VINGT Paris

Bonapart Client interview - Tim and Karen Nagle

Tim and Karen Nagle are now far more frequent visitors to Paris since buying their own apartment. Tim discovered the attractions of staying in an apartment rather than a hotel a few years ago and in November 2005 we launched his search for a centrally located two bedroom apartment. At the time, we were pleased with the apartment located in the heart of the Marais (story about the area) but it’s nothing can compare to the transformation that came after purchase! Each time they visit and we meet up, it seems like they are both learning about and enjoying more aspects of French life; from cuisine and cooking to nuances of the language and the funny bits and pieces that make being part of a different culture so fascinating!

How did you feel when you got the keys to your property?
It was exciting to know that we were now the owners of a Paris apartment, but in our case, since we were doing a complete renovation, the real thrill would come after we walked into the apartment and it was completely renovated and furnished. That took our breath away.

What happened after renovation, furnishings, and utilities?
Prior to finalizing the purchase we had met with a well known and extremely talented American artist and designer who has lived in Paris for 20 years and he had agreed to manage the reconstruction and refurbishment of the apartment. For prospective apartment buyers in Paris, I think it is a good idea to get advice and estimates on furnishing and upgrading the apartment prior to making your offer. A good designer/architect can turn an ordinary space into something extraordinary, if you are willing to invest the time and money. In our case, we gutted the apartment entirely, redesigned the living spaces somewhat, and installed a complete new kitchen and bathrooms and so forth. This took about 6 months. In addition to the technical issues, one also has to liaise with the building Syndic to ensure a smooth process.

How do you manage your apartment?
We employ a professional apartment management service the principal of which we met prior to conducting our search. The owner is extremely experienced in the Paris market, bilingual, and he has our total trust. They have done a great job. In my opinion, it would be difficult to manage all of the maintenance, Syndic, and rental aspects of an apartment in Paris without some professional on site help.

Michael Moorcock's Paris property search

Well-known British author Michael Moorcock has been in town since late September, on the trail of a new apartment where he can easily zip from Paris to London on the Eurostar.

It was John Baxter who introduced me to his work and he also introduced Michael himself at Shakespeare and Co on Monday night when he gave a reading from his new book The Metatemporal Detective. I bought and had him sign the first of the Colonel Pyat books, BYZANTIUM ENDURES. He wasn't performing with Hawkwind when I saw them in the early 90's at Glasgow Barrowlands I think they'd slightly passed their peak anyway.....but not that I would have remembered, I guess that's a common problem for most Hawkwind fans. I caught up with his wife Linda and she regaled me with their experiences of the Paris property hunt......Michael's version can be read in the Financial Times, a short excerpt is included....

"We’re looking for an apartment in Paris. In spite of reports informing us that the price of property has dropped or, at least, frozen, prices here seem to rise every few seconds. Hideous, dark, minuscule basement hovels in Montmartre might even inspire a romantic response, as you imagine a thrice-ruined character from Balzac spending his dying months picking at the thin coverlet on his bug-infested mattress, as he waits hopelessly for some uncaring offspring to knock on the rotting wood of the door."

C'est normale. The real life experiences of hunting down the perfect Parisian property are quite often stranger than fiction.

An exceptional property auction - Place Vauban 75007 and Chateau Ansouis

The best thing about Bonapart is that no day is ever the same. On Monday I attended an auction at the Palais de Justice (French High Court and also housing Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie) on behalf of a client interested in an exceptional property.

The sale was one which comes up only once in a blue moon. It's not often the decendants of the Orleans family are forced to parcel up their heritage and sell it off. We were interested in two lots - a set of family apartments at 3 Place Vauban, Paris overlooking (and I mean overlooking) the Hôtel des Invalides and the full length Tour Eiffel. This 6 room apartment also came with a 181m² garden!

One of the perks of being pregnant is that I skipped the cue on the Bd de Palais opposite Cité Métro station, there was a long line of people hustling to get in. It seemed like a large proportion of the criminal elements of Paris were late to to have their cases heard so I was not keen to get stuck there and be late for the auction. Only the Avocats and officials can enter by the grand gates and up the staircase. I made a mental note to arrive 1 hour early next time.

