“More Information Please”

Many people who are selling a house in France ask themselves whether or not they should sell their house through an immobilier (an estate agent in France).

So what are the pro’s and con’s of using an immobilier?

Pro’s

They know what they’re doing - first and foremost they know their market, they know the price the house should be marketed at, they know where to go to get potential buyers. They advertise your property (this point cannot be under-emphasised, immobiliers spend thousands of Euros advertising the properties on their books, reaching a far wider audience for your property than you could ever do…unless of course you have a very large marketing budget for your property?). They know the rules about selling/buying houses, they can advise clients on various aspects of buying your property (and believe me there are a lot of rules and regulations about buying a house in France you could spend years finding out about). They know which notaire to use or not use for the sale of a property - do you?

What about the statutory property checks - do you know where to go to get them done? Can you get them done as quick as an agency even if you do know where to go? And if you can get them done quickly do you know what checks need to be carried out on a property in a particular region (the checks differ by region)?

They know where to go for mortgages if a client needs one (thereby increasing your chances of selling your property), they know where to go for foreign exchange deals to help the buyer reduce the amount they have to pay out.

They deal with the day to day questions from potential buyers in a professional manner (well most do).

They can sell to both English speaking buyers AND French buyers, they know what each of the different cultures are looking for in a property (and those requirements are very different).

They have a large ‘footfall’ and can direct people who ’stop by’ the agency to properties they think may be suitable for that client (potentially YOUR property).

They help buyers with ’settling in services’ when they do buy - this is VERY important to most overseas buyers. Do you think you would know what to do and where to go?

Con’s

You have to pay commission. It’s a fact of life if dealing with an agency in France you will have to pay the commission.

They don’t know the house as well as you. But, if you take time to explain things and emphasise points to the agent when they come and look at your property they will take your points on board and use them.

You can advertise your property better than an immobilier - you could try advertising your property yourself but do you know where to go to advertise your property (apart from FranceHouseHunt of course)? Can you afford €60 to €150 per property advert that most internet sites out there are charging? Can you afford €150/month to advertise your property on Google out of your own pocket? Do you know the best place to list your property to get the most serious enquiries?

You’re not in control - well, if you want your property sold you will have to place some trust in an immobilier to help you to sell your property. They will also deal with the day-to-day ‘I’m just dreaming’ property enquiries (it can be very disheartening for a seller to deal with these enquiries).

Conclusion

So in conclusion an immobilier does a lot more than just slap up a photo in their shop window. The pro’s far outweigh the con’s. Do you think you could do all that an immobilier does (or even want to do it)?

You want to (or need to) sell your house in France in the current economic climate. What do you do?

Price
The first thing you need to do is decide on the price you want to sell your house for.
Be realistic. Look around at other properties in the same area as your property. See how much they are selling for.
Don’t be ‘over-enthusiastic’ with your price - putting your property for sale for much more than other properties in your area isn’t a good idea - those other properties will sell before yours make no mistake.
Price your property with a little negotiation room - don’t massively inflate the price thinking that you will be negotiated down, you just won’t get people enquiring about your property.
REMEMBER YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE STATUTORY CHECKS TO BE MADE ON A PROPERTY SO BUILD THE COST OF THOSE INTO THE PRICE (PROBABLY AROUND €1000). 

Decide what you’re selling. What fixtures/fittings/furniture you’re leaving for the buyer.

Description
Next is to get together a description. Do a write up about your house. Put all the information in a structured order and don’t be afraid to expand on the detail. For example don’t just write ‘1 bedroom’. Write something like this instead: ‘Large bedroom with high ceilings reached from the landing at the top of the ornate staircase. Tastefully renovated with exposed stonework and original oak floorboards. We shall also be leaving all the bedroom furniture for the new owners.’
Add some detail about the surrounding area into your description pack. Details about schools, doctors, dentists, local shops, local attractions, why it is good to live in the area you are selling your property, why your property is a good buy. Don’t forget to put in the details what you’re leaving and what you’re taking.
If you have it also include a ‘plan castre’ or ‘plan cadastral’ detailing the boundaries of your property. 
In your description don’t use phrases like ‘no dreamers please’. This is very off-putting to people (whether or not they are dreamers). And let’s face it, we were all dreamers at one point, and those dreamers MAY just be the people who buy your property. 

