AGENT PROPERTY SHARING

TAKING CARE WITH BUYING ON THE COTE D'AZUR

I am always delighted -  OK, a bit smug  - when I come across great properties thanks to my detective work. The weeks leading up to a client arriving are intense, but it always pays off and it is a wonderful feeling when I do find that special property.

However, this year  I have been experiencing a whole new level of service from agents and developers. They have started to call me when they have a new property on their books and ... 'would I like to see it before anyone else does?' Private sellers, too, are contacting me on a regular basis. (Although I have to say this market tends not to turn up that many interesting finds in my experience - but I always keep an eye on it.) Even a contact at a Syndic (apartment management company who are able to act as estate agents) called me recently to suggest some apartments they wanted to sell. This week-end my popularity hit a new high, however. Chasing up Notaires for clients is a game those of us in the business are use to playing. This weekend, however, a Notaire phoned me about  a couple of million-euro properties available for sale.

The word is that my clients are serious and always buy. Now although I am flattered by this attention, and being the first through the doors is obviously a huge advantage for my clients, I am in no doubt about the motives of the agents and sellers. They are entirely self-interested. If they can sell a property quickly and directly, they stand to make a bigger profit. Once a property goes 'public', competing agents will fall over themselves to make the sale even if it is not directly on their books. This means that the original agent (who holds the 'exclusive mandate') is obliged to split his or her commission with a second agent, and sometimes even a third is involved. On the buyer's side, this means the margin for negotiation is less as the pie gets cut thinner and thinner.

Many agencies on the Côte d'Azur are part of the SIA group. SIA is like a club which agencies pay to join. It allows them to access and share each other's properties via a computer listing system. The 'exclusive mandate' agent lists his or her property, throwing it open to all the other agents in the SIA club, but the original agent still retains a cut of the commission (usually 50 %) if sold by one of these secondary agents.

Agents and property finders who are signed up to SIA are very keen to tell buyers that this gives them access to a much wider number of properties. In one sense it does and I can see it has its uses as a search tool. But in reality, agents are often not that happy to share and will certainly do what they can to keep a good property to themselves. Although those in the SIA club are obliged to list apartments and villas, they can make it difficult for other agents to see them. If it is a particularly interesting property, they will often try and sell it before it goes on the site. Hence why I get so many calls from agents wanting me to bring them clients first as I don't share the commission with them.

SIA is the reason if you go to a Riviera-based estate agent or property finder's website these days you will often see a huge number of properties. However, when you call the agent you are more than likely to be told: 'Oh that one is sold...' (usually months ago). It was never their direct property to start with so they have no idea it is sold until they check the listing. They have probably never even been to visit it. But having so many in the shop window is a good tactic to get you to call them and start talking.  The next question is usually, 'what are you looking for? We can do a property search for you....'

In fact what they actually do is called 'being an estate agent'. Many agencies on the Côte d'Azur - particularly the Anglo-focused ones - have cottoned on to the fact that 'property finder' or 'property finding' sounds as if they are working for you. However, there has to be a conflict of interest in there, no matter how you dress it up. If I hire an estate agent to sell my property, I don't want him or her to be working for the other side as well. As a seller, I want the best price I can get. And no matter how nice and charming an agent is to your face, the agent wants the best commission he or she can get. It's not complicated.

One concern I have is that the SIA listing has actually created a competitive first-to-the-post situation. While this works in favour of my clients since I am getting first pick through direct tip-offs from the original mandated agent, I am seeing consequences for some buyers. In an aggressive and competitive market like Nice, for example, some agents are pushing properties on to clients that they have little or no knowledge of in the hope they make the sale before someone else does. Under SIA agency sharing, the pressure is on for an agent to get a seller to commit quickly to an offer before another agency comes along. The agent accepts an offer and then 'blocks' the apartment from being shown by other agents.

A seller I know whose apartment is up for sale in Nice has serious legal issues in her building (an illegal restaurant that is in long-term litigation with the Syndic). But you would probably only know this if you have some connection to the owner and the original agent. And if you are one of literally hundreds of agents chasing this apartment, chances are many will not know or think to ask the right questions (and some unscrupulous ones will try and cover it up - and I have this as a fact). The hope is, then, that the Notaire picks up on any problems at the Compromis stage. But not all Notaires are perfect, plus by this point the buyer has wasted considerable time and money on a deal that should by rights fall down.  

Many agents in Nice and the Côte d'Azur are good, professional and careful. I am happy to have a very good relationship with these agents. They claim that they have always shared properties, it is just easier now with a one-stop site.  But I see how it works daily with the less meticulous agents and 'free' property finders and there are serious issues for the buyers. With big money at stake, this is not a market where one wants to be taking risks nor to make decisions about property without being fully informed. I want an agent to know the owner and I want to find out the history of the property before I go any further with a serious offer. It just makes sense.

