How to Choose a Buyer’s Agent in Paris: 10 Questions to Ask Before You Sign

In Paris, the best apartments often sell within days, sometimes before they are even listed. For an American or any foreign buyer searching from abroad, a buyer’s agent (in French, a chasseur immobilier) is the most effective way to compete. But the profession is less familiar outside France, and not every agent offers the same protection, the same access or the same fees. Here are the ten questions to ask before you sign with a buyer’s agent in Paris, and the answers you should expect.

First, what a Paris buyer’s agent actually does

A buyer’s agent represents the buyer only. Unlike a listing agent, who is paid to sell the properties in their portfolio, a buyer’s agent has no stock to sell. Their job is to define your brief, search the whole market including off-market listings, visit on your behalf, check the building and the paperwork, negotiate the price and follow the purchase to the notary. If the distinction is new to you, our article on buyer’s agents vs real estate agents in France explains it in detail.

The 10 questions to ask

1. Do you hold a French real estate license?

In France, anyone who takes part in a property transaction for a fee must hold a professional card, the carte professionnelle (often called the carte T), issued under the Hoguet law. It comes with mandatory financial guarantee and professional liability insurance. Ask for the card number: it should appear on the agent’s website and contract. Without it, the agent cannot legally charge you.

2. Do you work only for buyers?

This is the most important question. Some agencies offer a “search service” while also holding listings for sellers. That creates a conflict of interest: they may steer you toward their own stock. A true buyer’s agent takes no sale mandates. Membership of a professional body such as the French federation of buyer’s agents (Fédération Nationale des Chasseurs Immobiliers) is also a good sign.

3. How are you paid, and when?

Fee models vary a lot: a percentage of the purchase price, a fixed fee, an upfront retainer, or a mix. Ask exactly what you pay if no property is found. At Homelike Home, fees are only due on success, on the day the final deed is signed. We explain the numbers in detail in our guide to buyer’s agent fees in Paris.

4. What does the search mandate say?

French law requires a written mandate before any search begins. Read it carefully: its duration, whether it is exclusive, how it can be ended, and what happens if you find a property yourself. A clear mandate protects both sides. A vague one, or no mandate at all, is a red flag.

5. Who will actually run my search?

Ask who visits the properties, who writes the reports and who negotiates. Ask how many clients that person handles at the same time. In a market as fast as Paris, availability matters as much as experience: the agent must be able to visit the day a listing appears.

6. Which arrondissements do you know best?

Paris is a collection of micro-markets. Prices can vary by more than €3,000 per square meter between two streets of the same arrondissement, depending on the building, the floor and the light. A good Paris property finder should be able to tell you, without hesitating, which streets they would avoid in the area you are targeting, and why. For an overview of prices by area, see our Paris real estate market report.

7. How do you access off-market properties?

A significant share of the best Paris apartments sell without ever appearing on property portals: through notaries, building caretakers, private sellers and agencies that call a few trusted buyers first. Ask the agent where their off-market leads come from, and how many of their recent purchases were off-market.

8. What will your visit reports look like?

When you buy from abroad, the report replaces your own visit. Ask to see an example. A useful report includes photos and video, the floor plan, the exact surface (the legal Carrez measurement), the orientation and light, the noise, the condition of the building, and an honest list of the weak points. If an agent only sends listing photos, you are not getting a buyer’s agent’s work.

9. How do you check the building before I make an offer?

In Paris, you do not only buy an apartment, you buy a share of a building. Ask whether the agent reviews the co-ownership documents before the offer: the minutes of the last three general meetings, the planned works (facade, roof, lift), the service charges and any ongoing disputes. A facade renovation voted next year can add tens of thousands of euros to your purchase. The difference between a courtyard-facing and a street-facing apartment also matters, as we explain in our article on buying in the Marais.

10. Can you handle the whole purchase if I am not in France?

Many foreign buyers sign without coming to Paris for the final deed. Ask whether the agent coordinates with the notary, helps with a power of attorney, works with banks that lend to non-residents, and can organise the key handover, utilities and, if needed, renovation work. Also ask if they work in English from the first call to the completion.

Red flags

• No professional card number on the website or contract.
• Fees payable upfront, with nothing returned if no property is found.
• The agent also lists properties for sale.
• Pressure to make an offer before the co-ownership documents have been reviewed.
• Visit reports that only repeat the listing.
• No written mandate.

A note on the notary

In France, the sale is completed by a notary, a public official who checks the legality of the transaction and collects the taxes. The notary is neutral and does not negotiate for you. As a buyer, you can choose your own notary at no extra cost: the fees are shared between the notaries. A good buyer’s agent can recommend notaries used to working with foreign clients. More vocabulary in our glossary of French property terms.

Working with Homelike Home in Paris

Homelike Home has been finding homes for buyers since 2003 and only represents buyers. Our property hunter in Paris defines your brief with you, searches the whole market including off-market, visits first, sends detailed reports with video, reviews the building’s documents and negotiates on your behalf until the final signature. Searches in Paris start from a €350,000 budget, and our fees are only due on success. See how our process works, or contact our Paris team.