Bonapart Client interview - Ben Thompson

Ben and his parents, Ronnie and Esther Thompson.
Bangkok based lawyer, Ben Thompson engaged Bonapart to help buy his first Paris property in Bastille's most beautiful hidden courtyard, Cour Etoile d'Or two year's ago. He recently returned to purchase another on the bustling rue Montorgueil in the 2nd arrondissiment. During his very short 4 day stop-over in which we accomplished the second purchase, I found some time to ask a few questions about his experience.

How did you feel when you got the keys to your property?
A combination of excitement, relief and trepidation but overall it was a great feeling.

What happened after renovation, furnishings and utilities set-up?
After renovation Bonapart was quick to get the property on the market. In fact they had been marketing the property for some time before it was even finished. We had a tenant within about two weeks of furnishing the place which exceeded my initial hopes and expectations.

How do you manage your apartment?
Bonapart looks after all aspects of my apartment for me, leaving me free of worry.

Who stays at the apartment?
The target market (and one we have been successful with) has been medium-stay visitors (i.e. 3-6 months) - this allows me to strike a balance between peace of mind at having the apartment rented for reasonably long periods and being able to charge a premium rent (which may be more tricky with longer-stay tenants).

How much do you charge and how do you market the apartment?
We charge 1500 euros per month and the rental amount includes all bills (up to a reasonable monthly cap of 50 euros for electricity which has never been exceeded). Bonapart takes care of the marketing.

Have you had any disasters/funny stories?
No major disasters yet but trying to get a large Indonesian wardrobe up a narrow 18th century stairwell was horrendous at the time but funny in retrospect. We ended up having to completely dismantle then reassemble the whole thing.

How often do you come to Paris?
I don't come to Paris nearly as often as I'd like, living in Asia makes it difficult. About once or twice a year.

What advice would you give to others thinking about investing in Paris property?
By all means go for it but hold out for something wonderful and if you don't find it then have the patience to come back and try again. There are too many beautiful properties in Paris to "settle" for one you haven't fallen in love with. When you do find that one though, do not hesitate.

Syndic : Le ras-le-bol des copropriétaires - go get 'em!

Consumer magazine (a bit like Which? but more aggressive - it needs to be, this is France), 60 Million de Consommateurs are featuring SYNDICS (co-owner association appointed management companies) as their bete-noire this month.

Excès tarifaires, comportements arrogants, contrats irréguliers... les copropriétaires se retrouvent trop souvent en position de faiblesse face à leur syndic. Il existe pourtant des moyens de se défendre et, au besoin, d'en trouver un meilleur.

Le palmarès des abus les plus scandaleux. Nos juristes ont décrypté cent contrats de syndics envoyés par nos lecteurs. Ils ont relevé des clauses abusives, des prestations indûment facturées ou des tarifs exorbitants dans 96 d'entre eux. Pauvres copropriétaires...

Sadly these are all too common complaints. One rarely hears of an owner who is happy with their Syndic, at least in Paris. This issue will apparently advise on how to find "une perle rare" - a good syndic....

Hopefully it will also priovide some help for one of our readers who wrote in recently.

New French inheritance tax rules at a glance

New French inheritance tax rules at a glance

• New changes treble the amount a parent can leave to each child before paying inheritance tax, up from €50,000 to €150,000 (£33,000 to £100,000).

• Transfers between husband and wife are now free from inheritance tax, mirroring the UK rules.

• You can get tax relief on mortgage interest, provided you are resident in France and took the mortgage out after May 6.

• You should seek independent legal and financial advice on structuring the ownership of your property. Otherwise, French succession laws may limit how much you can leave to your surviving spouse, and how much you must divide between your children.

• Expect to deal with the French inheritance tax system if you buy a property in France, even if it is only a holiday home and not your permanent residence.

read more in the Telegraph online.