Become a

FrenchEntrée Property Finder

The simple & low cost route to starting your own property
search business in France

 Proven business model

 Exclusive territories available
 Full legal compliance
 All training provided
 Marketing promotion included

FrenchEntrée . com
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Live & work in France
Introduction
Since 2004 FrenchEntrée has
been the leading online resource
for people buying property and
considering a move to live in France.
Every month over 150,000 visitors
use our site to help them find
property or answer their questions
about all aspects of buying or living
in France
In 2008 we launched our
independent Property Finder
network and we already have
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a dozen property finders active This business model has been
across France. Now we are seeking proven over the last five years
energetic and talented people to by one of our directors, Graham
join our growing team in all regions Downie who founded Cognac
of France. Property Services.
Within two to three months you Despite the economic down-turn
could be up and running with: many of our property finders have
been busy with clients during 2009
 Your own fully registered so we are very confident that you
independent property search will be successful. How hard you
agency work and how much you earn is
 An exclusive territory in France up to you – once you have paid the
Full training on how to run initial one-off joining fee you will be
the property finder business Graham Downie entitled to keep 80% of all property
Director of FrenchEntrée Property
 A website built and hosted Services Sarl search fees charged to clients. Work
for you part-time and enjoy the work /
 A valuable online marketing life balance you dream of, or work
package to generate enquiries you with full training, you can full-time and maximise your income
 Full compliance with all French expect to earn up to €60,000 potential in France!
legislation p.a. working part-time and up to
 An operating manual and legal €90,000 p.a. full-time. You will After some years, when you have
documentation be working from your home in built up your business as a going
 Ongoing support and advice France and fund your French concern you may decide to sell the
lifestyle by providing a professional business, at which point you can
Based on the actual experience of service to English speaking property look forward to a sizeable reward
our founder partner and business buyers looking to purchase a home for all your earlier investment in
director in France, who will provide in France. time and effort.
The market
Even in a slowing world economy,
France is unique in providing a
property dream for every
budget, rom the smallest Breton
cottage to the grandest chateaux,
from rural small holdings to
millionaire Cote d’Azur villas.
It offers something for everyone,
great food and wine, beautiful
landscapes, fascinating culture and
property at comparatively affordable
prices. Although the later stages
of 2008 were very quiet, 2009
has seen the property market re-
starting with several trends evident:
 British buyers are shunning the
over-hyped, quick-buck far-flung
destinations and the scary property property on the FrenchEntrée
laws in Spain and focussing on
France once again.
 International buyers are seeking
a safe home for their investments
and regard France as a
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predictable and stable economy
with good long-term property
investment prospects.
 Early retirees and people
taking redundancy in the UK are
still attracted to France by the
affordability of property and the
lifestyle when contrasted to the UK.
 When compared with more
distant destinations, for British and
northern European buyers it remains
a short journey by low-cost flight,
ferry, or car to the holiday home or
for the family visits.
Meanwhile enquiry levels for
website have been rising every
month sonce the start of 2009 and
the FrenchEntrée Property Finder
exhibition stand at the France Show
2009 proved very popular and
generated many good leads. Territories still available in most parts of France
What does the job involve?
Testimonial
“Using your company’s services
saved time, travel expense and
frustration. Someone on the
ground dealing with Immobiliers
and Notaires also really does sift
out the best properties.”
Mr & Mrs Fryer, Gemozac
“Thank you for your invaluable
help in finding us such a lovely
house, we can’t wait to see it
again.”
Mr & Mrs Larder, Headingley
“The agent has done a good job
and we are grateful to her for all
her efforts but our real thanks go
to you for finding us such an ideal
new home - thank you very much
indeed.”
Mr & Mrs Bowden, West Sussex
“Thanks for all your hard work
in finding us such a wonderful
house.”
Mr & Mrs Gregory, East Sussex
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Requirements
You will need to be living in France
