Good real estate agent in Paris ?
 

I am wondering if anyone has a good recommendation for a real estate agent in Paris, for both a long term rental and Apt. purchase in the 6th or 7th?
My son is heading out next week, and wanted him to get started looking.
Thanks

I thought you had a daughter going to the Sorbonne? Didn't you find any leads from that thread?
If you are talking about 9 months, that is not really a "long term" rental, more of an extended "short term" rental. Long term leases are usually for more than one year (our lease was three years).
at any rate, you can try www.alouer.com and see if that helps.

All real estate agents are extremely local for a specific neighborhood. So first you have to find a neighborhood that interests you (an arrondissement generally has up to 10 'neighborhoods' often referred to by the name of the nearest metro station).

A standard lease in France is for 3 years. Is this what you mean by 'long term'? Otherwise, you are looking for 'short term'.

Yes, I have a daughter going to the Sorbonne with another girl, but they won't be starting until Oct. 1st. In the meantime, my son is going to Paris, and I wanted him to begin looking for either her or me. I have always thought of buying something in Paris, and maybe this will be the impetus.
I stand corrected- I mean a short-term rental (9 months), and looking for something around Odean, Luxemberg Gardens, or somewhere not too far from the Sorbonne.
Thanks

If you can afford the prices in those areas -- the most expensive in Paris -- more power to you.

People who know how to take the metro try to live in less expensive areas.

Anyway, any student should look at www.eduparis.net

Actually she does know how to take the Metro, but for my peace of mind, I would rather her be within walking distance, and in the safest (at least to my mind) area she can be.

So I suppose you don't know that the crime rate in the metro is six times lower than on the city streets.

Intex - is it your son or daughter?

High scool graduate daughter and friend (girl as well)

House Hunters International did a show on Paris not too long ago..I had seen if before, but the prices were astonishing. Between 400 and 500K for about 500 square feet in the 18th. I think they did show one apartment close to Notre Dam for the 500 thousands. There was nothing over 500 square feet to my recolection.

..for a bit of window shopping, look at pap.fr. Figure 10,000 e/sqm as a rough guide for the 6th and 7th.

Good notaires often sideline as quasi-real estate agents and get wind of properties long before anyone else. If you can locate a reliable notaire in the areas you are looking it, it might make things easier for you.

In relation to whqt property goes in our town, it is not that :astonishing", there is no condo here for less than $500K anyway, and we are not in Paris!
I am hoping that renting it out will help alot with the payments?

If you wish to rent it out, I would suggest that you get in touch with one of the better rental agencies first. Ask them what is marketable before you invest. If you have would be into short term rentals (ie vacation rentals), you would have to be quite fussy about the agency. I dont know what the "cut" is for agencies; again, this would have to be factored in. I have been an "at distance" landlord and it is not pretty unless you have someone locally for back up.

Well, as a rental property owner in France for the past 16 years I can tell you that you can do quite well renting a property in France, but don't expect it to pay for the mortgage every month, especially if you hire a management company (which will suck the euros out of you faster than you can imagine). And if you're not fluent in French and have to use the management company to deal with your plumbers and your masons and your ironmongers and your electricians and the guys who are specialists in the moisture problems in 18th-century walls and so forth, you'll pay a hefty premium for being "An American who can't speak French and deal with these things on her own." Just a fact of life. It will eat significantly into your rental profits.

Not to mention the occasional headaches of renters who rack up $800 worth of phone calls in a week or who somehow actually break a wooden bed (!) or who do countless other things you could never imagine that will cost you lots of $$.

And of course the more expensive the property the more expensive the costs for management and service from workmen.

Not saying you shouldn't pursue it. Just a small dose of reality from someone who's been there....is there.

Oh, and you need to look into the taxe de séjour in Paris for rentals.

It is always cheaper to rent someone else's aggravation. Vacation rental property in France is no more lucrative there than it would be in the US--especially if you live a long distance away and have problems managing it.

Paris rentals might break even or make a profit over time because, unlike rural areas, because the season is longer--as in never ending. But, it is a huge investment and you will need to clean up after every weekly tenant. Also, dealing with repairs/improvements in France is a very different business than doing it in North America. You might be surprised that buying an apartment means, for the most part, you just buy the 4 walls, so to speak.

Which is why, even though I speak French fairly well, I would never buy property there. I have rental property near where I live that I rent out on long term leases (at least a year) and that is a big enough headache for me rather than changing tenants every week.

I do agree with StCirq that tenants can do some strange things to property. Recently I got a new tenant and she described a burning smell from the dryer; I more or less diagnosed the problem over the phone. So, I went up there and pulled the filter out. It was a apparent that the previous tenant never cleaned out the filter. What a mess! I cleaned it out, but I have a new filter and housing on order. If I had property in France, I would have to have someone to check on those things--and the money for a manager would come right out of my pocket.

Unless you plan to spend at least 3-4 months a year in France, I would strongly advise against purchasing property. Purchase investment property near where you live. You will make more money. Once you see profit, take the profit and invest it in better vacations. You can sell the units and improve the quality of your life in retirement (or sell your house and move into one of your units--which is my plan).

As with most rental property, you do well if you break even renting it out. You make your profit when you sell on the other end. Mine turns a small profit unless there are major repairs (as in a new hearing and a/c system). You cannot expect tenants to treat rental property just as they would their home. Some of the dumb stuff is just a result of ignorance. People who rent often have no clue as to, for example, turn off a continuously running toilet. There is no reason for them to know. They call the landlord. Over the years, I have learned how to do many simple home repairs. It saves me money to do them myself. If I had called the dryer repair guy, he would have just ordered the same part I ordered over the internet and charged me 3X as much as it costs to do it myself. Basically, parts like that just plug in. You don't have to be a genius but you do have to live nearby.

Intex: Only you know your financial situation - but even my VERY most well off friends could not swing buying a decent flat on the left bank for their teenage daughter to use for a while and then rent out maybe.

WHY can't she live in student accomodations or flat share like most kids do???? It would cost a fraction of what buying a place would be . . . . .

Taking the daughter's interests into consideration would undoubtedly be worthwhile. Most teenagers consider the 6th and 7th arrondissement to be absolute poison -- it is a retirement community.

FauxStMarie: I will take your advice seriously, with most property purchases emotions make a large part in the decision process, I guess the thought of having a place to stay in Paris caters to my absolute hatred of spending endless hours looking for an apartment months in advance of a trip to Paris (I have outgrown the Hotel stage, as we spend too much time there). In my job, I do not know what I will be doing next week, let alone months from now, that is why most of our trips are with little advance notice.
Looking at it rationally, I guess that $ could be put to better use here in the US. Something to think about when I get there and start looking.

Kerouac: Maybe the idea of my daughter living in a "retirement community" arrondissamont doesn't sound that bad?