Don't move - the baguette is fully loaded

I read this interesting report from Agent Genius earlier this week.

Entitled "One in four male realtors are packing heat while on the job" it highlighted the light years that separate life in Urban USA and life in deepest rural Charente.

If the research is to be believed then 15% of male estate agents in the US carry a gun and 10% carry a knife for protection. I'm guessing that the stats are a bit distorted but even so it makes me grateful for the life we have out here.

I'm not naive and understand the risks that (particularly female) agents take - I was at Savills when Suzy Lamplugh went missing in 1986 and fully support the brilliant work done in her name by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

Life is, thankfully, slower & safer here.

I did a quick straw poll of some of the local agents I deal with in and around Jarnac.  All carried a mobile phone with them but the most dangerous weapon that anyone admitted to was "yesterday's baguette which I left in the car by mistake"....

www.cognacproperty.com 

Charente estate agents - my wall of fame

Fortunately I have been pretty busy lately, scouring the countryside (weather permitting) on behalf of four different clients, all of whom want to visit, and buy, either in December or January.  I have racked up plenty of kilometres in the company of many local agents immobiliers.

There are literally hundreds of estate agents on my patch.  Even I don't know them all and I'm living and breathing property out here five days a week, 52 weeks of the year (well, maybe with the odd holiday thrown in, but you get the picture).

Some of these agents really are first class - helpful, professional and trustworthy and so I thought it worthwhile sharing some of my favourites with you.

Cognac - the first house I ever bought on behalf of a client was a small townhouse in the centre of Cognac and we bought it through a delightful chap called Jerome Desset. He has since started his own agency and I have yet to find a more thorough agent out here.

Jarnac - there are some terrific agents in Jarnac including Charente Immobilier and Ariane Immobilier. The one that I would like to highlight though is an agent immobilier called Hervé Pauillac who will be starting an office on behalf of Maison d'Immobilier in the town centre.  It will be a tough market to crack but Hervé is the most honest and mild mannered agent I have worked with and I wish him luck.

Ruffec - I have mentioned them before but I always look forward to viewings with Christophe Guay and his team at TIC Immo.  They are a truly friendly and professional bunch and heartily recommended.

Chateauneuf - there's only one winner here.  I have been working with Don Kingdom of Cabinet Pellet since I started out in 2003 and it's been a pleasure.  We must have shared thousands of cups of coffee while out on viewings and his agency always seems to have something different to offer.

Angouleme - what a crowded market place with nigh on 100 agencies to choose from.  My favourite for sure is John West of Leggett Immobilier.  He's a trained architect and a true professional. When I view houses with him I tend to stand back and listen as he can spot things in an instant that it would take me a week to come up with.

St Jean D'Angely - another town swimming with agents.  My favourites are the little known Immobiliere Saintongeaise and Caroline Knight.  They are a small, friendly agency and I know from experience that Caroline really looks after her clients well, guiding them through the process from start to finish.

Villebois Lavalette - this is a simply stunning town and my first port of call is Anne Montauban of Europ Immobilier.  She's enthusiastic and knows her local market like the back of her hand (or "like her pocket" as they say over here).

Barbezieux - I usually start any searches here by speaking to Georgia Taylor.  She has lived in the area for a while now and her "little black book" of local artisans is almost as full as mine!

La Rochebeaucourt - this is a bit of a cheat as it's Joanna Leggett of Leggett Immobilier.  They actually have agents all over France including Charente, Charente-Maritime and my other neighbouring departments. Their website is one of the best around and Joanna is always most helpful.

Of course these are only a few of the agents I deal with - there are dozens more that could have made this list and apologies to those who I have left out.

If you have the time & inclination to visit them then I'm sure you will be given a warm welcome.

Don't forget though that by appointing me you would automatically be given access to all of these agents plus hundreds more (as well as those notaires who sell houses too). 

The beauty of appointing a buying agent is that we have the time, contacts and local knowledge to help you view everything that is on the market.....and often properties that aren't even being formally marketed or are only for sale privately.

Anyway, hope you found this useful and if you're an estate agent covering departments 16 & 17 and think you have something different to offer my clients then please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Who knows you might even get a mention on my next wall of fame!

www.cognacproperty.com

Trick photography doesn't help anyone

It's a beautiful, sunny day here in the rural charente valley, just the kind of afternoon when I should be thanking my lucky stars that I'm not stuck in a west end office thinking about the commute home.

Sadly though I'm seething.

Technology is changing my business, mostly for the better. However, I do now regularly get emails from clients saying "seen this on the internet and it looks great, can you check it out".

Of course, I'm usually happy to do so and it's good that I work with such serious and involved buyers.  The bad news is that virtually without exception the fantastic looking "maison de maitre" for €150,000 is blighted.

The wonderful photography, taken with a wide angle lens, skillfully makes 500m2 look like a couple of acres or conveniently stops just short of showing the lorries streaming down the N10 towards Spain and Portugal.

I was out this afternoon visiting one such house - it bore no resemblance to the details on the internet and even whilst driving up I knew I'd just wasted my time going there.  I understand that agents & owners want to market the positive attributes of their property but come on, let's keep things realistic.

Finally a true story.  Friends were over from England last week and went into the estate agents that are selling their holiday home.  They saw the details in the window but with a photo of the wrong house.

When quizzed the agent said:

"I know but it's in the same road as yours and it's much prettier".

www.cognacproperty.com

The mystery of the disappearing house

It sounds a little like one of the stories I read my children at night doesn't it.

Yesterday I was with a lovely couple who are selling their home just north of Cognac.  They were telling me that when they were originally looking to buy over here they did lots of research on the internet from the UK. 

They identified a really pretty house they liked and had lots of conversations with the agent about it to make sure it fitted their brief.

Sure enough it did, indeed it looked and sounded idyllic. 

So they flew over to view it and turned up at the local estate agency at the appointed time.

In fact they arrived a little early.

So early that their guy wasn't in the office yet.  They excitedly chatted to one of the other negotiators about the house they had come to view and he accidentally spilled the beans that it had been sold almost a year ago. They just hadn't taken it off the website yet because it was pretty and got people through the door.

A few minutes later their contact arrived and casually said "sorry, the house you were interested in has just gone under offer. Don't worry though, I have some other viewings lined up for you".

If I hadn't heard similar stories dozens and dozens of times before I might have been shocked.

www.cognacproperty.com