Villefranche, espadrilles and summer

Strolling through Nice's Old Town the other week, I spied a shop piled high with espadrilles - all colours and patterns, some flat and some with heels. Ahhh... it is finally summer, I thought! So of course, I had to  buy a pair (this season's nautical blue and white stripe, small wedge heel, for those who are interested in such things).

The point is that I have been so busy with clients flying in and flying out that I haven't really even noticed the perfect golden days of these early summer months. Head down, I have been flitting between searches for villas and apartments. All successful, I am pleased to say. I jokingly tell people that I have a track-record of success to maintain - but it is only half joking.

With my latest clients returning home this week after a whirlwind visit of one day of viewings (and settling the following day on a fabulous apartment in a glamourous and rather well-kept secret neighbourhood of Nice) I now have a quiet-ish moment to contemplate a long Riviera summer.

Lunch at Villefranche  on the Port

I am asked all the time does it feel like I am on permanent holiday living on the Côte d'Azur? Well yes and no. Yes I have the beach on my doorstep and the sun overhead. But when working, there is not much time to enjoy the Riviera life.

But I have decided that the time has officially come to launch summer. I shall be putting on my espadrilles and stepping out. First stop Villefranche sur mer for a swim and lunch at one of the port-side restaurants.

Villefranche is one of those picture perfect seaside villages on the Côte that never changes. Tourists come and go, the season gets busy with cruise ships, yet  this fishing village's beauty and smallness doesn't seem drowned by the waves of outside attention. Property prices are especially high in Villefranche. A combination of exquisite charm, its desirable position close to a sandy beach and proximity to both Nice and Monaco.

A four-bedroom villa with sea views will be advertised for around 5 to 6 million euros. A recent search for clients in this area turned up some great properties, however, that were certainly negotiable (250,000 - 500,000 euros off was the standard whisper from the estate agents who know my clients always buy and don't play me for a naive incomer).  In the end, my clients and I settled for a villa in Eze bord de mer - just round the corner from Villefranche. Another beautiful spot but, like Beaulieu, slightly more exclusive.

Million euro views from the hills above Villefranche

Whether its Villefranche, Beaulieu or Eze, my new pair of espadrilles sums up the spirit of these villages perfectly. Relaxed, beachy and definitely summer in the South of France.

Côte d'Azur through a Russian lens

In September last year, Russia launched a luxury train service between Moscow and Nice. Tickets for the 53-hour journey start at around €300 and climb steeply to €1,500 for first class. We already have the 'slow food' movement and now 'slow travel' is seemingly the next big thing. The train meanders through the Eastern countries, passing through Austria and Italy, before arriving in what many Russians consider to be their Southern 'home', Nice on the French Riviera.

A very busy week spent with lovely Russian clients recently made me think about this wonderful train trip — a romantic return to another era. It also made me ponder on the relationship between the Côte d'Azur and Russia and how it never seems to fade. Today's Russians who come to visit are part of a new world, far removed from the imperial milieu of their ancestors. But the attraction is still the same.

The Russian love affair for Nice and the Côte d'Azur dates back to the late 1800s, when Russian royalty and nobility began to vacation here during the winters (joined by their British 'relations'). The advent of the new railway system in the mid-19th century confirmed the Côte d'Azur's status as the playground of the rich and made travel to the region easier. By the time of the Russian revolution, the numbers of Russians arriving in Nice had swelled considerably as noble families took refuge on the Riviera.

The Russian Orthodox church in Nice

Today there are still clear signs of this Russian history in the city. Nice has one of the largest and most beautiful Russian Orthodox churches outside of Russia. There is also a Russian cemetery. The landmark Negresco Hotel is home to a spectacular  crystal chandelier in its foyer, commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II. The identical twin of the Negresco chandelier hangs in the Kremlin.

After a roller-coaster of a week speed-shopping (and happily succeeding in finding the perfect villa  for my busy clients), I am looking forward to taking the very slow train to Moscow one day soon.

Villas, spring garlic and the Côte d'Azur

I have spent  a considerable part of this week looking for a special family villa for my Russian clients. My clients are new to the French Riviera and its different towns and villages. This makes things a little hard in terms of settling on an area and they are relying on me to lead them. Thus, most of my time has been spent going from one end of the Côte  to the other in order to give them a decent selection - from Villefranche to Cannes.  I'm hoping this 'best of' will help them to make a decision on location and then we can narrow down the search once they are here.

