Buyer Beware: Do Not Do it Alone

I’m writing you from Nice, my second home and “other lover” — Paris being my first “love.” I came here to perform visits to properties with a client who hired us to do the search, advise and then manage the process from beginning to end.

This is very different from a traditional real estate agency in France and I’ve discovered that this difference isn’t all that obvious or fully understood, particularly by Americans who are familiar with the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in the U.S. Expectations by North Americans coming to France to seek a property investment here should first learn this valuable lesson before making a move toward spending hundreds of thousands of hard-earned dollars (or euros as in this case).

Let’s start with understanding the U.S. MLS system and why that benefits the buyer.

“A multiple listing service (MLS, also multiple listing system or multiple listings service) is a suite of services that real estate brokers use to establish contractual offers of compensation (among brokers) and accumulate and disseminate information to enable appraisals. A multiple listing service’s database and software is used by real estate brokers in real estate (or aircraft broker in other industries for example), representing sellers under a listing contract to widely share information about properties with other brokers who may represent potential buyers or wish to work with a seller’s broker in finding a buyer for the property or asset. The listing data stored in a multiple listing service’s database is the proprietary information of the broker who has obtained a listing agreement with a property’s seller.” (wikipedia.org/)

In effect, thanks to the MLS, every property is on the market and accessible by every agent and every buyer. This means that you, as the buyer, can go to one agent and have access to all properties on the market at that time. The agents are fully resigned to sharing the information, as well as their fees. Therefore, you seek out one agent and trust that agent to represent you, meaning that the agent then represents the buyer, even though the seller has contracted with the agent to “list” or represent their property.

This does not exist in France. There are websites that provide open listings for the agencies, therefore placing many of the properties available for viewing, but there is no assumed sharing of information or fees as there is with the MLS. The agents work exclusively for the sellers and prefer not to share their commissions unless forced to do so and they are not normally open to performing a “search” for a client to find properties outside of their agency for this reason — this is work for which they earn less.

This is just one, but very important reason we exist. I was the first person in the Paris market to offer this service to North Americans as long ago as 2002 when I was working for a firm that catered to North Americans seeking a new life outside of their native country. The need was there and we provided it. In addition to the search aspect, our clients needed advice about a market with which they weren’t familiar, needed assistance in dealing with a language difference, different laws and regulations and a very different system with which they were familiar. They didn’t know the resources and needed these referrals as well.

As long as the buyer hires and pays us independently for this work, without having to share the commissions with the agency, we are treated royally and with respect. We have access to the best properties on the market and appreciated by the agencies who don’t have the time or wherewithal to “hand hold” a foreign client. This means that we fully work for the buyer and act as a kind of “insurance” that the buyer will make the best investment — as the agents have only one goal — and that is to sell a property, regardless of whether it fits the client or not.

Very recently here in Nice, Canadians working on their own visited 30 properties with about five different agents/agencies. At the end of their intensive search, they chose a property that they believed “fit” them well. They hired us to assist them in their purchase — another service we provide for someone who has already identified a property, but wish to have us do the due diligence and provide all the resources. They had already contacted a Notaire on their own and started the purchase process. Upon reviewing the documents, I immediately discovered that the homeowner bylaws for that property did not allow furnished rentals — so this meant that their need to rent the property short term would not be possible without risk.

The listing agent didn’t bother to inquire about this before showing the property, even though she knew they wanted to rent it. In fact, it would not surprise me if most of the properties they visited actually would not have “fit” their needs, but because the agents only want to sell what they have in their listings, they will show just about anything, hoping that at least one will work out well. I have known the agents to lie, or not disclose certain information for this very reason.

Many people who have a lot of experience with real estate in North America still want to believe that it works the same way here…and that’s simply not true. I’ve seen too many people who love doing things on their own end up falling into the pitfalls along the way, simply because they didn’t have good advice, or chose not to take advice from others. Those who believe they are more knowledgeable than the experts are the ones that fall the hardest and farthest.

Whether you employ us or another firm to advise and assist, I urge you: do not do this alone. You are about to invest hundreds of thousands of hard-earned dollars (or euros as in this case), so why not spend a few more for the insurance of knowing you’re spending them wisely?

A bientôt,

Adrian Leeds
Adrian Leeds Group

Respond to Adrian:
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P.S. If you are interested in learning more…it all begins with a one-on-one consultation, by phone or in person, in which we work with you to determine your objectives and parameters for an investment in France. The cost of the consultation applies toward the services, so nothing is lost along the way. To schedule your time with me personally, email me at [email protected].