A search with a property hunter in Paris takes an average of 45 days, from signing the mandate to signing the preliminary contract. During these six weeks, the hunter analyses between 80 and 150 opportunities, personally visits 20 to 30, and presents only 3 to 5 to their client. For the buyer, this means 3 targeted viewings instead of 40 haphazard ones, and a property found in six weeks instead of six months. Here is how these 45 days unfold, told from the inside.
Day 1: the first meeting, where everything starts with listening
The first conversation between a buyer and their property hunter is the most important moment of the entire process. Not because the hunter delivers their sales pitch, but because this is where they learn to understand what you are truly looking for.
At Home Select, this first meeting lasts between one hour and one and a half hours. It takes place at our offices, at the client’s home, or by video call for buyers living outside Paris. The hunter asks questions. Many questions. Not just “how many rooms” and “what is your budget”: they already have that information by email or phone.
The questions that matter are those that reveal your lifestyle, your deep priorities, your unspoken constraints. What time do you leave for work and by what means of transport? Are your children in school and at which one? Do you entertain often? Do you work from home? Do you need absolute quiet or do you enjoy neighbourhood life? Is there an arrondissement you dislike and why? Are you willing to do renovation or do you want turnkey?
These questions are not idle curiosity. They allow the hunter to build a precise portrait of your project, the one that will guide every decision they make in the weeks ahead. A client who says “I want a three-room in the 7th” may actually need a two-room with an office in the 15th, because their real, unexpressed criterion is proximity to metro line 6 and a quiet environment for remote work. It is the property hunter’s job to bring these hidden criteria to the surface.
The first meeting ends with an honest assessment. The hunter tells you what is realistic and what is not. If your budget of 450,000 euros for a bright three-room flat in the 6th with a lift is at odds with the market, now is the time to know, not after two months of fruitless searching. This moment of truth is uncomfortable but essential. A hunter who agrees to everything just to sign the mandate will cost you far more than time.
Days 2 to 5: calibration, refining the target
The days following the first meeting are devoted to calibration. The hunter translates your brief into operational search criteria. They cross-reference your wishes with market reality: the arrondissements compatible with your budget, the types of property available in those areas, the trade-offs to consider (space versus location, floor versus light, quiet versus neighbourhood life).
This calibration work results in what we call the “search profile”: an internal document that summarises in a single page what the hunter should look for, what they should avoid, and which criteria have flexibility. This profile is shared with the client for validation. It is the search GPS: without it, the hunter would be navigating blind.
Calibration also includes an analysis of actual prices, not the asking prices of listings, but the effective sale prices in the targeted areas, drawn from professional databases and recent transactions. This analysis validates that the budget is consistent with the criteria, and identifies the pockets of the market offering the best value.
Days 5 to 30: the active search, the invisible work
This is the longest and most intensive phase, and the one the client does not see. For three to four weeks, the property hunter works in total immersion.
The daily scan
Each morning, the hunter reviews new listings published overnight on professional and public platforms. They also check alerts from their off-market platforms and messages from their network of partner agents. In Paris, between 800 and 1,200 new listings are published each week. The hunter filters the vast majority in seconds (price outside budget, unsuitable location, insufficient area) to retain only the 5 to 10% that warrant closer examination.
Activating the off-market network
Alongside scanning public listings, the hunter activates their personal network. They call estate agents they work with regularly to find out about properties in preparation, not yet online. They contact building caretakers in the target areas: many private sales happen by word of mouth before a listing is even drafted. They consult neighbourhood notaries, building managers and architects.
This off-market network is the product of years of on-the-ground presence. A hunter who has been practising in Paris for fourteen years has hundreds of active contacts, agents, caretakers, notaries, who think of them when a property comes available. A hunter who is just starting out simply does not have this relational fabric. It is one of the reasons experience matters so much in this profession.
At Home Select, the team effect amplifies this network. Our sixteen hunters exchange daily about properties they come across in their respective searches. A hunter prospecting the 11th for client A may find a property that is perfect for client B, whose colleague is searching in the same area. These internal synergies are a structural advantage of firms over independent hunters.
Pre-visits: the decisive filter
Out of the 80 to 150 opportunities analysed during a mandate, the hunter selects 20 to 30 that warrant a physical visit. These pre-visits are the core of the profession. The hunter goes in person, alone, and scrutinises every aspect of the property and its surroundings.
They check what photos do not show: street noise at peak hours, the real condition of the stairwell, effective natural light (not the wide-angle, sunny-day photos), smells (restaurant kitchen on the ground floor, damp), cleanliness of common areas. They inspect meters, joinery, damp traces, cracks. They read the co-ownership noticeboard to spot voted works, arrears, disputes.
After each pre-visit, the hunter writes an internal report: does the property match the criteria? What are its strengths? Its flaws? Is the price consistent with the market? Are there negotiation opportunities? This report determines whether the property will be presented to the client or set aside.
Out of the 20 to 30 pre-visited properties, the hunter retains only 3 to 5. The rest are eliminated for reasons the client could not have identified from a listing: fragile co-ownership, unreported nuisances, overpriced, structural defects, deteriorated surroundings. This filtering work is the property hunter’s most tangible added value. It spares you 25 wasted viewings and guarantees that each property you see deserves your time.
Jean Mascla’s advice: During the active search phase, trust your hunter. If they have not contacted you for five days, it is not because they are not working: it is because they have found nothing worth presenting to you. A good hunter does not send you properties “to show they are working.” They only send you the right ones.
Days 15 to 35: client viewings, 3 appointments that count
When the hunter identifies a property that ticks every box, they contact you. The report is detailed: real photos (not the listing ones), price analysis, co-ownership status, points of concern, and their personal opinion. If the property interests you, the viewing is arranged quickly, often within 24 to 48 hours, because good properties in Paris do not stay on the market long.
