Hunting party in the 11th arrondissement of Paris
Sophie's column Rivière, real estate hunter at HOME SELECT PARIS
Hunting party in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, between République and Faidherbe-Chaligny, for a family of 4 people.
When I enter their apartment on Rue Oberkampf, I know almost nothing about Léa and Tristan whom I meet for the first time.
In their thirties smiling, the couple welcomed me with Léa's father who came to reinforce me, not to face the gunless hunter that I am, but to relieve Lou and Noé's young parents - 2 years and 3 weeks respectively - i.e. for the latter the consumption of about 420 diapers and bottles!
Welcome smiles barely hide the fatigue, and Léa's concerned look tells me about the state of emergency: four in a 50 m² 3-room apartment2, as pleasant as it is, there is a need for them to complete their real estate project as soon as possible.
Why an apartment hunter?
Léa and Tristan both have full-time jobs that sometimes require them to travel abroad. At the same time, their family life is busy with two young children. In recent months, the search for a new home revealed to them that they lacked the time and responsiveness to make this acquisition a success. The accumulation of mandates is becoming too cumbersome. A real estate agency in their neighborhood then mentions the Home Select company created by Jean Mascla. Young parents are open to the idea of hiring a real estate hunter; it gives them hope again. What if this collaboration contributed to the success of their research?
The connection is established thanks to the agency, and an appointment is made with the buyers one morning in May 2019.
This is how I am invited to defend my professional expertise, according to the established formula, through the services of Home Select. Not because I am better than the other members of my team - we are 16 seasoned apartment hunters, working together from home, sharing our sources and strengths on a daily basis - but rather because I am well aware of the requested research sector. In addition, I still have time to consider a new collaboration.
First meeting with the buyers
May 18, 2019, 11 am. Rue Oberkampf Paris 11th.
I enter Léa and Tristan's house. During nearly an hour and a half of discussions I explain to them in detail the Home Select offer, the added value of our services, and my way of working. Listening to my interlocutors is decisive and establishes our relationship. Humor sometimes creeps in, it's precious. At the end of our interview, they decided to entrust me with their tailor-made research.
Léa and Tristan's search criteria are classic: a family apartment of around 90 m2 offering 3 bedrooms, and a fairly large living room with open kitchen to accommodate family and friends. They prefer the old, prefer calm and light. The elevator is required after 2th floor. Another important condition: they need to be able to park the children's double stroller on the ground floor of the condominium. Finally, they are open to work, but would prefer to enter the premises as soon as possible.
The circumscribed location is around their homes, between République and Saint-Ambroise, with room for manoeuvre as far as Faidherbe-Chaligny.
School, babysitter, transport and workplace constraints come into play. For this project, the couple has an initial budget of €1,300,000, with the possibility of going a bit beyond that.
Start of active research
At my desk.
It all starts with setting up alerts on the application dedicated to Home Select. Returning ads requires a lot of work to clear the ground, a bit like a translator dealing with a topic. Each of them needs to be studied. For some I try to find the precise location when my interlocutors do not give me the exact address. I use my knowledge of the City of Lights, I use personal tips and tricks, I use my hunting flair. The idea is to avoid any unnecessary visits, whether to the purchasers, to the potential agency, to the owners who dread fashion shows at home, or to myself whose time is just as precious as that of others.
For the most relevant ads I require additional information, a plan if possible. Occasionally, I make layout proposals: it is the creative part that I particularly like in this job.
After several days of work, a first selection emerged that I sent to Léa and Tristan via the application. In reality, few properties meet the specifications of my clients: the real estate situation is very tense, with few offers for a much higher demand.
First visit
May 22, 14h. rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin, side town hall of the 10th.
I have an appointment with Lea. Her motivation is equal to her fatigue: at this time Noé usually sleeps and she takes the opportunity to recover as well. But for a good cause she is there, a sandwich in her hand - Noé did not give her time for lunch - the other on the handle of the stroller.
