Selling property in France experience
Discussion
Bearing in mind :
I'd also say that being able to see a single f++king line when replying thanks to this ludicrous massive grey box at the bottom of the screen is almost worse!
smifffymoto said:
A buyer has finally been found for my wife's Aunts house.It has been on and off the market since 2016.
Originally valued by agents at 215000,accepted 182500 today.Buyers are out there but they want to haggle hard.
I'd say:Originally valued by agents at 215000,accepted 182500 today.Buyers are out there but they want to haggle hard.
smifffymoto said:
Wifes Aunt just signed the compromis to sell at 162,000 Euro.
Isn't necessarily that bad, location and situation dependent. I'd also say that being able to see a single f++king line when replying thanks to this ludicrous massive grey box at the bottom of the screen is almost worse!
I think so, a friend sold their place through them after about 40 enquiries and it was he who put us onto them. I've just had an email this morning from a lady in Lille who came to view in May and want's a second viewing now on Friday/Saturday this week, I got the feeling that at the last viewing she wasn't that interested so maybe she is doing a second elimination round. The first time she came she said that she had about 10 properties to view in the week that she was down here all via Greenacres.
WyrleyD said:
I think so, a friend sold their place through them after about 40 enquiries and it was he who put us onto them. I've just had an email this morning from a lady in Lille who came to view in May and want's a second viewing now on Friday/Saturday this week, I got the feeling that at the last viewing she wasn't that interested so maybe she is doing a second elimination round. The first time she came she said that she had about 10 properties to view in the week that she was down here all via Greenacres.
Think its something to defiantly consider than and thanks. Once we have the final check done we can advertise I'd say!
Just whilst I'm thinking about this for anyone selling in France , make sure your local Marie knows your house is for sale , word of mouth sales aren't anything to be scared of in France and if your buyer is French they'll probably go to the Marie's office first and ask if they know of any properties for sale , it saves them the agents fee .
I sold by word of mouth it it went flawlessly , the agents don't really do anything apart from advertising and bringing the client round .
I sold by word of mouth it it went flawlessly , the agents don't really do anything apart from advertising and bringing the client round .
Kev_Mk3 said:
On with local agents or on the web?
We are waiting on the fos checks before we can get it on the market. Only been waiting since start of June..............
Hmmm - wondering why you have delayed? We are considering selling our house and had an immobilier round to value and advise. We were told that none of those termite/asbestos/lead etc certificates are needed until you have a buyer and the deal is in process. Similarly a Cert d'Assainissement (or whatever it is called) is not needed provided the contract is worded appropriately to exonerate you from future responsibilities. In our case this is important because we have been inspected and are "non-compliant" (as are about 80% French installations). We live in a mountain village and very few of the properties comply - some physically can't because of the terrain -ultimately it is the responsibility of the Mairie but they have no money - so it is a catch 22 situation. We are waiting on the fos checks before we can get it on the market. Only been waiting since start of June..............
Edited by Beggarall on Friday 3rd August 17:25
Our lady came this morning with mother and "ladyfriend" in tow, stayed for over an hour and lunchtime we got a text saying that she is interested in purchasing and is coming again tomorrow with her notaire. I guess this is where the negotiating is going to get interesting as we have already dropped the price 10k this week and when she first came it was 40k more expensive than it is now. I guess we are in a strongish position as we already have a "lapsed" compromis ready to be re-signed as the original buyers are still keen so we won't be going below the price that is already on the table.
Beggarall said:
Hmmm - wondering why you have delayed? We are considering selling our house and had an immobilier round to value and advise. We were told that none of those termite/asbestos/lead etc certificates are needed until you have a buyer and the deal is in process. Similarly a Cert d'Assainissement (or whatever it is called) is not needed provided the contract is worded appropriately to exonerate you from future responsibilities. In our case this is important because we have been inspected and are "non-compliant" (as are about 80% French installations). We live in a mountain village and very few of the properties comply - some physically can't because of the terrain -ultimately it is the responsibility of the Mairie but they have no money - so it is a catch 22 situation.
Strange we where advised had to have them before we could get it on the market. Mairie knows we want to sell also.Edited by Beggarall on Friday 3rd August 17:25
Completing the sale of my Mums house in Normandy at the end of the month.
Built by my parents about 15 years ago so not your classic 'moving to France' fayre but nicely done with about 2500sq.ft and decent gardens. Pretty village with a bar, about a mile from the A84 and two miles from the nearest town.
Started using a local French agent as well as one more geared up to UK enquiries accepting maybe not quite their thing. Not much interest from either. Sorting probate papers for my late Dad, Notaire suggested he had a go as not on exclusive contract and bang, deal done to relocating local in a week at the price we wanted.
As an agent myself in the UK, I found the approach to marketing to be a bit basic. Photos taken on 'phones, no floorplans on offer either. Said nothing as realise it's their market and not mine and it seems not to matter anyway so glad I kept my mouth shut!
We expected this to be a long and drawn out process but have been pleasantly surprised.
Built by my parents about 15 years ago so not your classic 'moving to France' fayre but nicely done with about 2500sq.ft and decent gardens. Pretty village with a bar, about a mile from the A84 and two miles from the nearest town.
