A weekly e-letter sharing insights, recommendation, tips and discoveries about property in both Paris and France!
A Free Weekly Newsletter Written by Adrian Leeds® and Published by the Adrian Leeds Group
| Forward this e-mail to a friend | Click here to view it online
Click here to subscribe to French Property Insider
The Best Times to Find Property
French Property Insider
Volume XIII, Issue 20
Thursday, May 14, 2015 • Paris, France
Don't miss a single issue of French Property Insider! "Whitelist" French Property Insider by adding "fpi@adrianleeds.com" to your address book.
FOR SALE: Three-Bedroom Luxury Apartment Near Opera Garnier
Just around the corner from the Opéra Garnier, one of the most opulent ever built, and the Galleries Lafayette, the world's first and most famous department store, this is both a perfect investment property or place to live if you enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city center. Rue des Mathurins is located in the middle of a major transportation hub linking several Métro lines and the RER A. You're one stop away from the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysées, one stop away from Châtelet-Les-Halles. In the 9th arrondissement, bordering the 8th, this is both a center for tourism and business. The apartment known as “Lafayette” offers you 70 square meters and two bedrooms. The building is a neo-Haussmann-style with stone façade, blending perfectly into its surroundings. The interior is modern, with high ceilings. Each room has tall windows that open to the street. The main bedroom has a narrow balcony. The apartment layout is conventional, with a foyer that distributes access to the living room, the kitchen, and the bedrooms. The apartment is in impeccable, move-in condition as is. Still, with the help of our interior designers, it is possible to open some of the walls to create a more spacious, contemporary feel. The apartment also includes an underground parking space in a part of Paris where such space is rare. The parking space can be offered for rental, separate from the apartment.
Asking price: €880,000
For more information visit adrianleeds.com/properties/for-sale/rue-des-mathurins/001/, email Carsten@AdrianLeeds.com or call Carsten Sprotte +33 6 26 08 12 94.
Bonjour French Property Insider Subscriber,
It's yet another holiday in May (Ascension) and France is doing the usual "faire le pont" -- meaning that offices have closed from today through the weekend, real estate agencies, Notaires and the like. Americans who plan on visiting properties nights, weekends and holidays, as they might Stateside, are simply out of luck. This is France where non-work periods are respected.
The best times to visit properties for rent or purchase are not dictated as much by season as they are by holiday periods, so the would-be renter or buyer must think in advance how to maximize their time to see the best range of properties. The seasons to avoid planning for visits are the month of May because of the holidays and all the long weekends, the summer holidays (mid July through August) and the Christmas/New Year season when neither the landlords, sellers or agents are available.
There is some truth in that properties on the market in August may be particular bargains as the sellers must be desperate to sell, but the pool of properties will be very limited. I have known buyers to get 'lucky' during this time however, for just this reason. Those wishing to rent a property long term beginning at "La Rentrée" (beginning of September) when schools and businesses reopen, are best to begin their quest of a property as early as June, considering the summer holiday period as worthless, and knowing that good properties will get rented very quickly for La Rentrée.
Otherwise, with a long term lease for a furnished property that carries a cancellation clause of one month, properties go on the market for immediate occupancy and therefore the renter must expect to take the lease immediately, or he will be out of luck.
Too often a property prospector lands in France, gets the 'bug' to see properties and thinks that the agents have easy access to the properties, much like an American agent has one key that opens a 'lock box' to access any property on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service).
"Au contraire!" Each landlord or seller has his own schedule around which the agents must do their work to show the property, therefore creating the task of scheduling visits. If you wish to visit properties, it's best to plan at least one week in advance to set up the visits yourself or rely on a consultant or agent to plan them.
If you are traveling here specifically to look at properties, then don't expect to accomplish much in less than one week. We have certainly had many positive experiences with property seekers who have three days or less and manage to find just the perfect property, but it's more the exception than the rule. It's not unusual that the first property visited is the winner, but it's also standard procedure to visit more properties after, just to confirm the success of the first property. This is because any good property consultant is going to show the best properties first -- although we often consider saving the best for last, just because it's tough for the client to accept that the first property can be such a winner!
