A Walk Through Our Website

When we were locked down, avoiding Covid-19 in 2020, when properties couldn’t be visited and everyone was holed up trying to figure out how to manage such a catastrophic event in all of our lives, my team and I set out to complete our new website. It has been a five-year-long project with three different teams, because the task became insurmountable.

Those of you who have had the occasion to build a website for your own business are probably already thinking what idiots we were to have such a mountain to climb, but there were many valid reasons for the delay, and many that were not valid. The opportunity presented itself at that time to let go of everything else on our previously full plates and concentrate on the development of the site. One of the reasons for the delay—that in hindsight was idiotic—was not trusting one of our clients, who is a web developer, to do the job, because I was afraid of mixing our business relationship. That could have cost the final completion of the site by at least two years!

Another reason for the delay was the conundrum we were in as to how to effectively communicate all facets of our business and our community. How to present “the message” in the simplest, clearest way became an ongoing debate. We looked at untold numbers of “templates” —website designs that would make it easy—never to find one that could handle the tangled yarn of all we offer, from property consultation to publications to events to sales, etc., etc.

Nonetheless, Janet Hoover with Create Launch Grow Design; along with Lisa Anselmo, author, speaker, coach, and branding expert; my graphic designer daughter, Erica; and our in-house staff (Patty Sadauskas), were all at home like I was and had the time to devote to the project. The goal was to have it done by Thanksgiving 2020…and it was. After five years and several other teams, which was expensive enough to buy an apartment in France, we got results working with our last team…we could push the proverbial button and say so-long to a very antiquated site and hello to a new era.

Since the moment the site launched, life at the Adrian Leeds Group hasn’t been the same. Janet and Lisa warned us, that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) would explode. It did.

I’m telling you this now, almost two years later, because while I am very proud of the site, the point is that there is a cornucopia of information within the site that is available and free of which you can take advantage.

Start with ABOUT US. It’s here that you can learn why we even exist, meet our group of trusted staff, get information on all of our House Hunters International episodes, read what our clients have to say about us and discover our partners as well as what press we’ve gotten over the years.

OUR SERVICES could be our most important section.

Here’s where you can learn about all the soup-to-nuts property services we offer. You can consult with me (that’s where it all starts), and contract with us to find you a property to purchase or to rent. If you have a property you wish to sell, we do that, too—list and promote properties for sale—but only the ones we recommend our clients buy! We also offer a service to assist you in a purchase or a sale, which is different from our services to find a property or list your property for sale. This is designed for someone who has already identified a property to purchase or has a sale they need someone to manage. Check it out. On top of all this, we have associates who provide renovation and decoration services (Martine di Mattéo in Paris and Laura Poirier in Nice) and we have staff who can set up your utilities for a property you have rented or purchased using our services. If you need to have a formal evaluation of the value of your property in France, we can do that, too.

The PROPERTIES menu item shows off the very few properties we have listed—that’s because we don’t just list anything like other agencies. Remember what I said earlier—we will only offer properties we recommend our clients buy!

The link to our Fractional Ownership properties takes you to another link showing off all the fractional properties. There is only one share left in Le Charles V, but we have two properties in the works not yet on the site, both in Nice, with usage beginning in 2023. Stay tuned for more information by visiting the page often or emailing us.

When you get to INVEST IN FRANCE, this section is all about money!

How to find financing is top of the list. Our favored financial professionals are noted on the Plan Your Finances tab. These guys really know what they are doing. Planning ahead is key to success when it comes to French taxes! When you’re ready to make a purchase, you will want to know how to save money by converting your dollars to euros, so be sure to visit the Transfer Money menu item—why give your money to the banks to pay their fees? And as you may have heard, opening a French bank account isn’t all that easy, but we can facilitate that.

If you’re considering LIVING IN FRANCE or are already here, you will love our resources.

We offer up immigration specialists who can hold your hand through the process or manage all the legalities. Under this category, there’s a page that takes you through the neighborhoods of both Paris and Nice. And there’s an editorial about what you can expect so that you cross the cultural divide with finesse!

For those of you who have been reading OUR PUBLICATIONS for years or even a few weeks, all of them are here!

We worked really hard to get the archives up and running so that you can go as far back as the year 2000! I write three publications a week: a Nouvellettre® on Monday and Wednesday and French Property Insider on Thursdays. You can expect 50 issues a year of each of them! If you enjoy them, then be sure to pass them on to your friends to subscribe, too!

Before you leave the site, you will definitely want to visit the EVENTS category. Join us at “Après-Midi,” our monthly gathering in Paris where we always have a speaker and always have a lot of fun! It’s a great way to get to meet people and learn something new, all at the same time. Then, don’t miss the link to all of our various conferences, workshops, webinars, and other events that are all about educating you while building the community.

Last, but not least, is how to CONTACT US.

You can request a consultation which is where it all starts to get your move to France on the road. Or, if you have something worth letting our readers know about, then you might want to advertise with us.

I hope you’ll have fun visiting our website and discovering a world of information that will help you in every way we can to make this dream of yours to live in France come true. We here are living the dream. You can be, too!

A la prochaine…