Photos
Take photos of the property. Make sure you take the photos on a nice day i.e. not when it is raining or snowing. Take the photos during the day (sounds obvious but some people really do take photos of the garden at night!). Before you take the photos make sure you tidy the house up as much as possible - you will find the French don’t do this at all in most cases. Make sure you take LOTS of photos. You may not need tham all but you will be able to sort through them all and find the best ones. Make sure you take photos of ALL the rooms no matter how insignificant you think they are. Take photos of the surrounding area. Take photos of the street where your property is. People want to see it.

Sign
This step is optional, but if you want to sell your property with the minimum amount of commission and get the widest exposure for your property it is worthwhile doing.
Make a sign. Yes I know it’s all a bit ‘Blue Peter-ish’ but you do want to sell your house don’t you? So, on the sign write ‘A Vendre’ and put your telephone number (preferably a French telephone number, but if you use a UK number make sure you put the dialing code). Stick it up in one of the windows. 

Email
Get a free email address. Why? Because you don’t want to use your personal email address to give out to people, you want an email address you can dispense with when you have sold your property. This email address should also only be used for enquiries etc. about your property.

Advertising
Now you need to advertise your property. Don’t stint on your advertising. Advertise it where-ever you possibly can. Get as much exposure for your property as you possibly can. Don’t expect it to sell just because you have put your property on one website.
So where do you advertise it? Well an extremely good place to start is on FranceHouseHunt.com - it’s free and gets loads of visitors every day. Click HERE to register your profile then you can start to advertise your property.
Use any facilities the site may have to give your property more prominence - for example on FranceHouseHunt we have a ‘Reduced Price‘ and ‘Negotiable Price‘ tag.
Make sure you put up as many photos as possible. Photos attract peoples attention, it’s no good putting up a fantastic description of your property if you’re not going to have any photos.

Find other sites that allow you to list for free and add your property.
Do a signature for your email with a link to your property on FranceHouseHunt (find your property in the listings then copy the address).
Go to internet forums (particularly forums for the area the property is located in). You can find them by doing a search in Google (e.g. forum Limousin). Most forums will allow private sellers to add a property advert. Make sure you put a link to your property in your post. 
Talk to people. Mention that you’ve got a house for sale (again, don’t forget to tell them where they can see the property on the internet).
Get a dedicated website to your property - there are many places where you can get a free account and design a web site very simply.

Respond
Again this may sound obvious but you must respond to enquiries even if it is just to say ‘I’ll get back to you in a day’. It is VERY frustrating for house hunters to send out an enquiry about a property and to not receive a reply…so give them one.
Don’t put your house up for sale just as you are about to go on holiday! You may get enquiries and you won’t be able to respond to them if you’re on holiday.
You may get enquiries from people who’s main language is not English, so be prepared to speak/write in very simple terms.
Be polite and friendly when you respond (even if the enquiry sounds rude or abrupt). Again it may sound obvious but you would be surprised at the rudeness of some people when responding to enquiries. The buyer wants to trust you and like you, so give them reason to trust and like you.
Be prepared for some strange requests for information (we’ve been asked to get people jobs and can someone from Germany living in Belgium claim unemployment benefit if they buy a house in France!). Everyones criteria for buying a house in France is different. You may well get some requests for which you have no answer. If you don’t know the answer tell the enquirer you don’t know but you will do your best to find out for them - don’t just ignore it.
If the enquirer has asked for specific information about a property make sure you tell them, then give them other information that you think may be useful to them (e.g. your prepared description). Sometimes (in fact quite a lot of the time) you will get very short enquiries like ‘more information please’ (hence the tile of this blog!), treat these enquiries as you would any other….as if this was THE one that is going to buy your property….after all, it might just be.
In short, YOU have to stand out from the crowd as well as YOUR property, so make sure you do.
REMEMBER THIS MAY BE YOUR ONLY CHANCE TO ‘SELL’ THE PROPERTY TO THE ENQUIRER…MAKE SURE YOU DO 

Agencies
Approach an estate agent (immobilier) to sell your property. Do your research before approaching an agency. Find one that can communicate with both French and English buyers. Find one that specialises in property in your region. Use search terms on Google that you think people may use to search for property in your area, pick agencies that are on the first page of the results to speak to about marketing your property.
Don’t forget, you’re not selling a property in England you’re selling a property in France, and people do things differently in France - you can have your property marketed by many agencies not just one. 
Check the amount of commission that the agency is charging.
Tell the agency if there is any negotiation in the price. 
Make sure the agency puts the property on their website. 

