Don’t Move to France ... until you’ve done your homework.

Comments from site visitors about Estate Agents, Property Exhibitions and Property Websites:

The text in black is from this website, the text in red is a response to the comments.

A lot of Brits living in France now rely on the huge foreign interest in French property (prior to editing I also said that some Brits selling property in France couldn’t speak French and working in property sales was the only way they could find work).

Sorry - this is rubbish. Anybody working officially in estate agency in France has to have good French as they must deal with notaires, French sellers, help buyers with phone, electricity, water, officials etc. Mrs T works in this business so we should know.

Consequently, they have a vested interest in painting a positive picture of life in France. Scrape beneath the surface, however, and all is not what it seems.

People reported never seeing their estate agent again after the deal was done. Often with loose ends not tied up and promises unfulfilled or downright lies leading to misery on behalf of the buyer.

Again, NOT the way a proper agent would dream of working.

When we were house hunting we met quite a few Brits who were assigned to show us around on house viewings. Some were excellent, but many left us thinking they had very little knowledge of the estate agency business and the rules of regulations of house renovation and reconstruction.

Then please warn about these people - name and shame if necessary because they are doing us all a big disservice, don't make out that all British nationals in French property are like that.

On the other hand, we also spoke to people who became firm friends with their estate agent after the sale and found them immeasurably helpful and friendly in the years following the purchase of their French dream. If you find someone like this, then treat them like gold. It may be more expensive, but you will probably be better off in the long run. Word of mouth is always a good way to find out who are the “good guys”.

That's more like it - I think you will find a lot of agents are like that.

If you are a fluent French speaker, then you may be better off buying through a notaire Many notaires have files on local properties for sale that are more competitively priced than the same or similar properties advertised through an estate agent (there is no agency fee).

The reason they are 'competitive' is that the notaire quotes the price that the seller will get, which is the same whether you buy from an agent or notaire. The notaire adds on his own fees, plus a 'negotiating fee' fixed by the French government, of 2.5% to 5%. Notaires don't tell you about that... So there IS an agency fee, in effect, albeit smaller than most immobiliers'.

French estate agents do not have exclusivity over a property. The buyer pays the agent’s fees, not the seller.

True in most of France, but not all - some parts of the south operate a similar system to the UK as far as agency fees are concerned.

In the UK, the seller pays the fees and usually has an exclusive contract with a single agent. This means that in France, a seller may put a property on with several agents. It also means that if a property has a For Sale sign on it, you can just walk up to the vendor and deal with him directly; thus saving the agent’s fees (c4 - 6% variable).

If you have already seen the property through a notaire or agent then you could be in trouble. Many houses don't have For Sale signs and even if they do you will most likely have to go through the notaire or agent to contact the vendor as it will be an inheritance sale or the like. If you aren't a fluent French speaker with a comprehensive knowledge of property systems in France goibg direct is a recipe for disaster.

In some cases though, you may be far better off using an estate agent.

I'd say in most cases