Deciding to buy a home in another country is no small decision, and it should be a process you enter into with as much clarity and understanding as possible. If you’re looking to purchase a property in France and are not familiar with the French property market, don’t speak French, or are not confident in your understanding of the overall process, you might want to consider engaging the services of a buyer agent. Furthermore, if you’re based in another country, you’ll probably need the services of an international buyer’s agent who speaks English and French.
First up, what is a buyer’s agent?
A buyer’s agent is a professional who works for you throughout your property purchase. Put simply, they do all the hard work for you. A buyer’s agent usually has an extensive real estate background and intimately knows the process of purchasing a property. They can connect you with all the best professionals in the industry whilst ensuring you’re getting the best deal possible. If you don’t live in France, then having an international buyer’s agent on the ground for you in France is going to be priceless.
How do I find a trusted international buyer’s agent in France?
When finding a trusted international buyer’s agent in France, it’s important to consider what experience and qualifications the buyer’s agent has, and what kind of process they will follow.
We suggest the following as non-negotiables when looking for an international buyer’s agent in France:
- Ensure your buyer’s agent can speak both English and French fluently. This will save you time and money, and will mean you’re always 100% across all aspects of the process.
- Having a history in France is very important. If your buyer’s agent is a long-term resident of France it means they will have plenty of detailed knowledge about the different regions in France and will be able to advise you on which areas would be most suitable for your needs.
- Your buyer’s agent should have a background in real estate and a deep understanding of the different markets in France.
- Ensure your buyer’s agent is exclusively a buyer’s agent and doesn’t sell properties too. Sadly there are real estate sharks out there who both buy and sell properties and take commissions from both sides. You must ensure that your buyer’s agent only works for YOU and your best interests.
- What kind of connections does your buyer’s agent have? This is something that comes with living in France for an extensive period of time and developing an address book of real estate experts. Your buyer’s agent should come with a solid list of contacts to help with your property search and purchase, for example mortgage brokers, lawyers and other advisors. These contacts could also give you valuable access to off-market properties that other buyers won’t even know about.
- Find out what their fees are before you agree to anything. A trusted buyer’s agent will always be forthcoming with their fees from the outset. You’ll often find that the money you save through buying a property at lower than market rates will cover the buyer’s agent’s fees.
While you’re here, check out some of our other blog posts:
Trusted Partners of Buy Property in France:
If you need assistance with purchasing a property in France, we suggest the team at Milieux Property. They are international buyer’s agents who specialise in buying property in France for English speakers.