Jane, you know the answer to this ‘question’. The moment you put the actual address on your website you can say goodbye to a sale. The buyers will be round at once knocking on the door, eager to do a deal directly with the vendors.
What I do is to give the address out once the prospective buyer has contacted me by email and shown genuine interest in the property. Then I have a contact address for them and can intervene if ever they try to buy directly from the vendor.
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That was fortunate for us as the wonderful view was not photographed at all and that was our prime concern.
When the agent immobilier came out to see the house and discovered the view she made several more viewings, but we were in first and had all our ducks in a row.
We were meant to live here!
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Tony - I sympathise with your point of view: but one of the good things about Leggetts is that they have a centralised admin unit, part of whose function is to keep up with frequent updates in regulations. A nightmare? (And in reply to Frédéric Beckker’s earlier response, all the agencies he mentions are franchises. Leggetts have, pretty exceptionally, gone a different route - their agents are self-employed ( I also note damian john’s very interesting comments about Leggetts).
The whole scene is vastly different from the property Listing system you were used to in the US. I recall that - when I first bought a home in France 20 years ago, and expressed my disbelief at the fees I was expected to pay - the agent said “But in France we do much more than you are used to”. He waffled on about preparing the contrat, liaising with the notaire, contacting the service providers, and all of the rest of the bullshit.
However, the French government has put regulatory requirements in their way now. This includes the seemingly basic need that the Agent must extablish that you actually own what you want them to sell. But - I’m sure you know the story of the gullible American who was approached by an impeccably dressed Frenchman in a café in Paris, who offered to negotiate a purchase of the Eiffel tower for a substantial retainer . . . .
Why don’t they or the owners/family at least sweep up the tide-wrack of dead flies, leaves, detritus general?
If the family way with clothes is to strew them all over the rooms, why not pile them in a corner out of shot and then re-strew them?
How to sell a house/kitchen - not
Have someone cut the grass down from waist height to shin height so you don’t get soaked wading thru’ the jungle to be shown a slab whereunder lies a non-conforming fosse?
But some are helpful. One agent warned me that the people next door had a nuisance dog. I’ve lived next door to one of those and the result is utter misery. Another warned me that the property was ‘on a busy main road’. See below…
When the two agents for Folliott, who both insisted that it was he who would show me a house, had been ‘arbitrated’ and the winner sent me the address, he could have mentioned in the original l.b.c. listing that it was on a main road. When I saw it on G.maps - main road south out of Sourdeval, opposite a large Renault service workshops, I cancelled, 2 hrs before the R-V.
On the other hand, a young +/- 30 y.o. notaire has coached me in the making of an offer, knowing what the family will accept. He also made very sound suggestions on how the property could be fettled, with ball-park figures. It’s a contender.
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Sorry about that Graham: pressed the wrong ‘reply’ button…
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I don’t know anyone who’s worked for them so can’t really help but I do enjoy watching some of their YouTube videos every now and again.
When we were selling our houses I always used to retain the right to sell privately and would tell the Agent if we had had a private viewing and where the lead had come from.
In UK the local paper always has pages of papers saying either the road or the area, so people can look first and not waste anyone’s time.
Are you saying that the French are not honest enough to be trusted with this information?
Yes, Jane, that’s how it works here, I’ve bought and sold half a dozen places, all but one privately. It’s such a different market which is why the practices are so different. Obviously, the French don’t think there’s anything odd at all about how agents work, that’s what they’re used to 
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I always wondered how families are looking for homes in France where I come from it’s important to now how the area is how far away schools are and things like that but in France the often say that is in one village but the it’s 5 villages away Leggett are experts at that
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I think you should check some facts before you start making fatuous and insulting generalisations.
You are correct that there is a distinction between ‘agent immobilier’ and ‘agent commercial immobilier’ as you obviously know but it does not mean that all the latter are just pieces of shit as you seem to think.
Commercial agents do have to undertake training courses and exams each year, or at least they do if the agency is registered with FNAIM, and after a number of years they can undertake to be immobiliers in their own right. Some people will take it seriously and offer attentive service, others will regard it as a cash cow but will inevitably realise the error of their ways. It could be thought of as an apprenticeship or on the job training.
To apply such a broad brush is as unintelligent as accusing all lawyers of being ambulance chasers or all accountants of being self indulgent bean counters.
We all have to deal with the public who can likewise either be charming and agreable or unpleasant and aggravating.
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The bottom line is that the housing market here is very different to the UK…here French people in the main buy to live in it…in UK its often seen as an asset to make money!
In uk the “brochure” is glossy with professional pics’ with real marketing often for commission of 1.5%, here its a print run of the PC and 6% commission.
I told an agent here that on a £500k UK house commission would be £10k…she was astounded.
You can’t compare the world of UK agents with French, each operates in different propery worlds
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And not all agents charge 6% here in France by the way John. Some are considerably lower.
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We wouldn’t use an agent as our friends who are retired from Lyon say that they could put the word round and we would have people knocking on our door.
A good agent guides you through all the hurdles.
An agent who is untrained has not the knowledge.
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Hi Tory,
This is a very interesting thread and you have received some very varied advice.
My suggestion to anyone considering becoming a real estate agent in France would be to contact the agency directly to discuss in more detail what the role involves and establish whether it is in fact the job for you.
It would seem that you have the interest & motivation, however, one must be properly trained as training is key to your success in this field, this is a career choice and both vendors & clients rely on your professionalism & knowledge for their future sale/purchase.
When starting your own business, as this would be, you need to be aware that there would be a period of time before you would start to see the financial gains, this is quite normal in any new business … how quickly is largely dependant on the time you invest into it (the dog might have to walk himself on occasion!)
If you think you’ve got what it takes and keen to find out more then visit the Leggett website where you can request an online recruitment brochure 
I have actually worked for Leggett and really, you get out what you put in. Some agents make beyond an excellent living, pulling in more than 6 figures. I featured in the Top 10/15 agents and made a nice living by my third year.
They have beein trying to move to a more corporate structure with area managers then sub manager, mentors and that type of thing. That didn’t sit well with me- after all, you are self-employed, you do not have to report your holiday dates to anyone else.
You will need income behind you to get you going, but the rewards are there.
Trevor Leggett is a decent enough fellow. Like anything else, it is the sort of business you can be dodgy in if you are that way inclined. Personally, I always considered my clients as people who I might end up passing in the street, so was always upfront and honest.
It can be extremely stressful, which was the main reason I gave it up- there really are no holidays because sales always have to be finalised.
You get a percentage of the sale, this goes up the more you sell. They might be a good entry to the business if your French is mediocre. if you have a good level of French, there are other firms who will offer much higher percentages of commission. hope that helps.
I know several Leggetts agents and they all have other jobs/income streams, currently Leggetts have 150 houses for sale in the Charente Maritime spread across 20 agents, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that’s around 7 houses per agent which to me isn’t enough to earn a living given that you’re non-salaried.
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What are the other firms with higher percentages?