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Are you trying to buy an apartment in Paris?
If so, let us make an educated guess about your client profile:
First, you are one of our many international clients, and do not live in France,
and may not even speak French.
Second, you want to buy an apartment in Paris because you love Paris (who doesn't?),
but you can't visit often, and when you do visit you don't want to spend all your
time looking at properties.
And third: You already know from having looked at apartments for sale in Paris that
most properties do not correspond with what you're looking for. In fact, for the
most part the whole search experience has so far been frustrating and unproductive.
Sound familiar?
LET OUR CHAUSSURES DO THE WALKING
Many of Just France Sales' clients are hard-working professionals who, despite their
desire to acquire a property in Paris, have little time to spend on what is probably
the most important phase of the whole acquisition process - identifying suitable
properties that are actually available for sale.
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We emphasize that last phrase - actually available for sale - because as real estate professionals we know that even though a property appears in agency listings, there may be hidden impediments to an actual sale (for example, the property is already under offer, one relative has refused to sign off on the sale, improvements were made without appropriate construction permits, etc.). Such impediments can block the purchase of a property for months or years.
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The easiest and most efficient way to find the property you're looking for may be
Just France Sales' Search and Acquire program. Please consider the following questions
to explore whether such a program fits your needs.
Have you:
- Decided you definitely wish to buy an apartment in Paris?
- Developed your criteria (size, location, features, budget, etc.) for the apartment that will meet your dreams and expectations?
- Explored your financial situation and financing alternatives to determine how you would structure the purchase?
- Figured out a time line for taking possession of the apartment?
- Checked your schedule and know when you can come to Paris to review apartments that meet your criteria?
- Determined that when the right property appears you are ready to move ahead and sign an agreement of sale?
If your answer to these questions is YES, you are a motivated buyer who is
ready to acquire an apartment in Paris now. All you need is to find the apartment
where you walk in and say voil� - I see myself here, this is the apartment
I have been looking for. This is my Paris pied-�-terre.
SEARCH AND ACQUIRE
As a motivated buyer you are a good candidate for Just France Sales' Search and
Acquire program. Through this program you can greatly facilitate the acquisition
process by tapping the expertise of a small but select team of apartment finders
in Paris.
Below are just a few advantages of working of the Just France Sales Search and Acquire
program:
- You will be working with a professional whose business is Paris real estate, and
who is keenly aware of day-to-day developments in the market.
- Instead of working with agents from many different real estate offices (there is
no multi-listing system in France), the buyer will have one single point of contact
who will spearhead the search project.
- There will be no language or cultural barrier, as the property finder speaks fluent
English and is sensitive to the needs of non-resident buyers whose opportunities
to visit Paris are limited. Moreover, your property finder is accustomed to working
with British, American, Asian and other clients whose requirements - for example,
a super kitchen, designer bathroom or a space devoted to entertainment - may be
different from what Parisian buyers typically expect.
- During the course of the search project the property finder will give you basic
advice on the legal process of acquiring a property in France, how to finance its
purchase, and the tax and estate consequences of different forms of ownership.
THE SEARCH PROGRAM: A WISE INVESTMENT
Many non-French owners of apartments in Paris have acquired their properties with
the help of a skilled apartment finder, who basically functions as a buyer's agent
in the Paris real estate market. Reports from these owners invariably affirm that
the fee paid for a professional search was a wise investment that helped short-circuit
the search process and find a dream apartment. Especially pleased were buyers who
acquired a great apartment because the property finder found it when it was like
a ripe peach ready to fall from the tree - that is, at the point where the seller
had decided to sell, but hadn't yet offered the apartment to the public.
A professional search project can also lead to a better price for the buyer. As
the property finder's expertise includes up-to-date knowledge of current market
prices in Paris, he or she knows what constitutes a favorable price for a given
property; and is thus a good negotiator. Also, because the compensation for a successful
search is fixed rather than a percentage of the purchase price (see FEES below),
the property finder has no incentive to see the property sell at a high price. On
the contrary, the property finder has every incentive not only to find a property
the buyer will acquire, but also to negotiate a good price for it. Being successful
in this regard will impress the client, thereby enhancing the property finder's
professional reputation and future marketability.
SEARCH TOOLS
Just France Sales' Search and Acquire program is much more than a review of real
estate listings or advertisements placed by private owners. While it incorporates
these two important sources of available properties, in most instances the professional
search will also involve direct contacts with owners, confidential communication
with staff personnel in select buildings, and direct mail solicitations to owners.
By these methods the apartment finder is often able to discover an available apartment
before it actually goes on the market.