As with all my searches, it is hard work in terms of the amount of preliminary research and then considerable hours of viewing.  But it is also a pleasure to rediscover parts of the Riviera I have not visited for a while. Over the winter, I realise how much I have tended to remain Nice-bound. But now the sun is out and Spring is here, I am enjoying the journeys over to the Cap d'Antibes to glimpse around the beautiful houses that normally one only admires from the road and then back again to do the same on the Monaco side. 

After a particularly productive morning spent looking at some of the best villas on the Cap d'Antibes and Cannes with my favourite agent, we decided to take a quick lunch at Juan les Pins. There is a wonderful beach restaurant in Juan where the tables tumble down to the sea and your feet rests in the sand as you sip rosé and dine on simple sea-food. Sitting there, with the sun shining down, the waves rolling in, we both had to agree that life doesn't get much better than this.

FRESH SPRING GARLIC

It is a busy time, however, with clients arriving one after the other and more arriving in less than a week. All of my clients quite rightly expect the highest level of service and attention. In this job you need to be available at all times. Sometimes it can feel like you are on stage in a particularly intense play. You are expected to perform at your best day after day with no 'off' moments.

By way of relaxing, cooking is always my escape. Going to the market, picking out the seasonal ingredients and being inspired to come home and cook is a pleasure that lets me escape from the pressure of house-hunting. This Saturday the market in Nice seemed to have come over all 'Spring'. Every stall was over-flowing with new season vegetables and fruit, from fresh green peas ready to slip out of their pods to the first vanilla-flavoured ruby strawberries from Carpentras. Each stall was also decorated with bunches of lavender lilacs, scenting the market with their elegant perfume.

But what really caught my eye was the first new season garlic. Plump, pungent and delicious. Nothing can compare to the rich green flavour of fresh garlic. The dried up stuff that we use for most of the year is a pale inferior.  The man at the stall asked if I wanted the garlic trimmed and I said 'No thanks' immediately. The green tops being as wonderful as the rose and cream bulbs.

My favourite fresh pasta shop in the Old Town (Barale, in rue Ste Reparte) yet again inspired me with their fabulous choice of pastas. In the end I settled for their ricotta, roquette and pistachio ravioli and I headed home with a basket of Spring.

The ravioli was dressed with the simplest of sauces - a glug of the best olive oil, a few torn basil leaves and a grind of black pepper. To accompany it was a green salad, with a small amount of the fresh garlic leaves chopped up and tossed in - just enough to give a garlic bite, but not to much that it over-powered the delicate meal.

Bonjour printemps!

Room with a view

What the latest 2011 property prices for the French Riviera tell us about the market

'What are property prices doing on the Côte d'Azur and what will they do?' This must be one of the most frequent questions I am asked by clients on a day to day basis.


Well, the latest property prices for the Côte d'Azur have just come out and as usual it sends out mixed messages to both buyers and sellers. The agents in Nice all want to hype the market up but the reality is that the prices in their shop windows are often far from realistic given the quality of the properties. One can calculate an average square metre price as a starting point, and for the statistic fans, this is currently between €3,500-5,889 per square metre. But check the agents' pricing for central Nice and 'average' doesn't seem to figure in their world. This is partly optimism on their part, but it is also combined with a busy market.  However, there are many more variables that must come into the equation, and these can't be calculated as an 'average' price. 


This makes the square metre average in Nice - and the Côte d'Azur generally - a difficult figure to pin down. It will depend on the neighbourhood, the street in the neighbourhood even. Besides location, most important is the state of the building and the position of the apartment - what floor it is on, if it has a balcony or terrace, etc. Then there is the charm factor and view. The top-end average of nearly €6,000 per square metre suddenly becomes redundant if you have a nice-looking building in a prime location with caché (high or top floor, good size terrace, not over-looked). 


I have been busy with several searches in Nice and along the coast recently. I feel slightly schizophrenic as I have searches on the go both for large prime location villas as well as small pied-à-terres. As I swing between the two, what I notice is that in the smaller budget range there is a lack of understanding by both agents and sellers about what makes a great property. It is not so much that the properties are over-priced (which often they are - but usually at the behest of the unrealistic owner rather than the agent), but that at any price I would not want my clients to buy them. Simply, they do not stand out. They may be in a good location, but they miss something - that something that is so hard to describe as often it is just a feeling. An apartment can be 'right' or 'wrong' and it is hard to say exactly why. Needless to say, I drive the agents crazy with this undefinable criteria. 


Agents generally want to tick lists. Two bedrooms, check. Balcony, check. Central location, check. Lift, check ... But you can't tick a box that says 'this just makes me feel good but I have no idea how to put that into words'. This is what I am looking for in my searches as much as all the important factors such as location and investment potential.


