An interview with the manager of our property searchers and expert on the French real estate market: Francois BottallaI was born in Paris in 1968 and I have lived here all my life.
A began working in marketing for an insurance company but I was always passionate about real estate. I worked with a classic real estate agency for five years and I found that the service was very good for the sellers and not for the buyers. I looked in the internet for a similar service for buyers and found that the only one was Flat Hunter.
I work for Flat Hunter because when I bought my apartment in Paris I encountered certain difficulties with certain agencies who showed me apartments that did not correspond with what I was looking for. I also found so many ads in different media outlets that did not meet my criteria. My full time job did not give me a lot of time to visit apartments and because of that I missed two opportunities to make an offer. It took me six months before I found my apartment. Naturally, working in real estate, I began to look for a corporation that put buyers first. I saw that Flat Hunter was the first company to be established that looks after the interests of the buyer and I was hired as the head of the property search experts. I handle all of the property search missions and am very satisfied with the level of service we are able to offer to our clients.
What really pleases me about working at Flat Hunter is that I can offer customers such a complete service. Flat Hunter takes care of them from the initial search until the end when they set their luggage down in their new apartment. Our customers appreciate this level of service and it ensures that the job is fulfilling, creating a positive atmosphere among the team of employees and property search experts.
Each property search expert has a great deal of experience in real estate and each is specialized in a geographic sector and recognises categories that correspond with certain budgets. They speak several languages and are able to adapt to our broad range of clientele.
Our property search experts are very well trained: they know how to listen to our clients and present high quality options that earn them the trust and respect of their research in the field. Present and reactive, they take their search into the field with passion and well defined methods. They are reliable, devoted and curious by nature and endowed with numerous other qualities: organized, persevering, and patient at the same time, all while remaining motivate, calm and cheerful and most importantly: honest.
As the manager of the property search experts I follow the sequence of events and ensure the coordination of the team of property hunters. I ensure the perfect satisfaction of our customers by following every step of their projects. I manage the communication between our financial partners and the notaires to ensure the process is smooth and I help the property search experts with negotiations to make sure that our clients pay the best price possible.
The Parisian real estate market remains the most stable in Europe, with a 10% increase in prices during 2008. For the year 2009 predictions have been contradictory regarding increases and decreases, but it is certain that interest rates are lowering so during these times of crisis real estate remains a welcome refuge and is reliable. I think that investing in Paris while borrowing at a fixed rate that is less than 4.5% is an excellent mid to long term investment (5 to 10 years).
