VINGT Paris

Je suis connu

I'll have to change my alias. Sometimes to save time I give my (semi) private email address at ivyparis.com instead of getting into a long protracted discussion with a real estate agent over the phone. Who I am, what's my status, do I want some of their commission, how do I charge, what do I charge, who is my client, how did they find me, where is the company based, is it a french company, where is my personal address, what is the apartment for, how old it the client, how will they pay etc. So I often don't really announce myself, to cut straight to the chase.

So I often don't really announce myself, to cut straight to the chase I just pretend I'm a simple enquiry. I learned in daily interaction and transaction here to use KISS (keep it simple stupid) because if you confuse people they immediately think you are up to no good and more often than not the barriers come down and you can't achieve anything. Not that I'm up to no good but that's the way everybody else operates so think of it almost as guilty until being proven innocent!

Phoning a completely random agent today I was busted. "C'est I V Y paris the property search, non?" he asked. "No it's an artist's collective" I replied, still reeling. Wouldn't you know, he must read one of the blogs. Still, what I love about the internet is anonymity . Great for undercover property search, competitor research and winding people up - cue crazy maniacal laugh.......
J'adore le subterfuge.

La Vie Bohème

This is a great article by Madelyn Byrne about buying a home in Paris - I don't know the writer but it's spot on. I'd be rather less polite than they were about what a great investment the 17th arrond. is as featured in the recent NYTimes article though.
Parts of the 17th that are "sought after", as real estate agents would say, but there are whole swathes of it that are not so cherished, even though they have their own charm. These areas are not for buy-to-let investors because parts of the 17th are out on a limb and a bit rough round the edges if you are hoping to rent the newly purchased apartment to a tourist or business person.

Mainly the article is great because it's so free of the claptrap I read on a regular basis ("The prices are going up by 20% - forever!). The market has cooled since the craziness of Summer 2005 before the Olympics - property is not shifting so fast right now but that's great because it gives more time to weigh up the pros and cons instead of being backed into a corner by owners or agents saying the apartment will be taken tomorrow. Sometimes really nice places do go after only a day or too and plenty change hands privately without ever making it into an real estate agency- these are usually the ones I'm after for my clients.

I especially like their counsel to buy in areas which will hold their value, rather than seeking out the petit peu sketchy neighbourhoods: sticking to the central (ok, expensive) districts can pay off long term. I have to say though that this bit was rather alarmist and did remind me of the Parisians that just never, ever venture to the 18/19/20th arrond's, mainly because they'd be terrified if they saw a black person who wasn't sweeping the street or serving in a shop:

"the neighbourhood was marginal, many tenants refused to pay the rent and could not be evicted due to protective rental laws. Finally, in the 1970’s Philippe’s father, Pierre, made an appointment with the building manager and drove from Normandy to visit the building. Pierre is an extremely old fashioned and conservative person; he still talks about his shock when he met the manager, who wore a floor length fur coat made of wolf and looked like a pimp. The whole situation was fishy with illegal tenants, under-the-table-payments and Pierre realized they were never going to turn it around. They sold the building for a pittance."

What a ghaaaastly experience!

It's true that in the 8th arrond. for example, there may be less room for appreciation and you might not get that extra bedroom but you can rent to a businessman for a whacking great rent. Plus, he or she will barely use the apartment and it'll be returned to you almost pristine because he or she spent most of their time shuttling home to see their family and working or eating in restaurants when they were in Paris.

In "up-coming areas" buildings tend to be less owner-occupied and therefore have had minimal investment over the years in their upkeep, (Parisian Landlords are not known for their generosity to tenants). You might find out you have a "musician" next door (playing the same three chords from when he gets up at 2pm each day until night time when his mates come over) which will annoy tenants if you are renting and drive you nuts when you come to Paris for some R&R. I'm all for La Vie Bohème but not everyone finds the crumbling courtyard and overgrown cobblestones so attractive.

Exciting times

Here are some tips from on how to find a good real estate agent because "buying a home in France is exciting".

When is a realtor not a realtor?

............When he's in Paris.

With apologies to the 5% of the 3500 Paris agencies who do a good job and work hard to fill requests from those searching for property.

When people ask me if I work with Real Estate agents in Paris, I balk. How can you possibly associate me with these people (and plus, I work for the buyer, not the seller!)? We all love to hate Real estate agents everywhere but I have never experienced anything like the laziness, unprofessionalism and sheer downright inefficiency of the Parisian pack. I can't stand being classed in the same breath as them.