Started using a local French agent as well as one more geared up to UK enquiries accepting maybe not quite their thing. Not much interest from either. Sorting probate papers for my late Dad, Notaire suggested he had a go as not on exclusive contract and bang, deal done to relocating local in a week at the price we wanted.
As an agent myself in the UK, I found the approach to marketing to be a bit basic. Photos taken on 'phones, no floorplans on offer either. Said nothing as realise it's their market and not mine and it seems not to matter anyway so glad I kept my mouth shut!
We expected this to be a long and drawn out process but have been pleasantly surprised.
Being an agent you'll know - it only takes one buyer!
450Sq.m place around the corner from ours in Haute Vienne (100ish is barns mind), needs a complete run through, family have been there 60 years and it shows. Started at 450, now 275, people look, mainly to see how big it really is, Brits who would usually relish a massive refurb are on tighter budgets it seems.
Another on the market 4 years at 400K has gone up in price 5%. Go figure.
People here buy at 100K, maybe 150 if English-icised, mainly retirees, there ain't a lot of work...
450Sq.m place around the corner from ours in Haute Vienne (100ish is barns mind), needs a complete run through, family have been there 60 years and it shows. Started at 450, now 275, people look, mainly to see how big it really is, Brits who would usually relish a massive refurb are on tighter budgets it seems.
Another on the market 4 years at 400K has gone up in price 5%. Go figure.
People here buy at 100K, maybe 150 if English-icised, mainly retirees, there ain't a lot of work...
Our first house which we sold to friends 12 years ago has just sold on the first viewing after 4 weeks on the market.
Don’t do the checks said the agent as they could be out of date when you sell.
Offer made last Wednesday , inspections made Tuesday this week compromise due to be signed in 2 weeks.
Caught us all by surprise
Don’t do the checks said the agent as they could be out of date when you sell.
Offer made last Wednesday , inspections made Tuesday this week compromise due to be signed in 2 weeks.
Caught us all by surprise
Had an enquiry about our house on Saturday which I dismissed as tyre kicking, Low and behold today same person contacts us via WhatsApp instead of email for more details like square metres, photos (in the advert), location (in the advert) and a few other things that are also in the advert as well as the price!!
He then telephones saying that he has finance for all but €50k of the price and he will pay that €50k under the table as it were.
I smell scam particularly as his initial contact included a phone number that belongs to the Holy See, Vatican State although I fail to see how the scam would work as obviously all monies (apart from the €50k) need to go through the notaire so I'm thinking that he could get the property at a €50k discount and deny all knowledge of the agreement.
Anyway, told him to get lost or contact our notaire with a proper offer.
He then telephones saying that he has finance for all but €50k of the price and he will pay that €50k under the table as it were.
I smell scam particularly as his initial contact included a phone number that belongs to the Holy See, Vatican State although I fail to see how the scam would work as obviously all monies (apart from the €50k) need to go through the notaire so I'm thinking that he could get the property at a €50k discount and deny all knowledge of the agreement.
Anyway, told him to get lost or contact our notaire with a proper offer.
We completed the sale of a pair of Gites on Tuesday and the cash was in the bank on Thursday morning.
My experience of local agents follows what has been said before. They are way too expensive and pretty-dammed useless.
I thought they were worth €170k, but the Guy Houquet agent could see no upside. I think in hoping to be retained they came up with a figure of €150k, but I got the feeling that they thought €130k was what they would sell for.
As they could not see the potential customer base, we decided to try DIY for a while. We advertised with French Property News and GreenAcres and within the week, we had received two offers and a visit from a really nice Dutch guy, who we wish had bought as he would have been a great neighbour, but he wanted something much bigger. This was at the beginning of May.
Largely through our own ineptitude it took until the end of July to get the CdV signed, because we had not employed a Geometre to divide our deed. Then French holidays and 2-month to give Mairie a chance to buy, so it was October for completion.
We have sold to a Brit, who I suspect will not be here in 5-years time. She cannot speak a word of French but imagines “it is her future”.
We selected the Notaire because he spoke English as we suspected we would sell to Brits. He was a tad officious, but was very reliable.
The selling price was below the construction cost in 2005, so we had no CGT liability and we save €15k by not having an agent.
But I do believe there are buyers out there, providing the price is realistic.
My experience of local agents follows what has been said before. They are way too expensive and pretty-dammed useless.
I thought they were worth €170k, but the Guy Houquet agent could see no upside. I think in hoping to be retained they came up with a figure of €150k, but I got the feeling that they thought €130k was what they would sell for.
As they could not see the potential customer base, we decided to try DIY for a while. We advertised with French Property News and GreenAcres and within the week, we had received two offers and a visit from a really nice Dutch guy, who we wish had bought as he would have been a great neighbour, but he wanted something much bigger. This was at the beginning of May.
Largely through our own ineptitude it took until the end of July to get the CdV signed, because we had not employed a Geometre to divide our deed. Then French holidays and 2-month to give Mairie a chance to buy, so it was October for completion.
We have sold to a Brit, who I suspect will not be here in 5-years time. She cannot speak a word of French but imagines “it is her future”.
We selected the Notaire because he spoke English as we suspected we would sell to Brits. He was a tad officious, but was very reliable.
The selling price was below the construction cost in 2005, so we had no CGT liability and we save €15k by not having an agent.
But I do believe there are buyers out there, providing the price is realistic.
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