Success happens when the prospector is very clear about the parameters of the search. When the client is unsure about certain aspects of the property he is seeking, the search can end fruitlessly. For example, if the only property that suits well is two bedrooms with an elevator -- if higher than the second floor -- then why even visit a property that is one bedroom or on the fourth floor with no elevator? The time of the client, the consultant and the agent will surely be wasted and everyone ends up frustrated.
Being clear about the parameters is not always easy, however. What's in one's mind is not always the reality. Potential buyers contacted me recently with the idea of buying in one particular part of Paris. "Why?," I asked.
"Because we have stayed there in the past and love it."
That's not good enough -- not if their goal is to rent the property short-term to subsidize their expenses and the location doesn't suit the rental market -- and this one did not. This totally changed their thinking about their project, as it should, but they might have wasted quite a bit of time visiting properties which wouldn't satisfy their ultimate goals.
Agents who are working for the landlord or the seller, and not the buyer, will only offer information designed to make the sale. An agent would not have likely offered such bold advice and they may have made the purchase only to discover too late that it was a big mistake.
Very recently I received a letter from someone who had "just completed a purchase and furnishing of an apartment in the Marais." Throughout the process, all parties knew of their intention to rent the apartment short-term. "Without even having a tenant in the apartment, someone reported our ad on a website and we received a letter from the city stating we needed to stop advertising and renting the property out and/or provide the proper permits." They were 'perplexed' on how this happened and that no one expressed that it was not allowed and wanted assistance.
Yes, it was abominable that no one informed them of the city rental laws...although it is not the job of the agents or of anyone, with the exception of property consultants such as we are, to prepare a prospector for such consequences. Unfortunately, the mistake was made and it was too late to do anything about it...a serious mistake at that!
Don't be one of the uninformed! Take professional advice -- that's the best professional advice I can give!
A bientôt,
Adrian Leeds
Editor, French Property Insider
Email: fpi@adrianleeds.com
P.S. FREE FINANCIAL AND IMMIGRATION FORUM! Thursday, July 2, 2015. Join us with financial consultant Brian Dunhill, immigration attorney Erin Clor and his team for an in-depth look at Expat challenges! Details available on our Conferences & Events page. Be sure to register in advance at http://www.dunhillfinancial.be/events.html
PARLER PARIS APARTMENTS
Welcome to your home in Paris. Home is how you will feel in a private apartment in Paris that has the "seal of approval" from Parler Paris Apartments and me, Adrian Leeds.
Featuring L'Aubergine
Located in the popular Le Marais district, L’Aubergine sits tucked away on an historic and quiet "cul de sac," making it an oasis of peace and calm. This second floor apartment (two flights), has two large bright windows that face a classic Parisian courtyard, and has been completely renovated and professionally decorated to the height of luxury.
Book your stay today in an apartment seen on the popular show House Hunters International! Visit Parler Paris Apartments to view our full selection or email apartments@adrianleeds.com
FREE one-hour consultation! Guests of Parler Paris Apartments or Parler Nice Apartments who are considering the purchase of their own "pied-à-terre" for pleasure and profit, can take advantage of a free one-hour consultation while enjoying the apartment in the City of Light or on the Riviera. Simply complete the request form to book your consultation.
Buy and sell with French Property Insider classifieds!
Earn money. Become an Introduction Partner of French Property Consultation!
Read past issues of French Property Insider...
| Forward this e-mail to a friend | Click here to view it online
Click here to subscribe to French Property Insider
Copyright 2015 Adrian Leeds®
Adrian Leeds Group® adrianleeds.com
PAdrian Leeds® is a registered trademark in France. INPI: March 10, 2006, #063416238. Adrian Leeds Group® is a registered trademark in France. INPI: December 22, 2014, # 14/4144068. Anyone using these brand names or any kind of advertising without permission may be prosecuted. AdrianLeeds.com, AdrianLeedsGroup.com and AdrianLeedsEnterprises.com are reserved domains for exclusive use of Adrian Leeds® and Adrian Leeds Group®.