1. Where are you based?

If the company you plan to deal with is not based in France then they will not be governed by French law. If something goes awry with your purchase then you will have no legal recourse against the company that "sold" you the property.

If you deal with a French-registered business then you can be comfortable in the knowledge that the company is governed by French law and that in the event that any issues arise the French company can be held liable.

So many UK and Irish companies promise that they will look after you throughout the purchase process however the only company that is contractually bound to represent your best interests for a property purchase is a French estate agent or a French notaire.

Ascendant is a French estate agent managed by a British team.

2. Are you licensed to sell property in France?

This is a particularly important question to ask. The French real estate market is highly regulated and there are strict rules and regulations surrounding who is able to sell you a property. Only those people with the relevant qualifications, language skills, financial guarantee and insurance are able to become estate agents.

When you are buying a property you are investing a significant sum of your hard-earned money into your dream holiday home or retirement plan. If you were buying shares of the same value you would be strongly advised to speak to a qualified financial advisor with the right experience and expertise to minimise your risk and maximise your profit. You should approach your property purchase in the same way and make sure that the people giving you advice are fully qualified to do so.

All the team at Ascendant are fully licensed and qualified to sell property in France and we pride ourselves on our professional and ethical approach to business.

3. Are you the estate agent?

Many agents (particularly British-managed businesses) in the Alps are actually just middlemen; companies that represent local estate agents to put properties and buyers together and make a sale. If the person you are dealing with is not the estate agent then they will have no relationship or contract with the vendor of the property and their company will not be the listed in any of the legal paperwork relating to the sale.

In the event that you end up buying a property that you shouldn’t have then who will you turn to for compensation? Under French law the business that sold you the property would be the estate agency that you have never met or dealt with and not the middleman. You will have signed all the paperwork and agreed to the terms of purchase based on information provided by someone who you have no legal contract with – it is too late to come back with any complaints about being given the wrong information or being misled.

As a French estate agent Ascendant is always featured as the sole or joint sales agency on your legal paperwork.

4. Can I meet you at your offices?

If the company you are planning to deal with is not able to give you an office address to meet them then you should be extremely cautious about dealing with them. We hear so many terrible stories about businesses that are not legal, not qualified and not honest in their dealings with clients and a warning sign is that they cannot give you an office address to go to. What happens if something goes wrong, how do you know where to find them, how do you know where to contact them and how do you know who they are? If many of these companies did have an office they would be closed down by the local authorities because they are not legal – if they are prepared to pull the wool over your eyes about this what else could they be lying about?

You can find details of Ascendant’s registered address on our Contact us page and we are always happy to meet clients at our office.

5. Are you a member of a trade association?

There are two large trade associations in France; FNAIM and SNPI. Any agent that is signed up to either of these bodies and displays their logo is a fully qualified estate agency, has agreed to a code of conduct and undertakes regular training and mentoring exercises managed by their trade association. As a buyer or a vendor this gives you the comfort of knowing that you are dealing with a team that has happily signed up to adhere to an outstanding quality of service and ethical standards.

Ascendant is a member of the trade association FNAIM.

6. Do you speak both English and French?

This may seem like an obvious one yet so many people are prepared to entrust their hard earned cash to someone who has no real grasp of the French language. If your agent cannot speak fluent French, how can they possibly liaise with the vendor to negotiate the sale price or ask relevant questions about the property or speak to the notaire to ensure that the legal paperwork for the sale is all in order? If you spoke to an estate agent in the UK who only spoke French would you use them to buy your house in the UK?

All the staff at Ascendant are bilingual English/French speakers.

7. Do you know the property personally?

This question often goes back to where the company is based, if they are in the UK then it is most likely that they will not personally know the property you want to buy. However this can also apply to the middleman companies based in France – often they take photographs and descriptions from local agents and post them online without ever having seen the property.

When you are planning a buying trip it is imperative that you speak to an agent that personally knows all the property they have for sale, otherwise you could be wasting your valuable time and money with entirely unsuitable viewings. Meanwhile your dream home is snapped up by someone else.

The team at Ascendant knows all our properties personally and we endeavour to ensure that you view closely matched properties during your buying trip.

8. How do you organise viewings?

You should be confident that when you come to France you view the right properties with the minimum amount of stress and wasted time. Many so-called agents simply make viewing appointments with a whole host of French agents (many of whom speak no English) and then leave you to fend for yourself during your trip in the hope that one of the properties you see will be the one for you.

As a result you will never have spoken to the people doing the viewings and you will need to find your way to a number of different agents in different resorts throughout the course of the day. This is a highly stressful and wasteful way to property hunt.

At Ascendant a member of staff will speak to you well ahead of your trip to identify suitable properties to view, meet you at either our offices or in resort, accompany you to every viewing regardless of the location and spend time helping you get to know the local area. Our aim is to make sure that you get the most out of your trip to the area and to find your dream property.

9. What happens post-purchase?

Once the paperwork is signed and the commission cheques handed over, many agents are suddenly a lot less keen to hear from you. Companies based in the UK are not willing to help you to organise local builders, bills and letting agents which is where a local agency really comes into its own.

We really try to help as much as we can after a sale has completed and we are always on hand to help answer questions, check over letters that you have received in French, put you in contact with local tradesmen or letting agents etc.

10. Do I need extra legal advice?

Our advice to this question is two-fold. Firstly, it depends on the notaire that you are using to handle your purchase. Every property sale in France must complete via a notaire and all notaires work to the same pre-set fee structure, so there is no difference in cost. The notaire represents both parties and the French government, ensures that the sale is legal, that it takes place with no risk to the buyer or vendor and that all taxes are collected. It is always worth asking to use an English-speaking notaire to manage the paperwork; even if the vendor has their own notaire a second one can be appointed for you at no extra cost. If your notaire speaks fluent English then there is often no need to take out separate legal advice as he or she can explain the sale paperwork, legal process and French inheritance laws to you.

Secondly you should consider the complexity of your purchase. For example, if you are buying an old barn and you need to apply for a change of use so that you can convert it into a catered chalet then we would recommend taking out independent legal advice for your purchase as this can be a complicated transaction and application process. If you are considering a simple ski apartment or a privately-owned chalet, then an English-speaking notaire will be able to answer any questions you may have and ensure that the paperwork is all present and correct.

You should avoid taking legal advice from an estate agent or any company associated with that agent. Legal advice should be entirely impartial. If there is any commercial relationship whatsoever between the business selling you a property and the business providing you with legal advice then impartiality is impossible. Any agent working “in partnership” with legal advisors is to be avoided, particularly if they try to present it to you as an all inclusive package.

We know a number of notaires in the area that have excellent reputations and speak fluent English; one of them even employs English staff. This gives our buyers the confidence that they can liaise directly with the notaire for anything from inheritance to payment of local taxes (something that a UK-based solicitor could never help arrange!).

Hopefully this has answered many of your questions about buying property in the French Alps and the pitfalls that should be avoided when choosing a reliable agent. We are confident that we offer our clients an exceptional service that is second to none in this part of France. To find out more about how we work and the type of property we have for sale please call us on +33 (0)4 50 10 44 23.