Contract with the French real estate agent

FRENCH REAL ESTATE CONTRACT

MISTAKES WHEN HIRING A FRENCH REAL ESTATE AGENT</strong>

Be certain to completely understand the real estate agent</strong> fees. For example, is it a fixed price contract, or based upon a percentage of the sale ?

WATCH OUT FOR OVER-QUOTES TO WIN THE CONTRACT

The initial selling price quoted by the real estate agent</strong> is often optimistic, in order to gain your business.

It is likely that your property will be sold at a lower price and we recommend that you agree to a percentage (vs. fixed fee) contract with the agent.

PITFALLS WHEN SIGNING WITH AN AGENT IN FRANCE

• We recommend that you do not sign a “mandat exclusif de vente” (exclusive agreement)

Legal rules applying to an exclusive agreement signed with a rget=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>real estate agent</a>:

• A 3 months contract with 15 days notice,

• If you sell the property yourself during the exclusive contract period, you are likely to be subject to paying all or most of the agent’s fees anyway (100 % or sometimes 50 % (Subject to the Contract).

You could be tied to a real estate agent</strong>, even if you want to terminate this contract.

A non exclusive agreement

If the real estate agent seems to be trustworthy, just sign a <strong>non exclusive agreement with the reaagent.

ADVICE

A word of Advice

• Don’t sign anything before obtaining qualified legal guidance
• Hire a lawyer in France to review the contract (approx. cost: 200 euros).

Worst scenario: the exclusive agreement was a bad idea

Sometimes, the sale of the house/apartment is locked in an exclusive agreement (“mandat exclusif”), even if the real estate agent in France is not looking for new clients.

In some cases, the real estate agent</strong> in France will advise you after few weeks/months to lower the price</a>.</strong></p>

Two possible reasons:

1. The French real estate</strong> agent wants to quickly sell the property without too much effort,
2. The quote was way above the market (in order to win your contract).

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