Best places and ways to market a French property

Property & Home
1

Hi!

My mother in law is steeling herself to sell the French farmhouse she’s owned and loved for the past 35 years.

Just wondered if anyone had any advice on how to market it to maximum effect and get the best price.

She’s thinking it might be best to advertise it internationally, as people outside France might be willing to pay more.

What do you think - and are there any companies, French or international, you’d recommend?

The place needs refurbishing now and is in the Indre, not too far from Loches.

Thanks in advance!

Pete

2

Well I bought and sold via a local Notaire - my house sold in four days in 2021 and people tend to trust a Notaire more than an agency these days. There are tons of adverts all over the country on LeBonCoin both pro and private and from which I found this parcel of land to build my house on in 2021. Get it valued professionally (Notaire) and remember that people will only pay what they think its worth and not for anything added on like conservatories. Double glazed windows, economic heating systems, two toilets and a decent sized kitchen are attractive rather than a roof of solar panels and a swimming pool. A house a few doors up from my old place is still onthe market nearly 18months after the first advertising and they are not dropping the price at all which is overpriced for what it is and where it is, pure greed to be honest and its also got to the stage whereby it begins to need updating on a lot of things.

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3

Thanks, Shiba! We’ve had the local notaire out and have invited a local agent who came recommended. I’ll look at that platform you mentioned.

The French seem to have a much more sensible approach to property than the Brits (in their own countries, I mean!).

4

Look at Leggetts and GreenAcres for international buyers who pay the inflated prices that these 2 companies seem to market stuff for. Or if it’s swanky then

https://www.bellesdemeures.com/

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5

We bought via leggetts, though got a sizable reduction on asking price.

6

Thanks! We’ll look into them.

7

I haven’t bought and sold in France yet, but in researching properties online for my future retirement home, my impression is that Leggetts do seem to scoop up the places owned by Brits and which appeal to them as retirement or holiday homes - i.e. renovated in the usually fairly minimalist British style with white walls etc.

…as opposed to grand-mère’s maison which will contain lots of brown furniture and have a glorious selection of different floral wallpapers throughout, including on the interior doors and ceiling… :slight_smile:

I’ve also been looking on SeLoger and Bien-Ici.

ETA Beaux-Villages seem to have some nice houses.

8

We had a gîte once with carpet up the walls.

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9

Awesome! Kept you warm though. :smiley:

I bought a flat in South-East London once which had a fitted wardrobe in the bedroom - when I removed it I found it was obscuring the most vivid area of red flock curry-house wallpaper.

It was an absolute nightmare to remove, even with a rented wallpaper steamer. Left little bits of red flock everywhere…

10

I quite like watching Leggett’s YouTube videos but they’re not popular at all for properties in Bordeaux. I just did a search on their site and they’ve only got 21 properties listed. Not that I can afford to buy in Bordeaux unless my lottery numbers come up tonight, in any case :sob:

Edit: also their site is pretty horrible to use as a buyer… it’s like going back to surfing the web in the early '00s.

11

Yes their website is pants, I just see their stuff advertised on Bien Ici.

12

The house we bought in 1999 had this also. It was an illegitimate thing to get off.

13

Frenchentree is worth keeping an eye on:

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14

I think you just described the house we bought! :smile:

DSC01652_Export
DSC01652_Export1920×1080 337 KB

Now except for the fluorescent light.

Kitchen done 1
Kitchen done 11920×2560 450 KB

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15

:smiley: :smiley: je laisse mon cas, Monsieur le Président!

Yes the French love affair with wall-coverings designed primarily to sear the retina is one of the world’s great mysteries, given that the same nation brought us Le Corbusier* and Nouvelle Cuisine…

  • OK I know Le Corbusier was originally Swiss but he became a naturalised Frenchman :slight_smile:
16

A bed in the kitchen must cut out a lot of seemingly unnecessary in-betweening through other rooms!

Actually it looks like a living space generated by AI…

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17

Oof, I guess you could say it was dans son jus :see_no_evil:

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18

Ooh, not seen this site before… off to do some browsing!

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19

I looked after a big house for Parisiennes, they had a silk type of cloth on the walls in some bedrooms and cotton on the others matching the curtains and bed covers, it was a bugger to vacumn I can tell you, all the dust stuck to it and no other way of cleaning it

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20

In it’s (own) juice?