Why should I choose Flat Hunter and not another property search service?
Do you find most properties for your clients through real estate agencies, or through other sources?
If you find an apartment for me through a real estate agent, will I be charged a double commission?
Am I obliged to pay you a search fee if I buy a property that I found on my own?
Do you do property searches outside of France?
Do you provide rental search services?
Do you work with international clients?
How many clients do you work with at any given time?
Do Flat Hunter’s services conform to the laws governing French real estate?
No. Flat Hunter provides a personalized search service to buyers looking to purchase property, We work exclusively for the interests of the buyer: we do not share agency fees, or otherwise compromise our commitment to finding you the best property at the best price.
Real estate agencies provide a sales force to property sellers. It protects the interests of the sellers, has no obligation to look after the best interests of the buyer, and its incentive is to sell the property to you at the highest possible price.
There is no Multiple Listing System in France, as there is to aid the buyers in the U.S. and other property markets. This means that each agency lists its own properties, and will not show you properties listed with other agencies. When you see a property with one agency it might be separately listed with another, which only means that it will probably sell that much quicker.
Because of this fragmented market, buyers must go from one agency to another, listing themselves as a potential buyer for an apartment. If you happen to walk in when a property just came in the door, you might be the first to see it. But since good properties sell quickly, agencies will rarely call back potential buyers about a property after you have been in to see them, since there are dozens or hundreds of buyers looking for a similar property to you. Moreover, since you will never be back after you find the one apartment you are looking to buy, they have no incentive to call you in particular.
Flat Hunter changes all that: we have extensive contacts both with agencies and in the non-agent property markets, including a daily updated database of properties listed for sale in Paris by individuals or private entities without an agency involved. We send your search to our agency contacts every week, to which we are regular, returning customers and therefore worth calling first as soon as the good properties come in. Since searching for your apartment is our full time job, we are first to know about the property, first to see it, and get you there first if it matches your criteria. Flat Hunter’s contacts, swiftness, and market savvy work for you to find your ideal property with a speed and success that you simply cannot match on your own.
Nobody has been in this business in France longer than we have. Flat Hunter has the network of contacts and the resources to get you in to see the elusive, hard to find properties first, not just what everyone else can find on the Internet or other public resources.
Most of the search services in France – particularly those that cater to the English speaking market -- simply do the work for you of looking through public ads and Internet resources for properties that might match your search criteria. Their professional contacts are primarily with agents or other resources that “cater” to the English speaking community. This often means that these are services or agents who understand that you don’t’ know this market, and therefore charge a premium to international clients that they include in the price of their services – higher agency fees, higher renovation rates, less interesting financing packages, etc.
In contrast, Flat Hunter has been working primarily for French clients since the beginning, and we know the real estate and property services community intimately. We know the prices, we know the market, and we make sure that our clients pay the right price and get the best product available – not just the best price and product available to non-French speakers. When some search services appear to have a really good – almost too good – price for their services, when they are actually getting the agents to take a larger commission and simply taking from both sides. Flat Hunter’s commitment to you is that we never engage in that practice, which leaves us completely objective as to which property is right for you. One of the big complaints in France over the past couple of years is that international buyers who don’t know the right values for property are driving up property prices. Flat Hunter’s clients are NEVER part of that problem. So what you might save doing the search yourself or using a different style of service, you more than get back in the quality and price of the Flat Hunter services and partners.
Moreover, in contrast to other search firms, over 75% of Flat Hunter’s clients purchase properties not represented by real estate agents, and therefore save substantially – anywhere from 5% to 10% - on the purchase price.
Many of the people or agencies that offer property search services in France are operating illegally and therefore do not carry the requisite insurances and licenses for the business. Whoever you choose to help you find a property, ensure that they are properly licensed and insured to perform the services they are proposing to you.
Both. We scour the market, excluding nothing from the search we perform for our clients. However, thanks to our substantial contacts and resources for accessing the entire market, ore than 75% of our clients end up purchasing properties in which a real estate agent was not involved. No other property finder can match that. We achieve those numbers through our numerous contacts and extensive property database, updated on a daily basis, which gives you the finest selection of properties to choose from. And, Flat Hunter significantly reduces its commissions in the event that an agency commission is payable with respect to the property you choose to purchase.
No. Flat Hunter significantly reduces its commissions in the event that we find the property through an agency and a commission is payable with respect to the property. The amount of this reduction is clearly set out in the contracts and agreed between us at the start of your property search. Should an agency commission be payable, Flat Hunter negotiates the lowest possible commission rates on your behalf, often significantly reducing the agency fee to in essence swallow up the Flat Hunter fee.
By using Flat Hunter, the cost of your property search is generally lower than working directly with an agency. First, we know the market in depth, and ensure that you are looking only at properties that are well priced and meet your search criteria, whether these properties are being privately sold or represented by an estate agency. In practice, more than 75% of property transactions facilitated by Flat Hunter do not use a real estate agent, since we have first-mover access to non-agent properties throughout the Paris market. Thus either way we achieve our goal of minimizing your total cost on the purchase.
No. Flat Hunter works on a success-fee basis. We charge you a search fee if, and only if, you successfully purchase a property that Flat Hunter has found for you. We have a mechanism in place to ensure that there is no overlap between properties, which Flat Hunter presents to you, and any properties which you may find on your own.
No. Flat Hunter’s fees are 35% lower than the average estate agency commission rate (5.5% plus value added tax). Flat Hunter’s comprehensive access to the market allows us to find your ideal property without using a real estate agent in most cases. In addition, with our negotiation experience and in-depth market knowledge we help you to negotiate the lowest possible purchase price. Using Flat Hunter to conduct your property search is an efficient, cost-effective way to find your new home.
Flat Hunter significantly reduces its commissions in the event that an agency commission is payable with respect to your ideal property. And if an agency commission is to be paid on the property, Flat Hunter negotiates the lowest possible commission rates on your behalf. By using Flat Hunter, the cost of your property search will generally be lower than working either on your own or directly with an agency.
Not currently.
No. The rentals world is parallel to but different from the buying market. We work closely with relocation services and other individuals who do rental services, and would be glad to get you in touch with a partner of ours who can help you.
Frequently, and international clients make up the majority of our property searches outside of Paris. The majority of our clients in Paris are residents here, most often native French, and many of who have purchased property before. There is no real profile for our clients, except people who value their time and appreciate exceptional customer service.
Each Flat Hunter expert works with a maximum of 4 clients at any one time.
Yes. Apartment searching services is a professional activity governed by French law regulating the sale of property. Flat Hunter is fully licensed, bonded, and insured, in accordance with this law.
Many of the people or agencies that offer property search services in Paris are operating illegally and therefore do not carry the requisite insurances and licenses for the business. Whoever you choose to help you find a property, ensure that they are properly licensed and insured to perform the services they are proposing to you.