site also has french properties. The agent was helpfull and reliable. Good luck and please dont buy anything through rose tinted glasses!!!
I am looking for an appartment near a city or somewere i will find work – i don’t drive…I plan to move to France…my mother lives in the south. Please keep me updated with any possibilities…near Carcasson or Perpingan is better.
I found a very interesting website about VEF UK: http://www.vefukusers.com I think I will look on another property website from now on!
VEF UK is an estate agency and, in my opinion, offer an ambiguous service. For instance, how can you expect an estate agent whose commission is based on the purchase price to also protect the buyer’s interest?
How can you expect an estate agent to let you know the legal consequences of a purchase?
VEF UK give a very bad image on the French property market by charging a very high fee when it is free with all of their competitors.
VEFUK only translate the preliminary contract and you can get it done for £200 by a translation company. During this credit crunch crisis it is always good to no waste £6000 when you buy a house in France!
I agree Mike but bear in mind that translated legal documents can still be obscure and one may not necessarily know if he/she is legally protected by the different clauses.
Regards,
It sounds obvious Guillaume is working for VEF. It is almost impossible to translate a document such as the compromis de vente and that is why professionnal solicitors who are properly registered do not translate the documents but give advices about the documents.
Do not trust people asking for money for certificate translation, it is better to use a really independant solicitor.
Dear Paul,
You have misinterpreted my comment and you may wish to read my opinion two comments above my latest one.
I am an independent French lawyer based in the UK and correcting estate agents’ legal mistakes is almost a daily chore.
Estate agents and, as you have rightly outlined it, translators, are not legal experts. A compromis can be translated to English but it will still be some legal jargon. Someone that can explain and reply to the clients’ questions is a totally different service to selling a property.
I would also like to add that a solicitor is usually trained for UK law and unfortunately too many are taking on work that they cannot do. This is also something I have to correct regularly for my clients months or even years after a misleading piece of advice has been given.
Have a nice day,
I am glad to inform you that the complaint website came back live! You will find 3 scary stories of customers who had a very bad experience with VEF service. Here is the link:
http://www.vefcomplaints.com
For those interested in Paris real estate, please have a look at the KHS English reception page with lots of information and the KHS real estate market report:
http://www.khs.fr/index2.cfm?langue=EN
If you are looking for a Prestige property in France such as a Castle, a Luxury villa or a French Mansion then visit our new website with bespoke service:
http://www.sextant-prestige.com