Visits
If you are going to do the visits (rather than your agency) make sure you know what you are going to say. Work out a plan of how you are going to show people round your property. Work out a script and make sure you remember all the points on your script.
Encourage people to take notes and photos - they have come a long way to see property and they probably have quite a few to see and will probably have already seen a load, so they should be guided to ‘remember’ your property by taking notes and photos.
Point out interesting features of your property - talk about them. For example if you did the renovation of the stone wall explain how you did it and what materials you used (without boring them to death that is).
Encourage the viewers to ask questions. Ask them questions - find out what is they want from a property/why they are looking at your property, then tell them why your property might be suitable.
Don’t be over-powering. If they want to be left alone to mooch about the house, let them. You go and wait for them outside, let them talk between themselves.
Be honest! Don’t try and hide things, they will spot what you are trying to hide. 
Encourage the viewers to have a walk about the village or neighbourhood when they have finished the viewing. 
Give them a printed version of your prepared description.
Don’t bake bread to make the house smell homely. That doesn’t work. No, really it doesn’t.
Smile. 
If people are quite obviously not interested in your property, don’t flog a dead horse. Let them go, don’t try and keep selling the house to them - if they’re not interested, they’re not interested! 

Offers
If someone makes an offer on your property don’t give an answer straight away (unless it is a ridiculous offer of course). Consider it, talk it through with someone then give an answer.
Get the offer in writing (by email or paper). 
Once you’ve got the confirmation then you can start to do the statutory checks. Get them done as soon as possible.
Once the checks are complete you can start to write up the compris de vente or equivalent. Remember once you sign it you are bound to sell it to the buyer, if you decide you want to sell it to someone else you will be penalised.
The last thing you need to organise is a notaire. Find one that can at least speak some English (search on the internet). 

Other Advice
Don’t get your hopes up on a visit. 
Keep trying.
Keep being nice.
Keep answering any enquiries. 
Keep telling people about your property. 
Don’t celebrate until the notaire gives you your cheque. 

THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS GIVEN AS A GUIDE ONLY. NO RESPONSIBILITY CAN BE ACCEPTED FOR THE ACCURACY OF THIS INFORMATION. PROFESSIONAL ADVICE IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IF YOU CHOOSE TO SELL YOUR PROPERTY YOURSELF.

The most common question we’re asked is ‘is it REALLY free to list on FranceHouseHunt.com?’. The second most common question we’re asked is ‘why is it free?’.

The answer to the first question is simple. YES.
Yes it really is free. No complicated contracts, no commission, no pay per lead, no pay per email, no paying for featured properties, advertise as many properties as you like…..for free. For everyone.

The answer to the second question, well again it is simple. We used to run an agency and got very tired of paying out lots of money every month to property portals. We thought we would develop a site that we (and others) could advertise properties on (in addition to our agency site) and we would try and market that site to bring in quality leads. We hoped that the site would rival some of the larger property portals in time (not in our wildest dreams did we dare to imagine that the site would not only rival, but overtake some of the larger property portals).

We took a good, hard, long look at the ‘leads’ that were being sent to us  from these other property portals. Whilst there were numerous email enquiries for our properties we found that only about 1 in every 100 to 150 enquiries actually resulted in either a follow up email from the potential buyer or some other positive reaction (like a visit). So we wasted many hours answering these so-called enquiries - granted it made us feel busy and like we were potentially going to get some visits/sales, but we were only sending out reams of information that never resulted in anything. This of course puts up the cost per lead taking into consideration time taken answering those emails, cost of advertising on the portal and the time taken entering the properties on the portal.

So there you have it folks, that’s why FranceHouseHunt is free to list on.