A valuation you can follow
Every valuation starts from the DVF records published by the French tax administration, which list each recorded sale with its price and built area. For your commune we look at recent sales of comparable homes, then adjust for what the figures cannot capture: the land, the view, the exposure, the condition and what the planning rules allow. You receive an argued avis de valeur rather than a single number. Our guide on how a valuation is reached explains the method; the price per m² page shows the starting point for each town.
Presentation and photography
Buyers who live abroad often see a home on a screen long before they visit. Before photographs are taken we agree what to repair, clear and arrange, then photograph the house, the garden and the view in good light and as they are. Our guide to preparing a villa for sale covers the documents worth gathering early.
Discreet marketing to international buyers
Agnieszka writes each presentation in English, French and Polish and puts it in front of buyers looking for this coast, including those on our off-market register. If you prefer not to advertise publicly, your home can be shown only to selected buyers whose search fits. Every advertisement shows the price and fee information that French consumer rules require.
Mandate types
French law requires a written mandate before an agent may act for you. The three usual forms are these.
| Mandate | What it means |
|---|---|
| Simple | You may instruct several agencies and still sell privately. Only the agency that makes the sale is paid. |
| Exclusive | One agency only; you may not sell privately while it runs. The first three months are irrevocable; after that either party may end it at any time with fifteen days' notice by registered letter. |
| Semi-exclusive | One agency, but you keep the right to find a buyer yourself. The mandate may set a reduced fee in that case. |
Every mandate is dated and signed and states the price, its duration, how it may be ended, the fee and who pays it. If you sign a mandate at a distance or away from the agency's premises, you have fourteen days to withdraw, unless viewings have already started at your request. No fee may be taken until the sale has actually been concluded. Our fees are set out in the fee schedule.
What you must provide
The seller supplies a technical diagnostics file, the dossier de diagnostic technique, which is attached to the compromis and to the deed. For a house it can include, depending on age, location and equipment: the energy performance diagnostic (DPE), lead and asbestos reports, a termite report, reports on electricity and gas installations more than fifteen years old, the non-collective sanitation report where the house is not on mains drainage, the état des risques and an energy audit for homes rated F or G. A flat adds the Carrez floor area and the co-ownership documents.
The sanitation report must be less than three years old at the signature of the deed. Where a home lies in an area subject to the brush-clearing obligation, you must also tell the buyer about it and attach a signed declaration to the compromis and the deed. Our guide to property diagnostics explains each item.
This page gives general information. Your notaire will confirm what applies to your own sale.
Last updated: 11 October 2026