How to search for Property in France

There are two main problems in searching for a property for sale in France.

- The first is that there is no Multi Listing System between estate agencies, so to have a chance of finding even a quarter of the properties on offer in any area you have to search through thousands of listings from hundreds of agencies in any small region.
- The second problem is that a large percentage (possibly half) of all properties sold are not through estate-agents but are sold direct by owners. This always was the traditional way to sell your home in France.

Some websites are only for a “for sale by owner” service and many are very rude about agencies, I found this comment on a site today - (Mesdames et Messieurs les agents immobiliers, nos annonceurs ont choisi de traiter entre particuliers. Soyez donc aimable de ne pas gaspiller votre temps et votre énergie en les importunant inutilement. Soyez-en remerciés par avance.) - in other words “b** off if you are an agent”.

By the very nature of the Internet, with no central listing service and owners putting many adverts on free and paid advertising sites, this often means that the information available is out-of-date and inaccurate.

A whole industry of “property finders” has sprung up, for a fee or for a commission individuals will offer their services to “find” you a property. Often working outside of the laws of France, these “finders” look through the lists of local agents and act as aggregators for you, if you buy they will share the commission from the agent. They are tolerated by some licensed agents, who pay colossal taxes and insurances, as they do bring in a little extra business, but by creating yet more listing permutations they are making your search for a property more complex.

Because there is no effective multi listing service in France, this means that every registered agent will seek a mandat (an agreement with an owner) to sell the property - most owners will grant a mandat to any agent who asks and this can mean dozens of agencies all selling the same properties - in reality most owners will work with five or six agencies. However as agents do not want to get their “stock” of properties too diluted, this means that they will not show a photo of the front of the property or in most cases even advertise which town or village a property is in, lest  competitor agencies will find the property and ask for another mandat.

All this makes it very difficult for a buyer, firstly to even know where the property is or what it looks like (pretty basic and vitally important information) - it also means a prospective buyer spends countless hours looking through details and finding the same property described in different ways and at different prices, yet none of these descriptions will say what the property looks like or where it is.

The prices vary because agents will add different commissions (typically from four percent to ten percent) - owners will also increase or reduce prices and not tell all the agents they are dealing with, they often forget who they have selling their house anyway.

So, how do you search for a property in France (apart from asking me of course)?

My advice is by a process of elimination. France is a big and diverse country, every village even in a small region, can be dramatically different, this is all part of the charm. Even in our small village, there are two boulangeries, we choose to go to the one furthest from us as we believe they have the best bread, the price is the same.

What I am trying to say is that you can only make a choice if you know what the options are. A house is a house, but a good home is a location. So first choose where you want to live, then look for somewhere there. If you start by looking at the house, then firstly you are wasting your time on the Internet as you will not be told where it is located and cannot see a photo of the front of the house anyway. It is rather like buying a car by mail-order based on a photo of a hub-cap and a price tag, not even knowing the make or style.

I have often said first find your village, sit in the cafe, chat in the boulangerie, ask questions at the Mairie - eliminate the villages and towns which you don’t like.

When you have decided the location - then decide the price - not just for buying, but for maintaining or adapting. Older stone houses will cost much more to maintain or alter than a modern villa. (very much more, believe me) - cost in the Notaire fees and furnishing etc. Set your budget carefully and eliminate anything over this.

Decide on you minimum needs and wishes - set these carefully and eliminate anything outside these reference points.

By now you have fixed a place, type and price - if nothing is apparent - then wait and keep looking - but try to do this with one or two agencies you trust. By working with them, if they are any good and by now you will have eliminated the bad ones, they will take you seriously and will keep trying to find something which comes onto the market and let you know quickly.

And if you are looking for a great agent in Languedoc, you can always contact me.