Guide to buying property in Paris: Living in Paris is a dream come true and the allure of the city of light never dims. But the enthusiasm of ‘Let’s buy a place in Paris!’ can soon turn to a despondent ‘Let’s just leave it’ if you don’t have professional support. For overseas buyers, the Parisian real-estate market truly is a foreign land, which is why an expert partner can make all the difference.
“Unlike the US, France has no central database of properties for sale,” says Emma Skoble, of Metropolitan Properties Paris. “As a buyer, you have to trawl through all the property websites one at a time to find what’s on the market, which is both time-consuming and impractical.”
As Emma recently noted, highly desirable properties in Paris can sell in less than 48 hours, so by the time you’ve scanned the relevant website, your dream property could already be sold. The process is also alienating, and can leave prospective buyers feeling excluded from the very world that they dream of living in.
It’s often about who you know
As with so many aspects of life, who you know can make all the difference. In this situation, what you need is not just a French-speaking buddy, but a bilingual professional who is based in Paris and can offer in-depth knowledge of the real-estate market in real time.
Emma Skoble grew up in both New York City and Paris where she has lived and worked for 30 years. She studied at France’s oldest business school before forging a career with big brands such as Chanel, before founding Metropolitan Properties Paris in 2013.
“Metropolitan Properties Paris is a buyer’s agency,” she explains. “We focus 100% on the buyer, doing the legwork to make sure that you see everything that meets your criteria. Unlike traditional French agencies who only represent their own listings, we work across the board and cover all the ground for you.”
How does a buyer’s agency work?
Simply put, in a buyer’s agency, everything revolves around the buyer. “A dedicated search consultant works one-on-one with you right from the start,” explains Emma. “The first discussions will reveal your buying criteria, from which we can help you to find and screen all available properties, so you can bypass the tedious web-trawling of individual French agencies. As the right properties come up, and with being in Paris we’re more likely to hear of properties coming to market before they’re even advertised, we can organise viewings, assist with evaluations, surveys and negotiation, and ensure that you are the successful buyer.”
As a bilingual team, Metropolitan Properties Paris is able to simplify the entire bureaucratic process of buying a Parisian property – which is no mean feat! As well as navigating the minefield of Paris’ competitive housing market, this buyer’s agency takes you through each step of the entire process, translating French into English and transforming a stressful undertaking into a positive experience.
Guide to buying property in Paris
“We manage the entire process through to closing the deal,” explains Emma. “This includes overseeing the preliminary purchase agreement, finding mortgage lenders if you need them, sourcing project managers and workers for renovation, and putting you in touch with trusted legal and tax advisors. Depending on your situation, we can also help you to set up utilities and insurance, to organise caretaking and property management, and even help you with renting out your property if that’s part of your plan.”
Originally from Michigan, Kathryn Brown is the agency’s Client Services Director and raised her three children in the heart of Paris. With over 20 years’ experience of French life including 15 years as the Managing Director of international Paris real estate agencies, Kathryn is passionate about helping buyers to navigate the French real estate market.
“Over the years, I’ve seen how bewildering this market is for overseas buyers,” says Kathryn, “particularly fellow Americans who find the process overly complex and bureaucratic – which, admittedly, it can be! At Metropolitan Properties Paris, our aim is to simplify the entire process, offering tailored support and true empathy so that buying a Parisian home actually becomes a pleasure.
“We’re a close team and we work closely with each client. We get a lot of feedback about how smooth and effortless it feels to work with us, and that happens for two reasons. Firstly, everyone here has a solid foundation of on-the-ground knowledge and industry expertise so that’s the bedrock of what we do. Secondly, it genuinely matters to us to find the right place for our clients, so we treat each home-hunting project as a fresh challenge, and we take it personally.”
Fabulous feedback
Don’t just take our word for it that Metropolitan Paris Properties are the best. Client, Nicola, says that without the support from Emma, Kathryn and the team, she might never have moved to Paris at all.
“You’ve been so incredibly kind, supportive, and calm throughout this whole process, not to mention, highly professional, extremely efficient, and so knowledgeable. And fun! This never would have happened if I hadn’t had you as my guide to facilitate and oversee this process with such finesse.”
Geraldine and Trevor, were also delighted with the service from Metropolitan Properties Paris: “It was so useful to have Emma translate for us and to introduce us to reliable people, such as the notaire and banker, so that we could get our French bank account and home insurance sorted far-away from London. The process of apartment viewing was seamless and organised. A big thanks to Emma for being accommodating and allowing access for our architects to the apartment before the final signing, so we could get the ball rolling for the refurbishment. Also, thanks so much for the support and the information that Kathryn gave us before the process started. It was really useful…”
Licensed to help
The comfort comes from the individual attention, but also the knowledge that Metropolitan Properties Paris has all the right paperwork to back up their expertise.
“We are the only French-licensed founded by an American,” says Emma. “There are plenty of agencies in Paris, some of whom are also bilingual, but the majority of our competitors are not actually licensed, as they do not hold a carte professionnelle transaction, also known as la carte T.”
When you work with a licensed brokerage, the fees are tax-deductible when you sell, which is good news for buyers. Fees from unlicensed agents are not tax deductible, and if your agent doesn’t have the right professional licence, you also miss out on protection under French real-estate laws.
“For an investment as significant as a property in Paris, you certainly want to feel confident that you’re working with licensed professionals,” adds Emma. “Working with us, you get a friendly face and a positive experience, but it’s also backed up with the relevant industry qualifications and decades of on-the-ground expertise. We got you!”
Take the first step
Whether Paris is currently a dream on your bucket list or part of a definite plan, the team at Metropolitan Properties Paris can certainly help you to make it happen. Take a look at their website, metropolitanpropertiesparis.com where you can find out more about the team, download a free guide to buying property in Paris, read lots of informative articles and see some of the properties currently on the market.