The apartment is located on 2th floor of a pleasant condominium. The double living room on the street is comfortable, the rooms are a good size, some old elements have been preserved. However, the overview is not conclusive because the kitchen is far from the living room, the bedrooms not completely quiet, and the area a bit outside the initial choice. This first visit is however constructive, and allows me to further specify the expectations of my customers. It forces me to adjust their search criteria, to get to know them better.
Pre-visit only
June 4, 12 p.m. rue Léopold Bellan, Paris 2th.
Located in the heart of the pedestrian district of Montorgueil, the property occupies a popular geographical location, but outside the sectors listed. However, my efforts in the field with the agencies I met led me to this interesting apartment, something rare in this poor real estate market.
With an area of 90.25 m²2, it benefits from a crossing space and a beautiful HSP (ceiling height). If it is dilapidated and requires complete redevelopment, its potential is there. The asking price suggests work. At the end of the visit I send a detailed video of this space in the making.
Back at my office I imagine a new plan (which will have to be validated by an architect) and I also transmit it. Despite its strengths, Léa and Tristan do not follow up, because the existing surface is a bit fair to their taste, the extent of the renovation frightens them, and they still hope to find in the 11th district dear to their hearts.
The “nugget” apartment June 12, 9:08am. At my desk.
I discover the announcement of an interesting apartment on my application. At the same time, Léa tells me that she has just received it in her email inbox since she continues to have alerts on the internet. It is the story of a harmonious collaboration between a hunter and his customers sharing their sources. Without wasting a moment I locate the ad, rush to the phone to get a map, and especially the first viewing appointment. No question of continuing to work longer in my pajamas - yes, this work is so demanding that we sometimes forget the prosaic nature of daily tasks - I go in the shower, and am washed, dried, dressed in less time than it takes to say it!
11:30am. Visit Saint-Pierre Amelot Street, Paris 11.
Almost proud to have landed the first appointment of the day, I meet Léa again, Pierre, her architect friend who galloped across Paris on a scooter, Noé asleep in his stroller, the negotiator in charge of marketing the apartment. Tristan is missing for professional reasons, but he has had all the information in advance and is still on the lookout.
The visit reveals an apartment that exceeds the expectations of my customers: a large living room/kitchen with six windows and two different orientations, two independent bedrooms and their own bathroom, a third giving access to a sunny terrace of about 12 m²2 on an open courtyard, charm... Work is to be expected, but no structural work.
12pm. End of the visit. At the local café, Paris 11th.
Sending my video of the apartment to the absent Tristan. Consultation of 4 over a drink, that is to say Léa, Tristan in line with her, Pierre the architect friend, and me. Emergency. As we know, visits by the negotiator will follow one another, the property is rare, coveted, there will necessarily be several offers at the asking price during the day. We are febrile, we have to act quickly...
12:20 p.m. After consultation with the interested parties, I send a purchase offer without negotiation to the real estate agent. I know that the agency has not been able to receive any before, and my clients have solid funding. They are therefore a priority. All the chances are on their side. There is every reason to believe that the apartment is for them. All the signs are green. The sun is shining outside, it's mild.
June 14, 10:45am. Revisit rue Saint-Pierre Amelot, Paris 11.
Léa and Tristan are reunited to visit the apartment together that the second will discover. I accompany them, guided by the negotiator. At the end of this visit my clients renew their desire to acquire this property, and thus reinforces the agency in their intention to buy: if it is a crush, it is also thoughtful, and in combination. However, uncertainty remains: their proposal has not yet been accepted or refused, and we know that the apartment has been the subject of several offers without negotiation...
June 17, 3 p.m. At my desk.
More than 48 hours have just passed in uncomfortable uncertainty. I finally get a negative response from the agency, which informs me that among the application files, the owners have chosen the second visitors. I, who had insisted that we be the first to visit - a guarantee of a certain advantage in obtaining a property - I am disappointed, and I dare not imagine the disappointment of my customers.
Why didn't Léa and Tristan get this property?
The reason lies in the vagaries of life. After our initial visit, there were a succession of potential buyers. The latter, after us, were surprised to meet the owner who came to retrieve an object forgotten at home. They got to know each other, found common ground, and no less common acquaintances. They kind of recognized each other without knowing each other, and this chance encounter largely influenced the owners in their choice. When designating future buyers, they had the feeling of an obvious transmission.
