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And again re-agents.


maude
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Why such secrecy about the location of a property for sale.I have heard all the previous blurb from agents etc re the possibility of " back deals" and the loss of income,but I know the areas I want to live near me.I wouldnt believe the difficulties on rejecting agents offered properties in locations I,m not interested in,and then they WANT 5-7%!!!Save all the wasted time,mileage and bring fees down to a sensible level!Everyone may then benefit including agents.It should also in a country that deems "qualifications" paramount ,to ensure agents are compelled to gain certification in photography.I have never ever seen such bismal photo,s and descriptions.There, feel much better ,but am still depressed on realising a sale,but more importantly a purchase. Maude.
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I don't like to knock agents as a generalisation.  We went viewing with a very pleasant agent last week and he used to run a restaurant.

This week, we went with an agent who was a financial advisor and he was a lot more knowledgeable.....but NOT about properties.

There we go but I still say that, in the right circumstances, they can be useful for sealing the deal and pushing things forward.

Some owners who are doing their own selling have even less clue than agents and it's very frustrating dealing with them.  Believe me, I speak from experience!

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The French estate agency sector suffers from a number of defects, including the fact that although it is highly regulated, a lot of the people you actually deal with are short term, temporary, part-time or independent negotiators. They may have little or no previous experience. It is only the owner of the business who is fully licensed and 'qualified' (by experience or certain types of university degree), and carries the required professional indemnity insurance.

Many (independent) negotiators, some of whom are now starting to call themselves 'property searchers', rely on a sub-licence from an agency, sometimes from the Prefecture in another department, and it is hard to imagine with what sort of controls on quality and competence are in place. The recent downturn in the property sector has led to a reduction in fulltime employees in favour of freelancers working on commission only. Many find it hard to earn a living and leave after a few weeks, and the result is inevitably constant turnover of personnel.

Poor photographs are often the result of the dire state in which many owners still offer their property for sale, and secrecy regarding precise location can be blamed on the system of owners signing sales mandates with several agencies - the result is too many negotiators competing to sell the sale property and earn a commission.  

The job is a tough one and I have every sympathy with those trying to make a living and offer a reasonable level of service to their clients.

P-D de R.

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I suppose though one does need to accept that 'this is the way it is done in France'.

I must admit personally, a lot of our time and the agents was wasted when we were viewing properties. In the UK we would have got the particulars including the address, carried out a drive by viewing and decided if the house and area looked OK and if it did then arrange a viewing.

It seemed to us that some agents would show properties that in no way met any of our criteria. In addtion, some of the details were totally incorrect. We flew over for a long weekend having seen details of a property on the Internet that sounded ideal - the property sounded good and the fact that it was on its own and private. When we arrived at the property there were all houses surrounding it with absolutely no privacy. However, we had arranged to view some other houses and did find our house.

As PDC says, some of the photos - washing and rubbish everywhere. Still, this is France

Paul

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[quote user="P2"]

I suppose though one does need to accept that 'this is the way it is done in France'.

[/quote]

Very good point. Too many people still expect France to be the same as England but with cheap houses and booze and better weather.

It might not be the best way, but it is the French way. French people have been satisfied with sketchy house particulars and poor photographs for years, and even those are a vast leap forward in information compared with what you get from a traditional notaire. So even if they aren't very good in our eyes it does seem rather churlish to complain - better to accept the limitations and get on with choosing your house.

As for the fees, there are many reasons why they are higher in France than in England. Particularly at present, selling houses is a competitive business and if agents could reduce the fees substantially to corner the market and stay in business then they would. About the lowest you will find is 4% inc TVA. Even notaires, where house sales are a sideline alongside the legal work, charge 2.5% to 5% plus TVA.

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