A day in the life of Jacqueline Hanks - Property Finder

Having read my colleague Graham’s blog at http://cognacproperty.blogspot.co.uk I remembered this article which was published in the May/June issue of French Entrée magazine this year and thought I would share it with you!

 

"When my husband and I returned to return to live in France eight years ago and bought our dream home near Bergerac, I had no idea that a few years later I would be extolling the virtues of the Dordogne and spending my time looking for the best properties for sale in my area, yet it is exactly what I do most days.

Being a property finder means ensuring that my international clientele gets to purchase the best properties on the market at realistic prices. Many of them are too far away or too busy to find their dream property. Most have very specific requirements and this is where my knowledge of the area and the market comes into play, enabling me to weed out unsuitable properties and in doing so, save them a lot of wasted effort and money.

Dealing with clients and seeing their reaction when you have found them the perfect place is rewarding - no other job has given me such a sense of achievement. It is a bit like being a matchmaker! Dealing with estate agents and negotiating directly with owners selling privately can be challenging, but is always interesting.

Most mornings I take mon petit déjeuner on the terrace amid beautiful countryside. Then I check and respond to emails and return a few calls before jumping in my cabriolet to view a few promising properties. I love driving around with the roof down!

When I am not viewing properties, I carry out a far less glamorous activity that is going through private sales and property listings on the internet. This is where you need a lot of patience... I must browse thousands for each search.

 I am just finishing a search for Australian clients who will be arriving in a couple of weeks. Since I have just learned that one of the houses I had selected for them has been sold, I am visiting another couple this morning. I would like to show them at least six. So, I am meeting Pierre in his office in Eymet at 9am where we can review the details of the first property we are to visit and grab a quick coffee before heading to Miramont de Guyenne where it is situated.

On paper, this property fits the brief well and is within the €450,000 budget my clients have to spend. As soon as we arrive though, I know the house will not make my final six. It is too close to the road and although my clients want to be in or near a village, they also want privacy and quiet and this will not do.

Disappointed, we move on to the next house I have arranged to visit. The property is on the edge of a small village and as soon as I walk in, I realize that this could be the one! The location is perfect, the pool at the back has wonderful views and the house itself is charming and definitely worth recommending.

Delighted to have found another possible, I hurry back to Bergerac. I have enough time to check my emails again and have something to eat before a meeting this afternoon with one of my estate agent contacts. Hubert wants to show me a great house (two in fact) that some of his friends - a wife and husband team - are in the process of renovating. She is an interior decorator and he has a building company. The houses could be sold separately or together to create a gîte complex. The properties are not on the market yet and since the owner is a friend, Hubert will charge a lower agency fee. He wants to show them to me because he knows they would appeal to the type of clientele I work with.

When I get there, I am bowled over, even though it is raining. Hubert didn’t exaggerate! The properties are in a great location, hidden behind a small wood, on a huge plot, beautiful and amazingly furnished. At around €1,000,000 they are not cheap but Hubert assures me that the owner wants to sell quickly and will be prepared to come down a fair bit.

I return home tired but elated, having achieved what I was hoping to. I have found that replacement house and a couple of gems that I can keep under my hat with all the other special properties I know of who are awaiting the ‘perfect’ owner!"

 

 

Buying a house in France, the easy way.

This is it! After many years of doubts and hesitation and visiting every summer, you’ve taken the plunge and made the decision. You will finally be buying a house in France. Most of you probably think that this is the hardest part of the process, having decided to leave family and friends behind and go through such an upheaval. Well think again! You now need to find the dream home and deal with real estate agencies in France.  
  

A typical experience at a French “Agent Immobilier” can leave you feeling exhausted!  Having seen a house within your budget that you believe meets your criteria in the window of the agency, you will have to go in and ask where the house is located because somehow that crucial information is missing from the details on show. Simple enough request, you may think, but not in France.

French estate agents will not reveal the location of a property to you unless you have signed a “bon de visite” which is a declaration that you have been given details of the property by a specific agency and that should you decide to buy it at a later stage, you will buy it through that same agency. The reason behind this is that private sales are so common in France that estate agents are worried that once you know the location of a property you will go knocking on the vendors’ door and agree a private sale with them, bypassing the estate agent completely and avoiding paying their fees.

Therefore, every time you see a house which looks like it could be the one you will have to go into the agency and register with them. Each agency will take your details and ask you for a description of the type of property you’re after. They will then show you their listing book and you will have to arrange an appointment to go view properties. The whole process is quite lengthy and boring and most of the time you will end up looking at houses that do not meet your requirements or at the same house more than once, because in France properties for sale tend to be listed with many agencies. If you can’t find the house of your dreams, you’ll have to start the process all over again. What a waste of time! There must be an easier way, I hear you say.

 

Well, yes there is. If you are looking for a property in Southern Dordogne around Bergerac and South of the Dordogne River, you could employ a dedicated buyer’s agent like me or in other areas in France one of my colleagues at French Entrée. Click here to see a list of the areas covered.

As independent search consultants who work exclusively for you, we have access to private sales and notaires’ listings. We are very familiar with many of the estate agents and their listings and know of properties that have not yet been listed anywhere. We will find the best houses in the area you are interested in, preview them for you to ensure that there are no surprises and then arrange a suitable viewing itinerary and accompany you on all visits. We then help negotiate the best possible price for your purchase. So why not check out our website here or contact us directly to see if we can assist you in the process of finding your dream property in France.