ROOFTOPS OF OLD NICE

I love a view and I love finding properties for my clients that have a view, or if not the perfect view, then at least something that will make their apartment or villa special. Obviously in the smaller budget (under €400,000) this is a tough task. Drop below €250,000, it becomes even harder. But get the ingredients right and you will have a great apartment rather than an ordinary one.

That is why I am particularly proud of my last search. A budget of around  €200,000 is always a challenge on the Riviera if you want more than a shoebox, but I found a perfect pied-a-terre. It has a fabulous full-sized terrace in Nice's old town - which is very rare. Nicely renovated with all new electrics etc, it's also on the peaceful side of Vieux Nice away from the hustle of the market Cours Saleya and Palais de Justice. The building is in great condition, which is also a find in this area. And it has a very romantic view over the old terracotta roof-tops and looks over to the tower of an ancient church of the quartier.

Price per square metre: at the higher-end of the Nice average, but nonetheless an excellent buy. Happiness factor for my clients: hopefully priceless.

NICE CARNIVAL BEGINS

The sun came out for the first day of Nice carnival yesterday. The annual event is one of the best known festivals in France and signals the start of Spring on the Côte d'Azur. The traditional bataille des fleurs (battle of the flowers) kicks things off with enormous flower-decorated floats. Perched decoratively on the floats, Niçoise girls throw flowers at the crowds - mainly the first saffron coloured mimosa - and are followed by noisy Southern French brass bands,  dancers and enormous floating ballons in mad shapes and vibrant colours. It is worth coming to Nice for the two-week Carnival to experience  the flavour of Southern life and festive fever.

The carnival is also a prime-time to rent out apartments as I keep telling clients who maybe don't want to visit or can't at this time. Good quality, well located apartments rent and rent throughout the year in Nice. However, the market is competitive and I find so many people are led astray by agents who are naturally anxious to make a sale rather than thinking in the best interests of the buyer. I'm currently looking for investment apartments for two clients and I can see straight away what has potential and what doesn't. This is often at odds with what the agents and 'free property finders' will be trying to say (and please people, understand that a free property finder is an estate agent as well - they are merely acting as  intermeditate agent, so their eye is on making a sale regardless and gaining the maximum price).

In Nice a street can make all the difference between a really good investment and one that is not. When looking for rental investment it's important not to be hasty or encouraged by pushy agents into a bad decision. My clients' interests are my priority and they know I will never compromise on this point.

2011 Happy New Year

THE ELUSIVE PERFECT VILLA

The sun is shining on the Riviera (finally, after an exceptional rainy season) and it brings the feeling that Spring is really not so far off now. Before that, however, there is the Carnival to look forward to in Nice and the lemon festival in Menton (a very unique affair).

This is always a busy time for me with the France Show in London (13-15 Januray) and a wave of early new year clients. All have quite different briefs, but quite rightly all my clients are looking for the best property in their budget as well as the best deal. They trust me and I do my best to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit and uncover the special apartments and villas. But some days  I think I should change my job description to 'detective'.

My villa search for one client is going strong but the number of disappointing properties that I have to keep crossing off my list grows by the day. The sellers' and agents' expectations of price and quality often seem at such odds to what is being shown. The area I'm covering is quite wide, from Valbonne, Mougins, to Antibes and Nice. But the majority of houses have a familiarity about them. Badly designed (if an architect was involved, they should be ashamed), badly constructed (ditto the builder) and dated interiors (a speciality of the Southern French, I'm afraid). One of my favourite clients from last year describes them as 'gin palaces': Showy, poor interior design but strangely, lots of space for parking and a pool. 

I was thinking about this on my last visit - yet another neo-Provencal villa, all pink stucco, Spanish arches and 70s bathrooms but asking over a cool million - and wondering how my aesthetics (and those of my clients) could be so out of step with the Southern French. The agents' job is to sell a property, so I don't blame them in the slightest for doing what they are paid to do. But it does amaze me how often I have to explain why I don't find the chipped brown and green tiles attractive and why a lay-out that involves going through two bedrooms to get to a bathroom just doesn't seem...well... practical. They almost take umbrage when I tell them it is not worth showing it to my clients. The next step of the game is the half-whispered, 'You know you can make an offer' (i.e. this property has been on the books for far too long and the price was too high). Just because something is 'cheaper' (i.e. 100,000, 200,000, 300,000 euros less than the original asking price), however, doesn't make it a good buy at any price.

But it is all part of the hunt and makes tracking down the good villas become not only a challenge but a pleasure when I finally find the few that make my list.  And of course there are the agents who do 'get it', who organise good viewings and turn up on time -  and they are a breath of fresh air (and always on my speed dial).

So the search continues and I know it will be a success in the end.

A Happy New Year to all!