Good morning.
I am yet to find a good and reliable immobilier.
Hoping that somewhere, someone can change this picture we have built up about Estate Agents
who sell French properties.
I recently attempted to help a friend of mine who needs to sell a large property in Bergerac
Town and I introduced her to a company which has the usual collection of agent commercial.
MY friend signed a contract and gave the man photos of the house....and he put up a For sale sign at the
front gate.....which apparently said vendu.
I can only report what she has told me. It looks like the agent has disappeared and my friend has
not been advised when she will get her photos back and contract ripped up. Naturally nothing had
happened by way of forfilling promises of adverts and on web presentation. What is really amazing
that the agency has not made any formal explanation of the situation as it appears that they have been
poorly represented.
Brian you offered some assistance from your OH.....well she never got in touch!
I am sorry but sadly I do not currently have anyone working in dept 33, perhaps when you get there if you can recommend anyone professional that may be interested? Good luck with your search, I hope you find somewhere soon. If I can help any further then please do contact me.
Sheelagh raises the ever-lasting debate about "what is value?", the standard definition is the amount an informed and willing buyer will pay to an (equally) informed and un-pressured seller....at this point the real world intervenes! Until somebody digs into their bank account, "value" does not exist.
For an agent it is professional (? - yeah, I use the word with caution) suicide to take on mandates which are hopelessly ahead of the market....unless they are confident of finding some ill-informed foreigner (of which there is a depressing number) who's self-informed view is that the property looks cheap.
Generally, I am saddened by the lack of professionalism, ethics, vigour, technical and market knowledge, negotiating skills and presentation of many of the agents I deal with on a daily basis. But then; this is their country, their business culture and their approach certainly eliminates the faint-hearted - sometimes the agents just won't take "yes" for an answer. The FNAIM appears to have little power to raise standards. At the risk of provoking a storm of protest; there are certain anglo-saxon agencies whose appointment criteria leave a lot to be desired!
That said, there are some good agents around, and what a relief to find them. In conclusion; you're not alone. 'Caveat emptor' as they say; whether engaging agents to sell for you or buying through them.
must say that my first immobilier, Claire, who is English went above and beyond. We are currently looking at property in La Reole, and have had a bit of luck, but not much. Even contacted the city architect with two replies...then nothing. If you know anyone down there who might be able to assist, I would contact them. We had hoped to purchase a property by late spring, and have it ready by late fall for occupancy.
Makes you wonder what makes some people tick Dave !
Wasn''t she a neighbour and friend who was ok with you socially but was a **** professionally ?
Ha Ha thanks for that, entertaining photos although not the worst I have seen. Leboncoin private adverts often have some interesting pics, loved the one where the lounge had been photographed with the tv still on, all I will say is the tv channel or dvd that was playing would not have been suitable for under 18s.
Well done Sheelagh at least you seem switched on pity your in the minority. And Peter it is not that long ago my wife and I plus agent turned up for a 10am viewing and when we got there the woman owner was in bed. She eventually got up then had to wash her hair then invited us in as if nothing was wrong. In this case the house was a tip and quite obvious she had taken a shower as well as doing her hair.
I had an ongoing saga with one (there are posts on SFN page)
I followed SFNers advice and in particular one who helped me write a stinker of a letter
The day after it was received the agency director (it is a chain) came to see me and two days later the estate agent was fired for gros incompetance
Only problem is she lives a few doors away and, I swear, every time I come across her in her car, she accelerates LOL
"Lastly I would like to add that on occasions when the agents arrive with clients to view, we are horrified at the way the house is being presented, there really can be no excuse for not doing basic things like making the beds and flushing the toilet !"
Agree with most of that Sheelagh. You mention the presentation of a property, take a look at this place for sale in Montauban...unbelievable !
http://www.logic-immo.com/detail-vente-1f42e883-8020-63f2-0fe7-3fae88d2cf62.htm
Hi Mark,
I am an agent here in France and have been for 7 years, I agree with much of what you say, many agents in my opinion are unprofessional, they have no previous sales experience, have little or no training and think it is ok to visit clients dressed in tatty jeans, t-shirt and to my horror, plastic crocs. The agents working with me have to be professional, respond to emails and phone calls within 24 hours maximum and have the listening skills to ensure they understand the clients needs and do not waste valuable time and petrol driving around the countryside. We work long hours, provide a lot of after sales service and many clients become friends. When recruiting I will only consider agents with previous sales experience (not necessarily in property), you would be amazed how many agents have come from different backgrounds and are then expected to sell property after 3 days training. Many of my clients are now via word of mouth, my reputation and that of my agency could so easily be ruined by lack of professionalism. I won't go in to the running costs as this is not a posting about fees but will mention that advertising especially with portals like Rightmove does not come cheap.