PREVIEWING PROPERTIES
In addition to identifying apartments for sale, the property finder performs two
other services that are of enormous value to the buyer who is not onsite:
- Previewing properties to assure they conform to the buyer's criteria. After
visiting an apartment the property finder can discuss it with the client by telephone,
can transmit photos and a description by e-mail, or can even show it to a friend
of the buyer who is in Paris. Of course the object of this process is to develop
a firm list of desirable properties that the buyer will visit when next in Paris.
- Obtaining estimates for renovations from licensed contractors. Apartments
that otherwise may be perfect often need some work - more overhead lighting, a new
kitchen, an updated bath - to satisfy all items on the buyer's wish list. The cost
of renovations is a key element in evaluating the eventual cost and desirability
of a property. The property finder can also hire contractors for renovations and
oversee the work to completion.
PROPERTY FINDER'S INCENTIVE
When the buyer purchases a property, the property finder will realize a pre-determined
success fee from the sale (see FEES below). The property finder thus has a strong
incentive to work hard on the buyer's behalf to develop properties that will result
in an actual sale.
A property finder also has another incentive to find a property for the buyer: the
fact that the seller (with rare exceptions) pays a commission for the sale. The
commission, with full transparency, is deducted from the property finder's success
fee.
DEFINING THE SEARCH PROJECT
Search projects are narrowly tailored to the buyer's individual needs, and as a
consequence vary greatly in scope and purpose. The buyer and property finder must
communicate fully at the outset to develop search criteria, set clear goals and
establish a time period in which the project must be completed.
Not all search projects are feasible. Just France Sales will accept only those projects
where we feel there is a reasonable prospect of producing a sale. As explained more
fully below, we view the Search and Acquire program as a means to producing a sale,
not an end in itself.
RESULT OF THE SEARCH PROCESS
The result of the search process is that before even arriving in Paris, the buyer
will have a list of pre-selected apartments available for sale, with an appointment
to view each one. Thus the most difficult and potentially frustrating part of the
acquisition process - developing a firm list of desirable properties for sale -
will have been accomplished. If none of the properties is satisfactory, the property
finder may resume the search if doing so falls within the scope of the project.
FROM SEARCH TO ACQUISITION
Once an apartment is selected, the next step is to complete an agreement of sale
and put down the requisite deposit. The project is handed over at this point to
Just France Sales, which assists the buyer with final determination of legal, tax
and estate issues related to the purchase. This cooperation between the property
finder and our company assures a smooth process from the moment the search begins
to the actual turning over of the keys.
FEES
Initial retainer. The Just France Sales Search and Acquire Program requires
a retainer to initiate a search project. The amount of the retainer is US$3,500,
or € 2,750. The amount may vary according to the nature of the search project. Please
contact our director of sales, Coralie Sali�ge, by e-mail or (preferably) phone
(+1-610-407-9633) to discuss your particular search criteria.
Success fee. Additionally, upon successful acquisition of the property the
buyer will pay to Just France Sales a success fee that is negotiated between the
buyer and the property finder before the project begins. The initial retainer and
any commission realized independently by the property finder will be deducted from
the success fee.
Example: The buyer wishes to acquire a two-bedroom apartment of at least 90 m2 in the 6th or 7th arrondissements of Paris. The buyer pays an initial retainer of € 2,750 to launch a search project, and agrees to pay a € 50,000 success fee. The property finder identifies a number of available properties, and the buyer eventually purchases an apartment priced at € 1,000,000, which includes a 3% commission (€ 30,000) to the property finder.
| Pre-determined success fee: |
€ 50,000 |
| Refund of initial retainer: |
-2,750 |
Commission from owner: -30,000
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| Net cost to buyer for search: € 20,000
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Unsuccessful search. In the event that the search process does not lead to
the purchase of a property after a period of time agreed upon by the client and
property finder at the outset of the search process, Just France Sales will refund
50 percent of the retainer.
PROPERTY SEARCHES IN OTHER REGIONS OF FRANCE
Since buying an apartment in Paris differs in many respects from the process of
buying a property in the French provinces, our Search and Acquire program has been
tailored principally to the needs of Paris buyers. However, the main elements of
the program are equally applicable to other areas of France, and we would be happy
to discuss a search project for any region where our owner and partner relationships
provide the necessary expertise for a search.
Two regions where Just France Sales can unquestionably mount a successful search
project are Provence the Loire. Additionally, we are prepared to undertake a search
for two specific kinds of properties - a functioning hotel or bed-and-breakfast
operation, or a ch�teau, either finished or in need of renovations - anywhere in
France.
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