Paris 11th apartment hunter for a cosmopolitan first-time homebuyer couple!

Found! Discover a search quickly conducted by Frédéric Girard, our apartment hunter specialized in Paris 11th. Given their very busy schedules, Adèle and Benjamin are struggling to find their apartment: they therefore decide to rely on Frédéric's good advice...

What is the project of this cosmopolitan couple?

Adèle is a young woman of Chinese origin, who has been working in Paris for many years: her life is punctuated by trips between China and France. Benjamin, his partner, is also between two countries, since he works in Ireland, while being of Dutch origin. Not married, they plan to buy their first real estate together, through two parental donations. A file with international financing, which gave a lot of work to the broker at Home Select (HS)!

Why use an apartment hunter?

Adèle spent a few months looking for this apartment, but she quickly realized that she would not succeed: with a very busy schedule, she could not be reactive enough. Not to mention that she also wanted to benefit from the know-how of a real estate hunter — and in particular his knowledge of the field.

What was the first asset of HOME SELECT real estate hunter on this file?

Adèle conducted some research on the Internet and was seduced by the seriousness of the Home Select site. After completing the contact form, Jean Mascla sent the file to Frédéric Girard, whose mastery of English (the couple's common language) would make it possible to support them well!

What was the essential element for the couple?

Our real estate hunter quickly contacted Adèle, to establish, with her, the list of search criteria to be included on the mandate: the couple wanted an apartment with a good distribution (feng shui), with 3 rooms and necessarily a cellar, to store their belongings. While she preferred the 11th arrondissement, they were not “closed” to other options. Only the 10th, 18th, 19th, and 20th were to be avoided. Finally, the property could require some minor work, but only in the order of refreshment. All for a budget of €500,000. Adèle was not attached to a particular surface area, so the search seemed to be perfectly plausible, considering her other criteria. Moreover, it did not require the presence of an elevator either, which was also a criterion for openness. Fortunately, because the cellar imperative tightened the specifications slightly! At this level, you should know that the difficulty, for an apartment hunter, is to find a good balance between requirements that are too restrictive and expectations that are too evasive, likely to leave too much room for the customer's subjectivity.

Beyond the real estate market, what did Frédéric have to take into account?

For this research, Frédéric had to deal with Adèle's agenda, in order to be able to increase the intensity of visits, depending on her presence in the capital or not. Fortunately, his client was very available and responsive, with an attitude that was both voluntary and positive, while also being very attentive to Frédéric's suggestions. As a “session” of visits approached, our apartment hunter went through the classified ads and created personalized emails to his contacts — especially those in the 11th arrondissement.

How did Frédéric organize the research?

On this issue, Frédéric preferred to organize a lot of pre-visits and visits, in order to familiarize her with the targeted neighborhood. And that, even if the goods did not exactly correspond to the specifications. An approach that he explained well to Adèle (and that she understood!) , not to mention that by doing so, our hunter was also establishing privileged contacts with real estate agents in the sector, in order to build his search with professionals: it is always better to put a face on a file! During these visits, Adèle was seduced by an apartment located in the 17th arrondissement, which had many qualities, but which required major work. As the property was slightly overvalued, she decided to make an offer that was lower than the asking price, but it was not accepted. Small disappointment, quickly forgotten by a new proposal from Frédéric...

How did our apartment hunter charm the landlord?

Spotted on the PAP site (between individuals), the ad offered great benefits. But when it was time to make an appointment with the owner, our apartment hunter had great difficulties: did he not want to work with a hunter? Was it just not available? By dint of insisting, Frédéric quickly discovered that he was not directly involved. The seller simply wanted to sync the sale with a purchase. Scared at first, after a purchase accepted and then refused, he preferred to put the entire sales process on hold. In this very particular context, Frédéric therefore explained to the owner all the advantages of Adèle and Benjamin's case: both first-time buyers, they were in no hurry and could negotiate a long sale, according to the needs of the seller.

What advantages did his property have to seduce?

Located in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, in a paved street, on a high floor without an elevator, the apartment in question had been renovated 5 years ago, with great taste: parquet, moldings, splendid bathroom... And naturally, the property was sold with a cellar for a displayed price of 500,000 euros.

Did our first-time homebuyers negotiate?

If the price was very acceptable, Frédéric encouraged Adèle to write a proposal for €490,000, including the possibility of a long sale, which could be shortened at will by the seller. Because of his procrastination, the property had been posted on the sites for many weeks: as the visits grew more and more spaced over the days, it was a bit “burnt”, as we say in real estate jargon. An argument that did not fail to weigh on the negotiation and the seller's decision to validate Adèle's offer.

What did they discover during the work?

When the keys were handed over, Benjamin and Adèle could move in immediately. Despite everything, they asked Frédéric for the contact details of a contractor, in order to make some slight modifications (installation of parquet in Hungarian points). At the time of the intervention, the professional discovered that the electrical installation had faults in the area of the passage of the cables in the partitions. However, the electrical diagnosis — mandatory for sale — indicated “0 faults”! Unfortunately, there is no recourse possible: as the diagnosticist cannot disassemble anything, he only evaluates the visible part! It is in this kind of situation that we see the limits of electrical diagnosis... If you cannot completely protect yourself from it, it is strongly recommended to ask for the invoices and the qualifications of the companies that carried out the work.

Frédéric, at the heart of this acquisition!

On this issue, Frédéric has never felt so useful — providing solutions, both for the seller and for his customers! Even today, he is in contact with Adèle, giving her precious advice, whenever she needs it!

“Absolutely thrilled”!

Absolutely delighted, Adèle and Benjamin invited Frédéric and his wife to the best Chinese restaurant in Paris! A place known only to insiders — and which, just when it is mentioned, still makes the heart of our real estate hunter flutter!