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VIP Property Hunter

Helping make your dream of the French Riviera a reality

Your personal property search agent – at no extra charge.

Find your property on the Cote d’Azur with Mission Riviera, and a team who specialise in turning dreams into reality. Our team have unique access to an impressive network of agents in the area, and through our partnerships with other local estate agencies we have access to an unrivalled portfolio of properties to suit every customer requirement – also off-market properties that are not easily found through traditional web searches.

We offer an international property finder service for clients based overseas or out of the local area. Why waste valuable time shuttling between different real estate agents or visiting unsuitable properties, when your personal VIP property search agent can do the detailed work for you? We’ll search within our own network of agents and beyond – potentially every agency in the region – to find the right properties that match your specific requirements. Our property team will then organise a visiting day tailor made for you, to view just the properties that fit your profile. We can send advanced details, such as our independent report and 360 degree virtual tours and videos, to help you narrow down your choices and save valuable time on the day. We’ll advise you on local planning changes, developments, and issues that may affect your decisions – the type of information not always available from the local agencies. As your personal property agent, we work in your best interests. Trust the Mission Riviera team to get it right for you.

By request, we can arrange private transfers for you, and liaise with the driver to take you to all the shortlisted properties on a day full of visits. Visit your selection of properties by limousine – we have a large selection, from 8 seater Mercedes V-Class to Rolls Royce Phantoms – or even by supercar or classic automobile for that extra sense of adventure. Pause for lunch at one of our recommended restaurants, from Michelin starred fine dining in Monaco, to a beach side bar in Villefranche-sur-Mer – we can make all the arrangements. We can also arrange for you to meet architects and planners, town officials or legal experts, all managed to fit within your schedule.

Your personal property search agent is at your disposal, working with the team to produce a smooth and seamless transaction, once the right property has been found. With a professional team there to ensure the paperwork is checked and cleared on behalf of the buyer, we’ll help you find the right local team to assist you with every stage of the process – looking after your interests from the offer stage to the actual purchase and beyond. From lawyers to notaries, architects to craftsmen, interior designers to kitchen planners, our network of trusted professionals and tradespeople is all you’ll need to enjoy life to the full on the French Riviera.

Appointing your Mission Riviera search agent means that rather than having to contact several different agencies on the ground and coordinate a day of visits to all the properties you’re interested in, your own personal industry expert will do all the work for you – from coordinating visits to actual price negotiations, arranging surveys or architects, and being your point of contact throughout the whole buying process. For buyers based overseas, your search agent can continue to work on your behalf even when you’ve returned home.

Once you have appointed your search agent, he or she can act on your behalf, and arrange a program of visits with multiple agencies, providing a single point of contact for our buyers, and ensuring a smooth schedule. In almost every case (except occasionally with off market properties or private sellers) there is no fee for this service. Your search agent will have a shared fee arrangement with any partner agency, and those fees will always be included in the asking price of the property. In the unusual instance where any additional fee is payable, this will always be marked clearly on the search mandate and made clear to you by your agent. Our agency tariff is published on our website.

What is a 'mandat de recherche'?

The French real estate industry is heavily regulated (much more so than the UK and US markets), primarily to protect the client, and to ensure the highest standards and best practices. Any type of property sales activity legally requires a mandate. There are essentially two types of mandate – a mandat de vente, and a mandat de recherche.

In order for an agent to bring a property to market, the seller must sign a formal mandat de vente, or sales mandate with the agent, listing all the important particulars, such as price, property description and fees. These mandates are registered and logged by the agency, and must be ready for inspection at any time by the state regulatory authorities. Where an agent wishes to show a prospective buyer a property where they do not have a mandate – a private sale, off market property or a property being sold by another agency – they can do so by signing a mandate with the buyer, known as a mandat de recherche – or search mandate. This simple document details the outline of the type of property the client is looking for, as well as a price guide.

The advantage of this system is that if your search agent wishes to collaborate with colleagues from another agency, or approach private sellers, they only have to show a copy of the search mandate in order to prove the existence of the prospective buyer. At Mission Riviera we are able to offer fully translated versions of both types of mandate, and guide our clients through the contents to ensure that they are fully briefed. We provide the bridge for overseas clients who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of the French real estate market.

FAQ

In France, the practice of collaboration between agencies is relatively common place. Frequently, an agent will approach another agency with a property for sale, and introduce a buyer. In this case the two agents will agree to split the fee between them. When we represent a client as their personal search agent, we work on the same split fee basis, and the fee is always – by law – part of the advertised price of the property. Therefore our clients pay no extra charge for our services. The only exception to this is where a property is being sold ‘off market’, with no fee included in the price. In this instance, your agent will fully explain this, and any extra costs or charges before you visit the property.

We require a simple signature on our sales mandate form. This can be done by e-signing over email, by post or in person. We will provide a full English translation for clients who do not speak French. The agreements are very straight forward, and primarily a French legal formality.

With your personal search agent, you will have one single point of contact, but you will, in effect, be working with a huge network of independent agents across the region. The resources of hundreds of agencies will be at your disposal, all managed by your personal search agent on your behalf.

We specialise in working with overseas clients based around the globe. Your personal search agent will be your ‘eyes and ears’ on the ground. Once briefed, we will be able to visit properties on your behalf, providing live video links to the agent at the property or recording footage which is then sent on to you – usually by WhatsApp. We will also show you the immediate location and local area, with any plusses or minuses highlighted. We can arrange for professional visits (architects, builders etc) and even complete the sale under your instructions, by proxy, offering a complete end-to-end service – potentially without you leaving your home country.

Yes. Your personal search agent will visit properties on your behalf upon request, and offer the same end-to-end service as with a property on our books direct. If you find properties that look good on the listing, simply send through the links, and your agent will go to work on your behalf, visiting, reporting, and taking any subsequent instruction from you.

We can help you throughout the whole process, with translation, advice, updates, even arranging for proxies, and of course attending signings and meetings either with you or representing you. We support our clients until the sale is completed, and beyond.

Yes, your personal search agent will be able to call upon a network of trusted professionals such as architects, structural engineers, builders and other specialist tradespeople, to help you gather a clear picture of exactly what you are buying.

There is no limit to how long we’ll help you search – we’re there until the mission is complete!

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