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Is there a French equivalent to Rightmove? How do Estate agents work in France?

6 replies

mulranno · 06/10/2012 09:02

We have been trying to sell a building plot in French Alpes and our local estate agent is useless. Is there a national chain of agents in France? Is there an equivalent to Rightmove in France? Do the buyers always pay the estate agents fees? (we did when we bought) but she is suggesting that we also pay when we sell....any ideas?

OP posts:
ImpYCelyn · 06/10/2012 14:26

You could list it on particulier à particulier - www.pap.fr/ No agency fees for anyone there. Everyone we know looks on there as well as with agents.

Century 21 seems to exist all over the country.

I've never sold, only bought, but I thought sellers only had to pay taxes and notaire fees, buyer pays the ea.

You could also try listing it with a notaire. My PILs sold their house via their notaire who kept a list of people who were looking and then matched them up.

sagelynodding · 06/10/2012 14:42

La Foret? Se Loger.com? leboncoin.fr?

I am still renting, so don't know about the rest!

Try angloinfo.com for advice in English.

sommewhereelse · 06/10/2012 14:51

Round here everyone uses leboncoin.fr for private sales (and lots of agents put houses on their first). I've never herad of pap.fr and have just finished a 9 month househunt.

I just looked on it and there are only 10 houses for sale in our town whereas on leboincoin there are over one thousand!

With the fees, it's generally accepted that buyers pay. The prices are listed agents' fees included and then you have to allow for the notaire's fees on top of that. We sold last year and when we agreed the market price with the agent, they concentrated on the net amount we would get then added their fees so it was listed at a really odd price, xxx thousand 437 or something like that. They did round up or down the centimes Grin

You shouldn't have to pay fees when you sell but if you lower the price so a bit that the over all cost is lower to attract buyers, the agents fees don't change that much so effectively it's like you are paying a bit of their fees.

I would recommend a notaire too. The house we just found was through a notaire and they were very proactive about sending out details which matched our requirements (although by letter, very old fashioned) and they sent out information regarding properties available with other notaires too.

You can have more than one agent (unless you've signed a 'mandat exclusif'). Some agents are really useless. When we were househunting we gave our details to about 14 different agencies and only 6 were proactive about contacting us. The others we had to keep checking their web sites and some even failed to turn up to appointments to visit!

ImpYCelyn · 06/10/2012 15:25

leboncoin.fr - I was trying to remember them.

EdwardtheEagle · 08/10/2012 14:23

Estate agents in France are famous for being really lame, so best to be proactive yourself. Google for a local ea that's owned by a different nationality Wink

alpsliving · 17/01/2018 11:54

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