Immobiliers

There must be a way to change the way they perform and what they charge?


Surely good photos, a decent website and knowledge and understanding of the property


for sale is of paramount importance.


2 or 3% seems a reasonable fee?


There is need of change.




I shouldn't let it bother you Barbara. Difficult to take anyone with a name like Vernon seriously.

Nick, quite agree no real excuse but i guess change comes slowly in some places but i do miss a floorplan!

I agree that it would be nice to to have more info into where the property is located rather than just an area as this would have saved us a lot of time when we were over looking, then again we were novices then and will not make that mistake again, we all know the French system is quite different to ours, all very cloak and dagger!

Not having bought a house yet let alone sold one i can't comment on voyers! is this a huge problem in France? i'm not sure i would waste a holiday just peeking at people's houses with absolutely no intention of buying but hey! some weird people about! have had no problems with agents attitude or contact.

Josie. I agree with you and let's face it some free software like Sketchup and just about anyone (agents included) can knock up a set of floor plans, to scale in less than an hour...and if you really get into it, some pretty accurate 3D images too.

I think that before a client visits a property they should have a good idea

of surrounding area, how close the property is to a village and the lay out land/garden

area.

I feel that the seller who is opening their doors to voyers should have some

basic info regarding the possible purchasers with an insight into their financial

position for purchase.

A good agent will be polite enough to answer e mails.C

Courtesy is important as well as a positive attitude.

I agree that it would be nice to see decent photo's and a floor plan. One agent told me a few months ago that they intended to do this, maybe more would then follow,we can but live in hope!

Lets get right down to the real nitty gritty.

Nothing much stops me being honest with my views!

I am not anti estate agent or immobilier but I would like to see

some changes or improvements. I am not alone with these thoughts

I am sure.

I have just signed with an agent!

People are still reading these comments I have noted.

Are they, perhaps intrigued with the outburst from Vernon Green

who appears to have a bea in his bonnet about my typing and

the errors which they form.

But it is a rude man who assumes that these expressions of miss adventure

on the keyboard are the hand of some one who is illiterate.

Surely Vernon if France were a socialist state there would be no estate agents? Plus what you are proposing is illegal.

Why would a French Estate Agent want to change the way he has worked, and has been used to for years? This country is a Socialist state operating with a 1970's trade union mindset. It is over-regulated & has been for decades. This is why it has always been good for us British to retire here - but NOT to work in France.

A sensible buyer would rent for a few months (obviously from another expat to avoid the stupid 2/3 year minimum furnished/unfurnished French laws!) & drive around their area of choice looking at the THOUSANDS of "A Vendre" hand painted signs with telephone numbers. It doesn't take half a brain to understand how to buy property in France without paying the ridiculous 7-8% Agency fees. Then you would (if you were French, or fluent) you would negotiate TWO prices directly with the vendor. - The "Official price" - much lower than the asking price and the "Actual price". You would then go to the Notaire & purchase for the lower "Official Price" upon which you pay the French Government Land Taxes (Notaires Fees). Before entering the Notaires Office you will have given an envelope full of Euros to the vendor for your agreed "Actual price". Both of you gain by reducing the amount paid to Gouv.Fr. This accepted practice here & Notaires EXPECT it to happen. Dare I say it, they actually encourage it in close communes where they have to live.....

I agree, from my experience of arriving in France several years ago & sensibly renting short term, I did not find a single Estate Agent to be honest. Their property descriptions & selective (minimal) photos are generally downright dishonest. In 2015 with the ability to use just a Smartphone or a cheap camera I am amazed that they expect to entice a buyer with about 3 poor quality photos. But Hey, this is France & we all know that Farmer Jaques will park his knackered tractor on the verge with an "A Vendre" sign with absolutely NO price advertised & wonder why he has no enquiries because he HOPES that he can get twice what it is worth. - In the French mind there is always some idiotic German/Dutchman/Brit with more money than sense.

So, having read many of your strange double spaced and mostly illiterate posts, Barbara Deane (Pie in the Sky on Anglo Info?), WHAT question are you actually asking of the forum members?

I want estate agents in France to earn a decent wage!

Actually.....but they need to wake up.

It is a very tough and competitive line of work and they need to know

a little bit about the property they are selling.

In order to entice people to view they need to present the best

interpretation of the property.

Many work from home.

Not all the properties are in a bad state of repair and not so many are

priced at 80.000 euros.

3% Of something is better than 0% Of anything.

Reform is needed....

Succinctly put John

I suppose it’s partly about maths. An Estate Agent in the UK earns more selling a £300,000 house on 2% commission than an Immobilier selling an €80,000 house at 8% in France. Add to that the average number of sales per month and it’s clear to see why UK agents can afford to charge lower fees. Like them or not, even Immobiliers are entitled to try to earn a living wage.

The UK treat property as an investment, buy it and redecorate it it slightly and it worth £10,000 more. France treat it as a place to live and outside of any investment. The UK property market is much faster moving so cost per transaction can be lower.

Whilst rent and rates in the UK maybe higher one of the biggest expenses is contacting prospects via mobiles so those cost are a huge chunk of the operating costs.

4,000 euros for a property advertised over 5 years+ in some cases is very different to the UK, The place next to us has been up for 11 years and the owner recently changed agency with a flurry of new viewings but still nothing. I really believe the state of the old places put's a lot of French off with the considerable costs of work it is better to buy a new build with 10y guarantee and because not so many British are buying these days then more dilapidated property is languishing on the books, it's only completions that bring in the money and it's the purchaser who pays so much a different way of doing things compared to the UK.

There are laws in setting up.

But what are the fees/% in UK?

The rents and rates for the premises are much higher in UK.

4.000 euros for a few weeks work is not so bad....

Then start one up, with those low fees you will surely be very busy and offering good photos and a website would get you noticed amongst the others.