Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera

During the webinar last week, “100 Days of Trump. Is it time to Move to France?,” hosted by Fab French Insurance, a whole slew of questions were posed in the Q&A, some of which were answered, but many were not…there was simply not enough time to answer them all!

(You can watch it for yourself on YouTube if you weren’t there to view it live. Here’s how to watch it on our YouTube channel.)

As usual, we ask people to pose questions “on topic” and not to make them too personal, but inevitably, people do the opposite in the interest of learning as much as they can, as fast as they can, as free as they can. We’re not complaining, mind you, because it helps us better understand the needs of our clients.

The system records all the questions for us, so when the webinar was done, we received a comprehensive list of them and their sources. Again, this is very useful to us as we learn not only what people are concerned about, but who is asking them.

There were questions about…

• PUMA (Universal Health Protection), with people worried what the costs were associated with it;

• Details about the France-US tax treaty;
• The ability to open a French bank account;

• Finding property in various parts of France;
• Bilingual school options for kids;

• The political leanings in certain areas of France;
• What type of company is best to set-up in order to work remotely;
• How accepting are the French of the gay community;

• How to circumvent inheritance taxes;
• If a real estate agent in the U.S. can get licensed in France;
• Lots and lots of questions about many different cities, villages and regions of France—if they are good places to live;

• Shipping personal belongings to France, and how to avoid the customs taxes;

• Concerns about safety and terrorism;

• The cost of property ownership;
• Lots and lots of questions about the various visas, which visas are best, and how to obtain them;
• Etc., etc., etc.

What’s crystal clear is that every single person comes to the idea of living in France with a different set of objectives and a different set of circumstances.

The webinars are designed to provide an overview and offer as much general information as possible, but no webinar will ever fully answer the questions that a personal consultation with myself or my senior staff, or with the professionals we recommend…will.

In fact, we won’t perform our property search services without going through a consultation first. It’s simply too important to get a complete perspective on what you are trying to accomplish before we set out to accomplish it! Nine times out of ten, our clients come to the meeting without the information to make informed decisions and end up 180 degrees from where they started.

And it all begins with us. It’s like going to a General Practitioner before seeing the Specialists. That’s how it works in France with medical issues, and that’s how it works with moving to France. You start with us and then we help you make rational choices, take the right direction and recommend the professionals who can help you along the path—the tax advisors, the immigration attorneys, the insurance brokers, the financial advisors, etc., the mortgage brokers, etc., etc., etc

Our group is the best in the business. Every resource we have has been personally vetted by me. I won’t work with someone with whom I have not had personal experience first! And if we ever get a complaint, I can assure you that we verify both sides of the story.

The problem is that we are swamped with requests and there’s only so much time in the day. This is true for all of us…for all us advisors. The demand from Americans at this time is overwhelming. We’re working as hard and fast as we can to make you all happy. We really do want to help each and every one of you, but we’re only human, too.

I have another qualified consultant working with me, Patty Sadauskas. She’s been by my side for 10 years and is even more knowledgeable than me about a lot of things. Patty has lived both in Paris and Nîmes before deciding Nice would be her home, so she’s had a taste of different French cities. She and I see eye-to-eye on just about everything, too. Both she and I can hear your story and give you strategic direction, not just answer your questions like those noted above. Often, we feel more like life coaches than property consultants! And that’s what makes the difference. We don’t know too many people who can do what we do.

Adrian Leeds Group consultant, Patty Sadauskas

That’s not to say that the staff doesn’t do a great job doing what they do—finding property, or selling property—but the two of us have what it takes to guide you the way we believe you should be guided. And that’s what makes it hard to fit you all into our schedule.

At present, Patty and I are booked solid through June and into July. Our tax advisor, Jonathan Hadida, told me recently that he’s booked up into August, doing as many as five consultations a day. We’re all working as long and hard as we can to make your dreams come true…and that’s our goal.

Some clients have gotten frustrated and go off on their own because they can’t get on the schedule fast enough to suit them, and that can be a bad idea. They are sure to make mistakes that could cost both time and money, not to mention anxiety.

So, what’s the answer?

If you want to move to France or make an investment here, do it the smart way. Plan ahead. Have patience. Get on the roster as fast as you can. Meanwhile, participate in all of our webinars or watch the recordings on our YouTube channel, read every article and newsletter, never stop digging for the answers.

There is one thing you must STOP doing: don’t listen to social media pundits who don’t know what they’re talking about. Stick with the professionals who do. Always, always, always get professional advice. The price is worth paying. And if you don’t pay the price, you might find out the hard way.

A la prochaine…