A Really Good Agent Is…

We’re always looking for good people who can work with us to help our clients move to France and find property to rent or purchase. It’s not easy.
Firstly, we seek out Americans and Canadians because our clients are mostly North Americans. This doesn’t mean that we won’t work with people from other cultures, but the cultural aspects of working together effectively are very important. When North Americans are working with North Americans, there is conversation they don’t even need to have because they understand each other so well. Remember, we’re “French Property the American Way!”
We find that Australians are very similar to Americans for a long list of reasons, as are New Zealanders, so they can also play a role. And surprisingly (or not), the Irish can bridge the cultural gap very well…but they still have to learn the nuances of the differences. You might not realize it, but the British are as different to us as are the French, except for language, and even that can have its challenges.
Working with the French considering what we do is tough as the culture clash can be too acute…unless that person has spent a lot of time in the U.S. or Canada. Then that person can actually be our best resource, spanning the cultural gap even more effectively than most thanks to their bi-cultural nature.

Patty Sadauskas
Why is this so important? Because we are helping someone build a life in France which could be very foreign to them depending on what “default modes” they carry with them. We live differently and we have different expectations of what we want out of life. Just use bathrooms as an example of how we might all envision the perfect bathroom differently.
Italians won’t want to live without a bidet. (What do we know of bidets?) The British are still installing one faucet for cold and one faucet for hot in their bathroom sinks! (We’d never imagine such inefficient plumbing!) Americans want their big walk-in showers with rainheads (although a few of us still need our bathtub time!). While the French must have their toilets separate, and don’t care if there is a sink in the same “petit coin,” which is a thing of recent years. (We Americans might think that was disgusting.)
The point is, that we all see life differently and it’s important for our staff to fully understand and be “empathetic,” not just sympathetic to their needs.

Willow and Zerina
You can’t land in France and expect to be clued in on the cultural clashes just because you read a ton of books on the subject. Until you’ve lived in France for years, can you fully grasp it. That means that our agents must have a level of experience to equal the task. And we’re not even talking about knowledge of real estate…that’s another subject.
Lots of folks who were real estate agents in the U.S. or Canada think they can simply come to France, hang out their shingle and do the same job here. But, it’s not the same job. And what we do, compared to the other agencies, is very different.
Most real estate agencies work hard to acquire their “listings” to sell and then go about selling them. The difference between France and particularly the U.S. is as wide as the Mississippi because of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in the U.S. that provides for every listing to go on the market at the same time. Everyone has equal access to it…all agents and all buyers. The agents assume they will share their commissions and the buyers only need to deal with one agent to find all properties.
That is not true in France. There is no MLS and therefore every agency simply wants to sell their own listings. (There is an association in Nice called the “MLS,” but that’s not what it is, so don’t be fooled.) They work for the seller, not the buyer. And they don’t care what the buyer buys as long as it’s one of their listings. They will not say anything that might deter that decision to buy that property, either, meaning that even if they don’t lie, they won’t always tell the truth—and certainly not share information with the buyer that might hinder the sale.
The selling agent might be very personable and might seem very open to searching on behalf of the buyer, but the truth lies under the surface. That agent won’t go the extra mile to find properties on which they have no commission share, for the obvious reason that they aren’t getting paid, unless the buyer is willing to pay them for their time and introduction. And buyers’ agents get the most raw deal, because they aren’t paid by the buyer to do the search. They depend on sharing commissions with the selling agencies, and the agencies don’t want to work with them for that reason. So, in effect, the buyers are kicking their tires, they are working like dogs, yet the agencies will withhold their best properties from their grasp. They are in a lose-lose situation doing nothing wonderful for anyone.
All of this is the reason we exist. The buyer needs to have access to all properties on the market and be protected from being sold a property that doesn’t actually suit them. It’s worth the extra expense to have that kind of insurance. This is too large a purchase, and your abode is too important to a happy life, to trust an agent who’s working for the other side of the team!
Our agents need to know the French rules of real estate, but that’s the easy part because that can be easily learned. Yes, it’s all different, but that’s the mechanical and relatively easy part of the job. The hardest part is managing the clients’ expectations. Remember, they come from North America where life is very different and often expect their adventure into real estate to be similar to what they’ve experienced back home.
A really good agent knows not only how to find properties, but how to create real relationships with the agencies, the agents and the clients. A really good agent knows how to guide their clients every step of the way with a lot of patience, remembering what it was like when they first landed in France. A really good agent has a good knowledge of all of France, not just Paris or Nice or Provence or elsewhere…but all of France…and why one local might work better than another for all the right reasons. A really good agent has a working knowledge of French, but isn’t necessarily fluent. A really good agent has a good solid grasp of architecture and can advise a client on how to install a second bathroom, or the best ways of adding air-conditioning. A really good agent is honest—really honest—and points out all the aspects of a property that need serious consideration.

Wanda Pinarello (partner agent), Roni Sexton (concierge), Delia Dobreanu (concierge), Patty Sadauskas, Adrian, Ella Dyer and Kathy Grassi
That’s what we do. We’re consultants, not sales agents. If a property doesn’t meet our standards, we don’t offer it for sale. And we have high standards. So, our clients can trust that we’ll give them the best advice and ensure they enter into every transaction with their eyes wide open. We will do everything in our power to ensure you don’t make a mistake…a costly mistake.
We’re looking for clients of course, but we’re looking for qualified property consultants, too. Some of our best were once property managers/concierges who learned the ropes from the ground up. Others just have the talent for the job.
Do you have the talent for the job? Do you have the experience you need to cross the cultural divide? Do you have the ability to work independently, largely unsupervised, and take control of the project and the client? Do you know how to guide a client by showing your confidence and enthusiasm for what you truly believe in? Can you be trusted? Are you willing to advise a client not based on your reward, but theirs?
And BTW, our clients are the nicest people ever. They are average North Americans neither rich or poor, who are open-minded, adventuresome, risk-takers, well traveled, well educated, and thrilled to be improving their lives by moving to France. Working with them is a thrill as they are appreciative and ultimately very happy they made the move and trusted us to help them!
We know a good agent when we see them. We’re willing to train our agents, but there’s a lot you have to learn on your own that can’t be trained. If you really think you have it in you, then give us a shout. Email us today!
A la prochaine…
Adrian Leeds
The Adrian Leeds Group®
Adrian with Laurel Zuckerman
P.S. Be sure to read the report and see the photos from yesterday’s Après-Midi and watch the video of Laurel Zuckerman’s presentation about Restoring Art to Its Rightful Owners…Some Surprising Obstacles…her personal story going up against the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to reclaim her grandfather’s Picasso that once hung on his dining room wall.
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It used to be true that British homes had 2 separate taps , “the tradition dates back to a time when hot and cold water were kept separate to prevent contamination through cross connection,” .https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-42948046. However you only find them in unmodernised properties now.