Home Select helped a couple relocating for work to buy a three-room flat of 62 sqm in the Oberkampf neighbourhood of the 11th arrondissement. Frédéric Girard, property hunter, found it in 3 weeks. The price was negotiated from 580,000 to 555,000 euros, a saving of 25,000 euros, or 4.3%.
Mission summary
- Property hunter: Frédéric Girard
- Area: 11th arrondissement, Oberkampf neighbourhood
- Property type: three-room flat, 62 sqm
- Initial budget: 600,000 euros
- Asking price: 580,000 euros
- Purchase price: 555,000 euros (-4.3%)
- Search duration: 3 weeks
- Buyer profile: Couple in their forties, relocating from Bordeaux
The project
Sébastien and Aurélie had lived in Bordeaux for ten years. Sébastien’s promotion to his company’s Paris headquarters meant relocating within three months. Rather than rent temporarily and then look to buy, the couple wanted to buy directly, the more rational choice given their substantial deposit and the cost of Parisian rents.
Geographically they wanted the 11th arrondissement, midway between Sébastien’s office on boulevard Haussmann and the school they had chosen for their 7-year-old daughter. Time was short: the start date was set for 1 September.
The search strategy
Frédéric Girard ran the search fast-track. The mortgage file was completed in advance with the Home Select broker, so the couple held a financing certificate from day one. Presented with every offer, it established their credibility with sellers at once.
Frédéric concentrated on the Oberkampf-Ménilmontant-Parmentier triangle. Within three days he had lined up six viewings. Two properties were ruled out because the actual surface area fell short of the stated Carrez measurement, and a third for noise from a bar on the ground floor.
The property found
The fourth property viewed met the brief: a three-room flat of 62 sqm on the 4th floor with a lift, in a renovated 1920s building on rue Oberkampf. The 24 sqm living room had a dual east-west aspect, giving it exceptional light for Paris. The kitchen, redone in 2022, opened onto the living room. The two bedrooms, of 13 and 11 sqm, looked onto the courtyard.
Co-ownership charges came to 220 euros a month. The façade had been restored in 2023 and the building was in excellent condition. The C-rated energy performance certificate placed the property in the upper range of energy efficiency for the neighbourhood.
The seller, transferred abroad, wanted a quick sale, a convergence of interest with the buyers that eased the discussions.
The negotiation
Frédéric built the offer to appeal to a seller in a hurry. The main argument was not an aggressive discount but a tight timeline: the mortgage file was ready, the cooling-off period would be kept short, and the buyers committed to a fast signing at the notary.
The offer of 545,000 euros came with the financing certificate and a detailed projected timeline. The seller countered at 560,000 euros. The final agreement at 555,000 euros, or 8,952 euros per sqm, suited both parties: a fair price for the seller, a 25,000 euro saving for the buyers.
The preliminary sale agreement was signed eight days after the first viewing. The final deed followed ten weeks later, and the couple moved in two weeks before Sébastien’s start date.
What this mission illustrates
Preparing the mortgage file in advance is the single biggest accelerator in a search. Sébastien and Aurélie held a financing certificate from day 1. This document, often overlooked, establishes the credibility of the offer and lowers the perceived risk for the seller. It is a decisive advantage in professional relocations, where time is short.
A convergence of interest between seller and buyer makes the best transactions. Here, a seller in a hurry and buyers in a hurry shared one goal: to close quickly. Frédéric built his offer around that convergence rather than on a purely financial negotiation.
Three weeks are enough when the brief is precise. Sébastien and Aurélie had set their criteria rigorously: neighbourhood, surface area, budget, school. That precision let Frédéric quickly rule out off-target properties and focus viewings on serious candidates.
Are you being relocated to Paris and want to buy quickly? Contact our team to organise your search.
Frequently asked questions
How do you buy a flat in Paris quickly during a professional relocation?
A property hunter speeds up the search by going straight to available properties through professional networks. At Home Select, the average timeframe for an urgent mission is 4 weeks, against 3 to 6 months when searching alone. Having the mortgage file ready in advance is essential.
Should you buy or rent when arriving in Paris on a job transfer?
Buying makes sense if the transfer lasts at least 4 to 5 years and if the personal deposit represents at least 15% of the price. In the 11th arrondissement, prices per sqm have remained stable over 5 years, which secures a purchase even in the event of an early resale.
What is the actual timeframe between the first viewing and signing at the notary in Paris?
Between the first viewing and the signing of the final deed, you should allow 3 to 4 months: 1 to 4 weeks for the search, 10 days of cooling-off period after the preliminary agreement, then 2 to 3 months for obtaining the mortgage and lifting the conditions precedent.
