I recently worked with a professional video producer, Joanna Urwin, to create a short film about Allez Francais and how we work. Joanna runs a Dordogne based business "VideoProFrance".
I don’t want clients to think of us as "Estate Agents". Allez-Francais is in the business of selling houses, but we take a lot of time to get to know our clients, what matters to them and the kind of property that will suit them best. In the long run this saves everyone a good deal of wasted time and disappointment.
Our Team have a vast range of property knowledge, and experience of living and working in various areas of France. They can advise on mortgages, currency exchange, surveys, legal matters and insurance – a complete package so to speak!
I am delighted with the video Joanna produced. I hope it gives people an insight into the level of service that we offer and the process of buying a property in south west France.
Through working with Joanna, I also gained a better understanding of how versatile and effective using video can be.
Property sellers are increasingly using the power of video to get their property listing found in a web search. Joanna explained to me that including an optimised YouTube video on our property website will significantly increase the chance of a property being seen on page 1 of Google.
Video is also mobile friendly, which is good news bearing in mind that the number of people searching for a property on a tablet or smartphone is growing all the time.
Allez-Francais.com of course has a full web page dedicated to each and every property on our books.
If you are interested in having a short video made to promote your property for sale - I recommend you to contact Joanna. If we have a mandat to sell your property, we will add a copy of your YouTube video to the Allez Francais website, and if we sell your property too I guarantee to refund you the cost of having the video produced.
If you would like to know more please email me sales@allez-francais.com or contact joanna@videoprofrance.com
Thursday, 19 March 2015
Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Guest Post: Christian Perron - founder of jesuisagentimmobilier.com
All Allez-Francais agents are registered with JeSuisAgentImmobilier, based in Bordeaux. Christian Perron, who also writes books and produces CDs for the estate agency industry, founded JeSuisAgentImmobilier in 2005.
Christian writes:
"We at jesuisagentimmobilier.com are a French national estate agent network, and work with great success with Allez-Français for more than 6 years now. Peter Elias’ team sold 22 % last year of our total annual sales of properties.
Their exposure to the international market is very important because France is the most wanted country in the world!
And, of course, the Allez-Français team are located in the best parts of France!
Peter’s team allow principally English speaking people to have access to great choice of properties in delicious regions, with a premium standard service which includes every aspect of our work for both buyers and sellers : from financing though mortgages / banks and currency companies to maximise exchange rates, from market research to homestaging, HDR pictures of the highest quality to Comparative Market Analysis, etc.
The Allez-Français team also use a powerful Estate Agency software programme to manage their big portfolio of properties for administration, and to publish them on the most efficient estate websites & networks.
His team is dedicated to customer satisfaction and excellence. I highly recommend Peter as my “best professional” for over 10 years as an estate agent"
 |
| Christian Perron |
Christian writes:
"We at jesuisagentimmobilier.com are a French national estate agent network, and work with great success with Allez-Français for more than 6 years now. Peter Elias’ team sold 22 % last year of our total annual sales of properties.
Their exposure to the international market is very important because France is the most wanted country in the world!
And, of course, the Allez-Français team are located in the best parts of France!
Peter’s team allow principally English speaking people to have access to great choice of properties in delicious regions, with a premium standard service which includes every aspect of our work for both buyers and sellers : from financing though mortgages / banks and currency companies to maximise exchange rates, from market research to homestaging, HDR pictures of the highest quality to Comparative Market Analysis, etc.
The Allez-Français team also use a powerful Estate Agency software programme to manage their big portfolio of properties for administration, and to publish them on the most efficient estate websites & networks.
His team is dedicated to customer satisfaction and excellence. I highly recommend Peter as my “best professional” for over 10 years as an estate agent"
Tuesday, 17 March 2015
Allez Francais now mobile & friendlier than ever!
More and more people are searching the internet from a handheld device - a smartphone, an ipad or a Kindle.
So the web wizards at Allez-Francais have been hard at work bringing the website completely up to date and I am pleased to report it is now fully responsive whatever the shape of your screen!
The property search feature is still top of the page - so you can search by department, budget, or by the property reference (if you know it already).
Our information pages are still there too - from your phone just click the menu button in the top right hand corner.
Pay us a visit and let me know what you think www.allez-francais.com - new properties are being added all the time.
We have some great business opportunities at the moment too - so if you are looking for a property to generate some income - do get in touch!
Monday, 16 March 2015
French Property News - pick of the week
This wk's pick of #properties for sale in #France – & we love this @AllezFrancais
http://t.co/S8VuEUkBXb #realestate pic.twitter.com/rKoR5Q0BTM
— French Property News (@FrenchPropNews) March 16, 2015Sunday, 15 March 2015
Good news for Golfers !
We are currently advertising golf properties in 3 locations in SW France, (although more are planned).
