What is the role of an estate agent when buying a property in France?
Some properties are advertised with multiple agencies
Some sellers may try to sell their home through private avenues
Sibuet Benjamin/Shutterstock
Reader Question: We are viewing apartments in France and are confused over how much the agent immobilier can do for us. Does one estate agent show us several properties, or must we contact several of them separately?
An estate agent is limited in the properties they can show you.
They do not have the right to show you all properties you wish, but only the ones that are listed with their agency.
If you are looking at multiple properties, all listed with different estate agencies, you need to contact each one separately to organise viewings.
Note that this is the case even if, as is often the case, a number of different agencies advertise properties via the same internet portal.
However, an agent who you contact about one property may have other similar properties in their portfolio they can show you.
One property, multiple estate agents…
Sellers have the choice of listing their property uniquely with one estate agency via a mandat exclusif, in which case the listing is usually advertised as exclusive (exclusivité or uniquement chez…) by the agency.
Sellers are, however, free to advertise the property with multiple agencies If they wish, via a mandat simple. This method allows them to work with several agencies at once as well as to seek to sell the property themselves if they wish (see below).
There are pro’s and con’s of each, with listing with multiple agencies arguably making the property more likely to be seen.
On the other hand, an agency may make more effort to sell a property that has been confided to them exclusively.
If a seller does choose an exclusive contract, it will be for a limited period, so they are free to try another agency or agencies after it expires, if necessary.
Read more: Is my information safe with French estate agents?
… Or no estate agent?
It is also possible for a seller to completely forgo using an estate agent, selling the property by themselves via listing it online or (less commonly) word of mouth.
This option may be chosen to avoid agency fees, lowering the price of the property and increasing the amount the seller receives.
However, all property transactions require a notaire to approve the sale and sign over the official deeds such as the acte de vente.
Read more: Buying property in France: Two key steps