or about to move to France and you
will need to be able to speak some
French. Whilst you do not need
direct experience of estate agency
you must be numerate, literate
and have a genuine interest in the
property market.
You will need a home office, a
computer, colour printer and ADSL/
phone line, a digital camera and a
comfortable car to take clients on
viewing trips.
Your role
As an independent search agent you
will take a brief from your clients
as to their budget and their ideal
property purchase. You will then
scour the local market and view
potential properties on their behalf.
Once you have finished your search
you will send them a full report
on the best properties (including
an independent description,
photographs and maybe even
video) and a shortlist for them to
view.
When your clients come to view the
properties you will accompany them
along with the vendor or relevant
local estate agent who is handling
each property. If they decide to buy
one of the houses you introduce,
you will help them negotiate the
best price with the agent or vendor
and then you step back from the
transaction - your job is done.
Your client will sign the
“compromis” (exchange of
contracts) with the local agent and
your client will pay the search fees
at this stage so you do not have to
wait until the end of the transaction
to see your payment.
You receive no commission from
the agent or the seller as you will
be providing an unbiased and fully
independent service. You are not
tied to any estate agent.
Testimonial
“I am very happy and impressed
with the service offered by
Laurence. Right from my initial
interest in purchasing a property
in France, Laurence was friendly,
helpful and provided all the
information and support needed
to make the process as simple
and as enjoyable as possible.
From finding properties to view
that exactly matched my criteria,
accompanying me to viewings,
providing advice with legalities
and paperwork once I had
decided to buy, to even having
a coffee and a chat. I know that
if there is anything else I need
with regards to living in France
she is just a phone call or email
away. I am very much looking
forward to spending time at my
new place in France and would
recommend Laurence to anyone
else thinking of buying there.
Thank you.”
M.W, Kent
How will I make money?
Location, location, location
In recent years the popularity
of independent property search
services has grown.
Property buyers have been
educated about the value of using
search agents, especially when it
comes to the challenges of buying
abroad. So now is a very good time
to be offering a service of this type.
The way it works
We will pay you 80% of all the
property search fees charged to
your FrenchEntrée Property Finder
clients. The fee system works as
follows:
 A consultancy fee of a minimum
500 euros is charged to the client in
order to begin a search (refundable
if they purchase a house you have
found them)
 The client pays the full search
fee of 2.75% of the purchase price
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should they buy a property you
have found for them.
For instance, if they buy a house for
300,000 euros the total search fee
will be 8,250 euros.
The fact that you charge a 500+
euro fee to begin a search means
that you will be working with
serious buyers who will be in a
position to act immediately if you
are able to find the right house for
them. A minimum fee policy of
3,500 Euros ensures you make a
reasonable return even on lower
value property searches.
Unlike some property finders who
are, behind the scenes, actually tied
to certain estate agents, you remain
independent – the fees come from
the buyer and not the estate agent.
Additional services and fees
If your clients are buying the
house as a holiday home or rental
investment you will be well placed
to offer property management
services at a competitive rate.
You will be able to keep 100%
of these add-on fees as they fall
outside our remit. You will also be
entitled to participate in a range
of FrenchEntrée organised affiliate
schemes whereby you can earn
additional commission income by
introducing clients to mortgage and
currency services.
Your costs
Joining Fee - the initial fee is
payable on signing contracts. This
is a one-off payment providing
you with all the benefits outlined
below. It assumes that there will
be one person running the business.
There are two levels of joining fee
dependent on the region of France
in which your territory will be based:
 Territory A: 21,000 Euros
(within the Cote d’Azur, Provence,
Ile de France, French Alps)
 Territory B: 13,750 Euros (within
all other regions)
 Service Fees – we will retain
20% of any property search
commission fees paid by the
client as payment for the services
that we provide to you.
 Business costs e.g. Telephone,
postage, car, petrol, stationery,
accounting etc
 Taxes – unfortunately these are
a fact of life, even in France, and
we will help you understand your
liabilities
What do you offer me?