The other point I would like to make is about the selling prices of some homes, the source of much discussion and frustration. Whoever values a property first is often the one that sets the price, depending on experience an agent may or may not be realistic with this valuation, once a net vendor price has been agreed any other agents that visit have to either agree to take the house on at the same price or if they think it is vastly overpriced then they can refuse to add it to their listings. Properties are often overpriced as the vendors have worked out how much they need to return to the UK or how much they have spent on the house, this of course often has no relation to the real value. Only last week I walked away from a property that is worth between 140 - 150 thousand euros, the owners decided they wanted to market at 210 thousand, sadly the other agent that also valued this house (at slightly less than me at 130k) still agreed to take a mandate. What will happen next is the owner will complain that the agency they are with hasn't yet sold it or produced viewings.
Lastly I would like to add that on occasions when the agents arrive with clients to view, we are horrified at the way the house is being presented, there really can be no excuse for not doing basic things like making the beds and flushing the toilet!
In conclusion Mark I am saddened yet not surprised to hear that you have not had a good experience with your local agents however, please do not tar us all with the same brush. I take pride in my work and have a good team who do the same.
Thank you for taking the time to read this response, have a good week.
Well, the french have a major problem with written communication. I have found that I may receive a few e-mail responses about a property, then nothing. Same for working with my notaire, or renters. or my property management company. Though I have had good connections with my insurance company, and my accountant. but looking for property is quite difficult when there are no replies at all when you inquire about a property, maybe half the time in my experiences.
Totally agree in essence with what you have posted with possibly the exception where you state
"it's only after months of inactivity they finally start to appreciate the true value of their property."
I would in a lot of cases change the word months for years!
Dave, not many sellers take the advice of an agent so it's pretty pointless arguing about it with them. Most sellers know the sort of price they are after and it's only after months of inactivity they finally start to appreciate the true value of their property. Fact is also the vast majorty of agents will take the house details and sign the mandat sans exclusivité etc and leave the property with all the other 'unsaleable' properties in the portfolio marked 'overpriced' or whatever in a draw. . Properties won't be visited or even proposed to potential buyers if the agent feels time will be wasted on a fruitless visit. The usual tactics is to wait a few months, re contact the seller and explain the property is tricky as it's a bit overpriced and there are many other properties on the market presenting better value for money etc etc More months roll on and the agent re contacts the seller with the same story and then maybe, just maybe the seller will drop the price to a more realistic level.
Also, sometimes agents will juggle with properties. They know the properties which will sell quickly (either by them or another agency) so they push these properties. Others will be put on 'hold' until it's more favourable to them to make more of an effort to sell. There are many tricks of the estate agency trade just like any other trade.
Simon I was perhaps being a bit harsh on french agents as I have met others as bad english and dutch but it is the french who are consistantly bad. As an example as not just being the french we looked at a house valued at €695000 we told the estate agent,english, that it was grossly overpriced. We were asked " what do think it is worth" we said €500000 maximum. Well 6 months down the line the price is now €500000! One silly thing here seems to be this attitude of the the vendor knows best and they set the asking price, even against an agents advice? which wastes everyones time.
There are a couple of Dutch agents hereabouts who wear the same shark's clothing as other nationalities. Another thing about my mrs is that she is Swiss and house sales are very, very regulated there as she has been told by people who have bought in the last few years there.
Hi Mark, how long has your property been on the market? Why do YOU think it's not selling? It's a lovely house btw.
Dave just to back you up, I have been recently looking at properties through out France and the best estate agents i have come across are DUTCH, loads of pictures and lots of help offered. looked at a property in November priced at €25k, was just waiting for Christmas to finish and when I looked in the new year the property had changed agent and had gone up to €39k. after contacting the agent, who was french she replied that it was up to the owner to set the price, she also said that he had spent a lot of time renovating the property, but looking at the pictures on the web site it was in a worst state than it was when it was advertised at the lower price. also the property has been empty for several years and advertised at the lower price for that length of time.
all I am saying is that the best agents are Dutch, they give a s**t about what they are trying to flog.
Mark, my OH works as an agent part time. She has an extremely low opinion of agents British, French or whichever nationality working here in France having seen them from inside. She would say pretty well most of them but how is the vendor or buyer to know that? She does more than is demanded of any agent, thus makes friends as well as sales, helps out well after completion is some cases and gets referrals as a result. That is because she is from another professional domain entirely where ethics, absolute correctness, sensitivity and precise information are required. Other agents, it would seem, do not possess those qualities or if they do, don't apply them to one of the most psychologically difficult and disturbing processes in their clients' lives.
Where there are good agents people are very contented and a lot of the pressure taken off the. Then there are the notaires and it starts all over again, however proportionately more of them are good but again how is a client to know?