Q. Why should I pay someone to find a property for me?
A. Simply because it will save you time and money. There are nearly 300 estate agents and notaries selling property in the Saumur and north Deux-Sèvres areas – even if you could manage to visit the area and register with a variety of agents, the chances of finding the best property for you are fairly low. The only way to cover the market properly is to live here or to have a representative on the spot.
Q. I know a British agent in the area and they have said they will look after me.
A. I’m sure they would. But he or she is restricted to the properties they have on their books and you will only see a fraction of the houses on the market. Also some British agents work exclusively with one estate agent only – another factor limiting your choice.
Of course, as representative for the vendor, they are duty bound under their instructions from that vendor to get the highest possible price for the property!
Finally, some property search agents work on a ‘split the fee basis’ with French estate agents which means their selection of properties can be limited to those with high fees only or difficult to sell properties.
Q. Why do you have an initial fee of 500 euros?
A. We only work for a small number of clients at any one time which means we can devote our time and energy to them. By charging this refundable fee we can filter out those with a “whim” to buy and thus work closely only with those committed to the idea.
Q. Are you registered?
A. Of course. We work under Carte Professionelle (No TPP 125, Charente) as well as having professional indemnity insurance issued by Generali of Paris and a financial guarantee issued by Lloyds of London.
We’re also registered with the Registre Spécial des Agents Commerciaux in Niort (524 549 690 RCS Niort) and Alison Morton’s registered business number – SIRET – is 524 54968000014.
Finally, our principle is a member of the French National Federation of house hunters (FNCI). We abide by all their strict codes of conduct – you can view these at www.fnci.fr
Q. Do you charge VAT?
A. Sadly, we have to include French TVA of 19.6% to our invoices for property finding services. Optional services, e.g. translation, are not subject to TVA.
Q. When and how do we pay you?
A. The initial 500 euro + TVA fee is payable immediately. Our purchase fee is payable at the same time as you sign the preliminary contract, the compromis de vente. We accept cheques in Euros or Sterling or can give you details of our local bank account for a direct money transfer.