What you receive on joining and – Design and creation of a relevant regional property
paying your one-offJoining Fee FrenchEntrée website for you to sections
When you first become a promote your business, – Advertising on relevant local
FrenchEntrée Property Finder we optimised for search engines and property and related pages
will supply you with: with full instructions on updating – Advertising on our property
the site with articles and pictures database
 Full training on all aspects of etc – Advertising in our online
running the business: – A FrenchEntrée email account directories of property services
– Company formation – Appropriate legal documentation – Business advice support by
– Administration – A logo and personalised phone or email
– Marketing and business stationery template – Website and email hosting
development – A step by step operating manual – Website support by phone & email
– Client handling – A list of English speaking What you receive on an ongoing
– Working with estate agents professional advisers (legal, tax, basis
– Hints and tips accounts, banking) Once you have joined you will
benefit from:

 Exclusive rights to use the

FrenchEntrée brand and trade as the
only FrenchEntrée Property finder
in your territory (agreed between
us and clearly defined using map
references)
 Rights to work under our Carte
Professionelle
 A FrenchEntrée marketing
package including:
– Editorial articles placed in

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And finally...
About your territory
The territory is a very important
aspect of the business model and
one that we will plan and discuss
in some detail with you should you
wish to pursue the opportunity.
Your territory will be identified with
reference to local maps and will
be exclusive to you and no other
FrenchEntrée Property Finder will be
offered any part of your territory.
Territories are agreed according to a
number of factors such as:
 Historic and anticipated
popularity and demand
for property
 Numbers of properties and
estate agents
 Proximity to airports,
ferry ports Terrain
 Driving distances
Your local knowledge
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Legal compliance
We consider that working within
the correct framework of French law
is an essential requirement for all
FrenchEntrée Property Finders.
To comply with French legislation
you will work under the umbrella
of the Carte Professionelle that we
provide as part of our service, which
provides insurance and financial
guarantees. We have taken
extensive legal advice on this matter
to ensure that the arrangement
complies with French legislation and
will enable you to establish your
business. You may wish to work or
study to obtain your own Carte or Contact us now for an informal discussion about becoming
simply continue to work under our a FrenchEntrée Property Finder.
Carte.
Guy Hibbert Graham Downie
Managing Director, FrenchEntrée FrenchEntrée Property Services Sarl
Tel: 0044 (0) 1225 463752 Tel: 0033 (0) 545 324641
Email: guy@frenchentree.com Email: graham.downie@frenchentree.com
FrenchEntrée . com
faqs
Why would anyone pay fees to a property finder?
Many people do. It’s a fast growing business and
indeed in the USA 63% of homes were bought
through a property finder last year.
Clients are usually professional people to whom time
is money. They do not want the hassle or expense
of unfruitful property searches and are happy to pay
someone on the ground to do the legwork. A good
property finder will save clients time spent on wasted
trips and help him save money when it comes to
negotiating the lowest price possible.
Why would the buyer pay fees to the Property
Finder and to the agent as well?
Estate agencies work for the vendor and try to sell
houses for the highest price possible. They highlight
the positive points of a house and steer away from
any negative issues. We are in a position to give
unbiased advice on all houses we view.
We work exclusively for the purchaser and are fully
independent of all agents. As such one of our roles
is to help purchase the property for the lowest price
possible – in almost every case the savings we help
negotiate for clients more than cover our fees.
Can a Property Finder save a buyer money?
Definitely. During a search we collect a huge amount
of “comparable evidence” that helps highlight the true
value of properties we have viewed. When it comes to
negotiating the price this evidence is a real asset. Our
founder agent has averaged an 18% reduction over
the asking price since he started and has often helped
negotiate far bigger savings.
Isn’t the market slowing down?
There is no doubt that during 2008 the overseas
property market slowed down rapidly due to the
credit crunch, economies falling into recession and
problems with local property markets. However, the
signs in 2009 are that the French property market
has “re-started” and remains popular with overseas
buyers. FrenchEntrée property finders have seen
clients from USA, South Africa, Sweden and Thailand
as well as UK buyers. New leads continue to come
in. Considering the negative economic news property
enquiry levels at FrenchEntrée remain healthy during