The existing developments are at:
- Les Forges, near Menigoute (Deux Sèvres / Poitou Charentes)
- Souillac Golf & Country Club, (Lot, Midi-Pyrenees)
- Halcyon Resort, (Creuse, Limousin)
Visit packages are available at each of our complexes. We are normally able (except July & August),
to arrange a stay on site in some of the accommodation as a discounted
price .Slightly
different terms and conditions for each, as you would expect, but a
great way to try before you buy, it gives you the
opportunity to get a real feel for the complex, and perhaps enjoy a
round of golf !
Contact me by e-mail for full details - peter@allez-francais.com.
Saturday, 14 March 2015
Personal wealth warning for pension freedom
The new “pension freedom” regime will come into being on 6th April 2015.
This is potentially very welcome news for retired British people, but it comes with a large personal wealth warning, and a need for personal responsibility. You need to be fully informed on how all your options affect you personally before you take action. Remember your pension fund is exactly that – designed to fund your retirement, it was not designed to fund a house purchase, but take care otherwise you could get it very wrong.
If you have a defined contribution schemes, from April 2015 you can draw down (withdraw) as much of your pension funds as you like. From April 6, 2015, there will be no limits on how much money can be removed, but all withdrawals outside of the 25% tax-free cash will be treated as taxable income. You can take a series of lump sums from your pension funds without having to enter into a drawdown policy. However, you need to understand the French tax implications – and it can, in fact, provide interesting opportunities, so we have teamed up with a leading firm of International Financial Advisers to provide all Allez-Français clients with suitable advice.
The 55% pension ‘tax upon death’ will be abolished, including annuities. This means that your beneficiaries can receive the balance of your fund tax free if you die under age 75, or pay income tax or 45% if the fund taken as a lump sum (for the year 2015-16) if you are over 75. This does not affect final salary pensions.
From April you can transfer a defined benefit scheme into a defined contribution scheme - but be aware that you could lose valuable benefits, so it may not be the best decision for you.
Deciding what to do with your funds now could be one of the most important financial decisions you ever undertake. Taking suitable professional advice from a professional and regulated adviser will give you peace of mind, whilst ensuring that all the complex rules are followed and suitable advice for you is offered.
For more information please contact Peter Elias for referral onwards – sales@allez-francais.com
This can involve an initial consultation by phone with our advisers.
It is essential to consider the tax implications in your country of residence to establish what would work best for you.
Be aware also that pension schemes offer sound UK inheritance tax protection, whereas once the cash is back in your estate it could be exposed to inheritance tax as well as local succession tax in Spain and France. However with expert advice you may be able to avoid or lower your liabilities.
This article can only cover the key points of the new legislation and only provide a summary. There are also other elements you may need to consider. Sound financial planning and personalised advice is crucial, particularly for those with larger funds. Do not make any decisions until you have all the information and understand all the implications.
This is potentially very welcome news for retired British people, but it comes with a large personal wealth warning, and a need for personal responsibility. You need to be fully informed on how all your options affect you personally before you take action. Remember your pension fund is exactly that – designed to fund your retirement, it was not designed to fund a house purchase, but take care otherwise you could get it very wrong.
If you have a defined contribution schemes, from April 2015 you can draw down (withdraw) as much of your pension funds as you like. From April 6, 2015, there will be no limits on how much money can be removed, but all withdrawals outside of the 25% tax-free cash will be treated as taxable income. You can take a series of lump sums from your pension funds without having to enter into a drawdown policy. However, you need to understand the French tax implications – and it can, in fact, provide interesting opportunities, so we have teamed up with a leading firm of International Financial Advisers to provide all Allez-Français clients with suitable advice.
The 55% pension ‘tax upon death’ will be abolished, including annuities. This means that your beneficiaries can receive the balance of your fund tax free if you die under age 75, or pay income tax or 45% if the fund taken as a lump sum (for the year 2015-16) if you are over 75. This does not affect final salary pensions.
From April you can transfer a defined benefit scheme into a defined contribution scheme - but be aware that you could lose valuable benefits, so it may not be the best decision for you.
Deciding what to do with your funds now could be one of the most important financial decisions you ever undertake. Taking suitable professional advice from a professional and regulated adviser will give you peace of mind, whilst ensuring that all the complex rules are followed and suitable advice for you is offered.
For more information please contact Peter Elias for referral onwards – sales@allez-francais.com
This can involve an initial consultation by phone with our advisers.
It is essential to consider the tax implications in your country of residence to establish what would work best for you.
Be aware also that pension schemes offer sound UK inheritance tax protection, whereas once the cash is back in your estate it could be exposed to inheritance tax as well as local succession tax in Spain and France. However with expert advice you may be able to avoid or lower your liabilities.
This article can only cover the key points of the new legislation and only provide a summary. There are also other elements you may need to consider. Sound financial planning and personalised advice is crucial, particularly for those with larger funds. Do not make any decisions until you have all the information and understand all the implications.
Friday, 13 March 2015
Can you help?!
Family looking for a quality house, budget 250-400,000 ideally. Attractive detached property in good condition. Preferred area Eymet (Dordogne) & Ste Foy la Grande (Gironde).
Contact dan@allez-francais.com or tel 05 53 82 36 19
alert image bigstockphoto.com/chrisd2105
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