How did I end up finding the apartment I was looking for?
Almost three months have passed, punctuated by few visits, and the summer vacation marked the slowdown in real estate activity.
As expected, Léa and Tristan had difficulty considering the goods that met their needs, each being compared to the one much missed. In fact, few of them met their specifications.
September 13, 9:15 p.m. At my desk.
By going to surf on a confidential network that I know about, I discover the announcement of a property that immediately appeals to me. Given the late hour and the absence of a telephone number, I sent an email immediately for which I did not get an answer.
September 14, 8:00. At my desk.
I don't know if I dreamed about the apartment, but I'm sure I woke up thinking about him. No response to my email. I am on the lookout. I finally found a telephone number, that of a real estate agency. The announcement came from an individual, also a real estate professional. His collaborator gives me additional details, and gives me an appointment to visit it as soon as possible, in the early afternoon. I hope that my customers can come with me, because I feel it, I am almost sure, this apartment is for them!
Why was this apartment a favorite?
September 14, 2:40 p.m. Visit Square Gardette, Paris 11.
Its ideal location at the foot of the square is close to their current home. The 105 m² apartment2, in good general condition, offers a corner living room with four windows overlooking this small green lung: it's almost like being in the garden!
The adjoining dining kitchen is over 15 m².2, allowing you to imagine convivial tables. There are three spacious rooms on a very quiet street. The charm of the old is intact with all the attributes of the Haussmann style: parquet flooring, moldings, fireplace. A large cellar completes the set.
Finally, on the ground floor, there is a room that can accommodate the children's double stroller, and even their tricycles, their bicycles, their jumping balls, their scooters, their tandems, their parents' scooter! I feel like I'm getting a bit carried away, but if it's not now it never will be!
What purchase offer did they make?
My customers decide to make an offer below the asking price - but a bit above their initial budget - taking into account the fact that it is not a high floor, and therefore necessarily less bright. Their offer is accepted!
How did that happen after their offer?
As is often the case with an acquisition, there are adjustments and compromises to be made on both the buyer and the seller side. That was the case.
After accepting the offer from Léa and Tristan, the owners wanted to keep their vast cellar divisible into three, but making a whole, or to sell only part of it. First announced for 35 m2, She was actually only 18 m2.
Obviously, my customers who had been told about this cellar did not want to give it up. In addition, the title of ownership showed that it was linked to the apartment, and therefore inseparable, unless there were long and complicated procedures. The sellers then wanted my customers to pay a higher price than the one already accepted, even though they had countersigned their offer, thus engaging them. It was impossible to go back, and the buyers did not intend to reconsider their initial offer, which was already generous.
Finally, the owners wanted a much longer period than that generally applied between the sales agreement and the final signature, in order to have time to have the work carried out on their future home, while remaining in the current situation. As a result, buyers were forced to postpone entering the premises for three months. It was starting to get a lot...
A financial gesture was finally found, coming from the agency. Being both in charge of selling the owners' apartment, and having found their new place to live, through this double operation she was committed to rounding the corners.
The promise to sell was signed within the agency about fifteen days following Léa and Tristan's purchase proposal. Then, the final signature was made six months later at the notary.
Did the couple do any work?
The apartment, which was already in good general condition, did not really need renovation. But Léa and Tristan, eager to make some adjustments, asked a company that they knew in this perspective.
When they were finally able to integrate their home sweet home, spring was shining... between two showers!
Summary of this collaboration
Léa and Tristan needed to be accompanied and relieved in the search for their future apartment. The large number of their criteria made the task difficult in a complicated real estate environment, with few quality properties for many buyers. The perspective I gave them from a third party allowed them to better understand what they really wanted and what they didn't want. While my professional expertise and my responsiveness contributed to the success of their research, they were very committed and caring partners: it was therefore a real collaboration that allowed us to find a rare property.
All my thanks go to this lovely family: to Léa and Tristan for their sympathy and involvement, to Lou, a very awake little girl, to Noé, a beautiful, placid baby who facilitated all visits for us!