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2009 and there are people looking and starting to buy How long will I be entitled to run the business? As an example*:
across all regions and price-bands. You will sign an open ended agreement. As long as Area one
both parties keep to some basic obligations you will Average price of house purchases .............. 280,000€
What happens if my buyer decided to be able to keep your business in perpetuity. Average fee .................................................. 7,700€
buy elsewhere? Houses purchased per annum ..................... 8
We have introduced commission schemes to allow Why don’t I just start this myself and save Total gross income from searches ............... 61,600€
you to earn referral commissions when you introduce your fees? Your income after our % deduction ............ 49,280€
a client to another FE property finder or to one of our Of course there is nothing to stop you having a go. Assumed income from add-on work .......... 14,000€
Premier Partner agents. So you can still make money But most new businesses fail due to the founder Total gross income pa .................................. 63,280€
even if your client changes their mind and wants to lacking know-how and experience, so our model
look elsewhere. is designed to minimise your risks of failure and Area two
maximise your chances of success. We offer you Average price of house purchases .............. 450,000€
How many clients will I need to make a know-how and access to our experience, full legal Average fee .................................................. 12,375€
decent living? compliance, a proven business model plus a trusted Houses purchased per annum .................... 8
This depends upon your definition of a decent living. brand and a valuable marketing package all included Total gross income from searches .............. 99,000€
Over the last four years the average purchase price in the costs. Your income after our % deduction ........... 79,200€
of houses bought by our founder agent is 280,000€ Assumed income from add-on work .......... 18,000€
and rising (and don’t forget the Charente is one of the How can you support your claim that I can Total gross income pa .................................. 97,200€
cheaper areas of France to live). With search fees of generate fees up to 60-90,000€ pa? *all figures quoted are gross and include TVA at 19.6%
2.75% this equates to an average fee of 7,700€ per Our founder agent will be happy to talk to you about
house bought. A minimum fee policy of 3,500 Euros this, as well as giving you testimonials from clients How many property finders do you have already
ensures you make a reasonable return even on lower he has acquired houses for and agents he works with. signed-up?
value property searches. Of course there are also His experience shows that around 80% of his income We have a total of twelve in our network, with several
additional fees to be earned in property management, comes from transactional work (i.e. house purchases) others due to sign shortly. Some details are provided
project management, referral income from currency and 20% from add-on work and affiliate commissions. on the next page.
brokers, mortgage brokers etc. How much you earn will depend upon how much time
you devote to your business and will be affected by
The initial joining fee seems large – the area of France you live & work in. What territories are available?
how do you justify it? Our current property finders cover territories within
We think it is excellent value for these reasons: the Alps, Provence, Poitou-Charentes, Pays-de-la-Loire,
The permanent long-term income potential is very Gironde, Pyrénées Orientales and Normandy. It is
large in relation to the one-off joining fee important to note that territories are typically smaller
You will be buying into a proven business model in size than a single Département so you should not
so you greatly reduce the normal risks associated be put off applying for any of the above areas where
with a new venture there are still plenty of territories available.
You only pay the joining fee once, but you earn See the paragraph above “About your territory” for
your income every year for as long as you want further details about territories.
A large percentage, 80%, of the search fees are
paid to you. What marketing support is provided?
Thanks to our experience and previous As described above your membership of the network
investments you can be up and running in a very includes a guaranteed ongoing promotional package
short period of time on FrenchEntrée.com. In addition to this we will from
It is a complete “turnkey” solution requiring only time to time recommend additional co-operative
limited experience and know-how marketing opportunities such as exhibitions and
You are building up your business as an asset advertising. Such activities will be subsidised by us
which you can sell to someone else in the future, in order to provide discounted prices to members
earning a lump-sum when you retire or change who will be invited to participate on a first-come-first
direction. served basis.
faqs