The viewing with the hunter is very different from a standard viewing with an agent. The hunter is not trying to sell you the property: they are trying to help you make the right decision. They draw your attention to things you would not notice: “look at this ceiling crack, it could indicate a structural problem above,” “this apartment has an E energy rating, that means insulation work ahead,” “the caretaker told me the facade renovation is voted for next year, allow 12,000 euros as your share.”
On average, a buyer working with a hunter visits 3 properties before finding the right one. Three. Not thirty, not forty: three. This efficiency is no accident. It is the direct result of upstream filtering. Every viewing is an appointment that counts, not a blind exploration.
It happens that none of the first three properties is a perfect fit. This is not a failure: it is valuable information. The client’s feedback after each viewing allows the hunter to refine their understanding of the project. “Actually, I realise the floor level matters more to me than the size.” “I like this neighbourhood less than I imagined.” These course adjustments are a normal part of the process.
The day: the purchase offer, negotiation takes centre stage
When the right property is identified, one you and your hunter agree on, the negotiation phase begins. This is where experience makes all the difference.
The hunter drafts the purchase offer. Not a two-line email, but a structured, substantiated document that justifies the proposed price with comparable market data, technical specifics of the property (energy rating, works required, co-ownership condition), and the buyer’s strong profile (financing secured, no prior sale condition, quick availability).
The proposed price is carefully calibrated. Too high, you overpay. Too low, you offend the seller and they refuse to negotiate. The right price is one that is sufficiently below the listed price to represent a real saving, yet sufficiently substantiated for the seller to take it seriously. It is a balancing act the hunter performs several times a month.
The negotiation can take a few hours or a few days, depending on the seller’s motivation, the number of competing offers, and the strength of your arguments. The hunter manages the back-and-forth with the seller’s agent or the seller themselves, keeps you informed in real time, and advises on each decision: hold the offer, raise slightly, walk away if the price does not come down enough.
At Home Select, the average negotiation achieved is 6% below the listed price. Across 1,200 mandates, that represents millions of euros in cumulative savings for our clients. This is not a promise: it is a verifiable statistic, reflected in our detailed case studies.
Days 35 to 45: from the preliminary contract to peace of mind
The offer is accepted. Emotions run high: you have just found your future home in Paris. But the hunter’s work is not finished.
Legal due diligence
The hunter checks, or has checked, all the legal documents before the preliminary contract is signed: title of ownership, mandatory technical surveys, general meeting minutes for the last three years, statement of charges and voted works, co-ownership rules, building maintenance log. Every anomaly identified can become a renegotiation lever, or in serious cases, a reason to withdraw.
The preliminary contract
The hunter accompanies you to the notary’s office for signing the preliminary contract. They ensure the suspensive conditions are correctly drafted (particularly the financing condition if you are borrowing), that deadlines are realistic, and that all negotiated elements are properly formalised in the document.
After signing the preliminary contract, a ten-day cooling-off period begins. During this period, you can withdraw without cost or justification. The hunter remains available to answer your questions and dispel any doubts, because post-signing doubt is human and normal.
Support through to the final deed
Between the preliminary contract and the final deed (two to three months), the hunter remains your point of contact. They coordinate with the broker if needed, ensure the suspensive conditions are lifted within the deadlines, and answer all your questions. On the day of signing at the notary’s office, they can be present if you wish.
And then, the keys are in your hand. The mandate is complete.
Over fourteen years, we have honed our method across more than 1,200 mandates. Each search is unique, but the rigour of the process is always the same: listening, filtering, precision, negotiation. It is this method that produces our results.
What separates a good process from an excellent one
All property hunters in Paris broadly follow the same steps. What differentiates the best is the execution in the details.
The quality of listening at the first meeting. The depth of the off-market network. The rigour of pre-visits: a hunter who spends thirty minutes in an apartment will see things a rushed hunter who spends ten minutes will miss. The precision of negotiation, based on data rather than bluff. And above all, the intellectual honesty to say no when no is the right answer: no, this property is not for you; no, this price is not justified; no, this co-ownership is not sound.
Jean Mascla’s advice: Ask your hunter to show you a sample pre-visit report. The quality of that document, its level of detail, its structure, the relevance of its observations, is the best indicator of the quality of work the hunter will do for you.
It is this combination of method and candour that explains why our clients rate us 4.9/5 across more than 250 reviews. The process is demanding, but the result is there: a property found in an average of 45 days, negotiated 6% below the listed price, after only 3 client viewings.
Want to experience this? Tell us about your project: the first conversation is free, and your dedicated property hunter will contact you within 24 hours to understand what you are truly looking for.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a search with a property hunter in Paris take?
On average, an experienced property hunter in Paris completes a search in 45 days, roughly six weeks between signing the mandate and signing the preliminary contract. This timeframe can range from 3 weeks for well-calibrated projects to 3 months for very specific searches (tight budget, unusual criteria, competitive neighbourhood).
How many viewings do you do with a property hunter?
On average, a buyer working with a property hunter visits 3 properties before finding the right one. This is the result of intensive upstream filtering: the hunter analyses 80 to 150 opportunities, personally visits 20 to 30, and presents only the 3 to 5 that truly match the client's criteria.
Does the property hunter visit properties before presenting them to me?
Yes, this is the fundamental principle of the profession. A serious property hunter systematically pre-visits every property before proposing it to their client. They check compliance with the criteria, the real condition of the property (beyond listing photos), noise levels, the co-ownership, and any defects not visible in photographs. This fieldwork is what distinguishes a hunter from a simple listing aggregator.