And they hate me. Even though I take absolutely no part of their commission and have serious buyers as clients which is why I am in their agency. I guess it's because as I accompany people I am also advising them of a fair price, negotiating for them and requesting paperwork to verify everything the Agent spouts. "Oh the building won't need cleaned for at least another ten years, Vous n’inquiétez pas Monsieur".

Here are some of the comments this week - and here I am just an ordinary client calling by telephone, they don't know I'm from Bonapart Consulting. Each question I pose is like drawing blood from a stone - why am I calling up and bothering them with my requests?

Me: "And the size?"
Agent: "80m²" - in an irritated and impatient manner
Me: "Which floor please?"
Agent: "3rd" - deep sigh
Me on telephone: "Do you mind telling me if that's the street to the left or right of the Square?"
Agent: "Why don't you get hold of a map and look it up for yourself."

Me: after visiting an apartment on sale for nearly 4 million euros (so expecting service to be a little more pointu):
Well thank you, this is a magnificent property and I'd like to get back to my client very quickly so they can arrange to come to France and view it. Can you send me the floor plan by email this afternoon please"
Agent: "That's out of the question, my Secretary leaves at 3pm on a Friday and I can't possibly go back to the office"

Me on telephone: "Hello, I'm ringing to remind you to send me the details on the property on rue Spontini, I'd like to see them and arrange a visit as soon as possible, it's just what I'm looking for. Your colleague seems to have forgotten to send me the details, I called yesterday".
Agent: "Well you'll have to wait. he's on the phone and he'll get back to you in his own time. We've got too many things to do and we don't have a scanner in this office".

I protested but the feeling I got was a familiar one, I know the woman just rolled up my details and fired them into the nearest wastepaper bin, nominally to "teach me a lesson".

Why are they so busy? They spend their time phoning up ownes who are selling their properties privately and pestering them to give their fantastically proactive agency the Mandat to sell it. When they get their property they just stick it on a website and wait for the people to call them.

Even when you do call up they'll be dismissive on the phone and very rarely call you back to follow your search (if you even suceed in getting them to register the details in the first place). You have to usually physically plant yourself in their office and threaten to squat there before you can get them to discuss that. Inevitably they apply the most repellent Parisian sarcasm when you give the budget, it is NEVER enough for what you want, (especially if you know very well the price per m² and are not prepared to pay over the odds). Sometimes they give a nasty little smirk and laugh at this point.

As for managing apartments for furnished rentals they are a joke. I've had owners with sumptuous apartments come to me in desperation asking why their palace with an 80m² roof terrace has been on two agencies books for 3 months (for a pififul rent) and won't shift. Perhaps because I found out it was impossible to even make a visit with them as they never returned calls, they never replied to email (usually it's a one email address with Wanadoo that serves for the entire agency and no one ever reads it let alone responds) and they couldn't be bothered to even make the visits. Finally when they relinquished the keys (after a fight) it was rented to a happy Bonapart relocation client within 2.5 days.

I shouldn't complain, this inefficiency gives my company it's competitive advantage but it's still shocking how things function here. What I keep asking myself is, how the hell do they make any money?

I guess I'll put this in the "Paris Curiosities" section.

Property Taxes

There are two taxes on all residential property. These are collected by the State for the local authorities. These taxes are assessed at individual rates according to location and can vary substantially. It is a good idea to check these two details when you are assessing a property to buy, even if the Agent tells you he doesn't have the information, insist.

Taxe fonciére (land tax)
As the owner of a property you are liable for paying this tax which is due for payment by October/November. Penalties or fines are added for late payment. It is possible to arrange a monthly payment scheme. For most US and UK buyers the 7-8% tax on a purchase seems high, annual property taxes in France are substantially lower than in the United States. Where US property is taxed by the state anywhere from 0.5% to 3% annually, the Taxe Fonciére (land tax) is about 0.1 to 0.2% per year.

Taxe d'habitation (local taxes)
Only due on a habitable building. The occupant of the property on the first day of January is liable for paying this tax. Even if you only use the property on occasional visits, if it is furnished and supplied with water and electricity you are liable for this tax. The amount of this tax will vary from one place to another and according to the size of the property. (If you rent your property to someone else and they are living there on the first day of January for the year, they are liable to pay this tax.)

Those who do not live in France but own property here can pay these taxes monthly with the program called "prélèvement mensuel".