How are you promoting the service to property PR campaign to French property press and UK Rebecca Russell, Nice How do I know that my training will be good
buyers? national newspapers When I tell people I enough to get me started?
We are now running a series of promotions to gain the Every month in French Property News one of our live in Nice they often
attention of the property buying public and to build Property Finders writes an two page article about ask if it feels like Allison Hunter, FrenchEntrée Property Finder, Northern
awareness of the service and generate business for their area being permanently Alps, comments on the training provided:
our recently joined property finders, including: Distribution via international property press on holiday. It can
channels sometimes feel that “I was both delighted and relieved to have found the
Now is therefore a great time to be joining the way - the sun shines, session comprehensive, thoughtful, well-prepared and
Exhibition stand at The France Show 2009 network in order to benefit from the publicity in place the Mediterranean therefore time efficient - all aspects which I personally
and the increasing awareness of the network. glistens and people value enormously. I can often find myself over-
are never in a hurry. prepared relative to other efforts made but I’m happy
Can you give me some examples of the kind of However, I do have to have found my match in Graham!
Laurence Verhaeghe
people who are joining? to work and joining
Limousin French Entrée’s
He had considered my business plan, my market and
Laurence Verhaeghe, my questions and had structured pertinent comments,
Show Update! network of property finders was a perfect choice. I
The France Show was well attended and our stand Limousin have found that the business model works very well, tips and general advice around this. The 24-hour slot
was busy much of the time, generating many leads for “I love this area as it offers providing not only a much-needed service for buyers we had together was well-tailored to me and not a
property finders and a number of immediate search beautiful countryside but also a good support structure that offers advice, waking minute wasted. Without this well-structured
commissions. It was a great opportunity for some of and all types of property marketing and assistance. approach, we might not have achieved half as much,
our property finders to get to know each other and including cottages, barns, as we only really had a half day working through
test their presentation skills! traditional farm with With a couple of clients signed up in the first few the manual. However, with good preparation and
land, mills, “maisons de months, I’m delighted now to be able to help other discussion notes we covered a lot of detail in the car
maître”, manoirs and people find ‘la belle vie’ on the Côte d’Azur. It means and over dinner.
even castles. Working as less holiday, more work, but that’s something with
a FrenchEntrée property which I can certainly live! I have come away with a clear action plan in my
finder my knowledge of
the area has enabled me to seek out and negotiate mind for getting started, clear about what needs to
Janine Zdziebczok,
the ideal properties for my clients. I’ve been busy be put in place to be ‘open for business’ and some
Calvados, Normandy
already looking on behalf of several clients and it has structure to my ideas for future evolution. The value
The attraction of
been very gratifying see that the properties exactly Calvados for me of having the ‘structure’ that comes with an existing
matched the clients’ criterias! is the diversity of model, to add to one’s own ideas and local market
Alison Morton characteristics, starts to become more tangible.
Loire countryside and coast
Alison Morton, Saumur and equally wide Having started up my previous PR consultancy
“My husband, Steve, ranging property business totally on my own, I feel as if the model
and I have had a holiday styles. Sharing my and the ‘induction’ provided by Graham should really
Advertising in French Property News home in France for some love of the area with avoid a lot of lost time and momentum that is often
US advertising in France Today and France time now. I have been a clients who have also par for the course in the early phase of any start-up
magazine regular visitor to France, chosen this region business.
Advertising and editorial coverage on particularly this area, since for their future home
FrenchEntrée.com I was a little girl. Living is without doubt I commented to Graham on the way back to the
in France when I was one of the most
airport that it seemed as if at least a week had passed
younger was a wonderful enjoyable aspects
while we’d been working together, rather than 24-
time so we recently of the role, but I am also benefitting from getting
to know the area in far greater depth as I make my hours, because of how much I had been able to move
decided to move across
full time; this seems the perfect opportunity. I look searches. Coming back from a day viewing properties on in my thoughts. What pleased me was that I was
forward to welcoming clients and friends to what is with the feeling that you have just found your client able to get a clear view of all the basic mechanics
undoubtedly one of the prettiest and best value areas that special property is a great reward after the hours needed now for set up, the adaptations relevant to
of France”.. spent in research. my market and the opportunities for the future.”