Talking Expat Taxes #21
The France Property Rule Nobody Tells Americans
Americans who buy in Europe tend to arrive with an American mental model: my agent, their agent, my lawyer, their lawyer, title insurance, closing. France doesn't work that way - and neither do Italy, Spain, Portugal, or Greece. In this episode, Alex McGowin sits down with Alexandre Ghasarossian of European Private Office in Paris, who spent seven years in M&A at Rothschild & Co before pointing that same coordination work at North American families buying homes and relocating across Europe. His starting premise is that the country is the answer, not the question, and he walks through the five-part framework he uses to get there: life, clock, people, money, and exit. From there the conversation gets specific. Why the Schengen 90/180 rule counts across the whole zone rather than per country, and how that strands people mid-renovation or past a September school deadline. Why French administration isn't hostile so much as sequential - including the loop where the bank wants residency and residency wants a bank. How France treats a retiree's pension and healthcare, why a US LLC or a trust is often the wrong vehicle once you're a French resident, and the buyer protection almost no American knows exists: you can appoint your own notaire alongside the seller's, and it costs you nothing. Alexandre works across France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Monaco. Find him at europeanprivateoffice.com.
Show Notes
“The country is the answer, not the question. I'd start with the life you're trying to build.”
Takeaways
Start with the life, not the map.
Alexandre's five questions - life, clock, people, money, exit - settle the country as an output, not a starting guess.
The 90/180 rule is Schengen-wide.
Hopping France to Italy resets nothing, and overstaying quietly damages a later residency application.
“You're the general contractor of your own life, at a distance, in a language you don't speak.”
Today's Guest
Alexandre Ghasarossian
Alexandre Ghasarossian is the founder of European Private Office, a Paris-based firm that coordinates home purchases and relocations across France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Monaco for North American families. He spent seven years in M&A at Rothschild & Co, working large-cap technology transactions, before moving into European real estate investment at MidCrest. European Private Office exists to fill a gap he kept seeing: clients with excellent individual advisors but no one owning the European project as a whole. europeanprivateoffice.com
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TET 21 === Welcome to another episode of Talking Expat Taxes. My name's Alex McGowin, owner of McGowin Tax, where we help individuals and small businesses solve international tax problems, comply with their international taxes, save taxes, and ultimately make better financial decisions. As we've talked about many times on this podcast, taxes, finance side, that is a, a piece, maybe a big piece, but a piece of the overall puzzle when you're trying to move abroad or maybe just investing abroad.
As an expat, planning to be an expat, there's a lot of things you need to take into consideration. One of them is US taxes, the other is everything else, right? The taxes in the local country, how that's going to coordinate with the US taxes, planning for housing, schooling, all the things.
So today, very fortunate to have on, Alex, who is also has a great name, so we know he's gonna be super smart, with a name like that. And so, but, uh, but yeah, he, um... So Alex is, you know, I'm gonna let him give his background on, what he does, his company, and what they can do, but it's really looking at the European side of moving outside the US really appreciate it. Uh, yeah, thanks for coming on.
Thank you for invitation. Thank you for this podcast.
Meet Alexandre and His Mission
So I'm Alexandre. I run European Private Office. I'm French, as you can recognize with my accent, based in Paris, and we work with, North American families who want to buy a home in Europe or actually move here. And my background is, M&A and European real estate investing. A lot of that work is, taking a complicated situation with, lawyer, banks, and advisor and making sure everyone is moving toward the same, outcome. And what I kept, seeing with family going to Europe is that they had excellent individual advisor, and still nobody owned, the European project as a whole. And that's the job I do. And, actually, when we first, spoke, you said something that stuck with me, uh, about France and Italy have been, two of the hardest places for you to find a professional, you really trust.
And that's a big part of why I wanted to do this, one with you. And if that's still how it looks from your side
Yeah.
Why Expats Need a Coordinator
No, that's a great point. I work with people moving all over the place, but, my clients have moved to Costa Rica or the UK or Australia. Over the years I've, I definitely have found partners in a lot of countries that can help with local taxes, local immigration, things like that.
I work with people in France and Italy, but, I would say those two countries I've had the hardest time, like nailing down, good professional advisors that I know and trust, which is kind of what, what intrigued me about, your company and what you do 'cause, a lot of what you're doing is playing, I like to make sports analogies, but like coach and quarterback at the same time, right?
Stepping back real quick, so your background is in more of the financial side of people making investment decisions, like in the M&A side, a- and then you saw a gap in there. Tell, talk a little bit about that, how like your original experience
From M&A to European Moves
I can talk about how did I get into this. I spent, years in M&A, then, uh, underwriting real estate, across Europe.
And
So just to be, just to be clear what you mean by that, you mean like a, company that's acquiring another company
Exactly. Exactly.
in another company
Yeah, I, I work during seven years, at Rothschild & Co. In the large cap team in France, mostly, tech deals. And I help, top companies to acquire, uh, companies in Europe or even in the US.
Right
and most of this job is coordination between all the advisor, and during the process of, the idea of it could-- can-- it could be a good idea to buy this company to the closing of a deal.
And of course, you have to interact with a lot of advisor. And what it's a bit crazy when you think about it, it's basically you are taking... Because as I was focusing on the biggest deals, of course you can take the big, the maybe the best advisor on the place. But even with that, you need someone to coordinate the deal, to coordinate all the counterparties. And I think it's even more, uh, important for international deals, with two countries. And then I started watching Americans, uh, do, European projects, and it was the same structure with none of the coordination. A great tax advisor like Alex in the US, uh, a lawyer somewhere, an agent in the country, and the client in the middle, being the general contractor of their own life at a distance, in a language they don't speak.
Yeah. Okay. Yeah, it makes sense. You were dealing for very heavy financial deals, understanding the, talking to the right people, translating it either literally from a language perspective, but translating it into actionable items, practable, practical steps for people, getting them from the beginning to the end of the process.
So I'm curious, like from there, now what you're doing is a similar type of guidance, less financially heavy, right? I mean, that's gonna be part of it, but now it's more of a coordination. I'm curious, like what did you see in what you were doing that like you saw this gap and need out there?
'Cause I definitely see it, but I'm just curious from your side, where did you see this gap? Was it part of what you were doing? Was it more on a personal side that you knew people that were moving to France
I think both, because my-- after watching & Co., I did, um, I work, in a company named MidCrest, and basically my job was to invest in real estate, uh, across Europe. And I discover, I think one of the most difficult parts, of buying a real estate piece in different countries. country has its own rules, uh, and it's really easy to miss a part. And if you add this, if you add on top of this the visa, uh, tax,
Of course your daily life, it's very difficult to, do these type of things, this type of move without someone.
Right. Yeah, for sure. I see it every day. I get people come to me with tax questions, but that's usually, like I mentioned at the beginning of the podcast, it was, it's a piece of the overall puzzle, and it's very complicated to, to do it all yourself, you know? And I mean, dangerous to some extent, because especially when you're dealing with a lot of money, it's one thing to,
a- and during this podcast, I will give you some example, and it can be, yeah, it can be very dangerous if you
do some mistakes. Because just you don't know these rules and you trust, uh, and yeah, at the end you are a bit screwed.
Maybe let's start there. Like, let's, let's use me as an example. If I'm trying to, if I was interested in, let's say, broadly moving to Europe maybe we start there, the first step. It's like, "Hey, I'm, tired of the US, I wanna move to Europe. I don't really know where.
I've heard that, I've heard Portugal has good, programs out there. I love the wine country of France and the bread or I just said it backwards. The wi- wine co- whatever, you know. I love Italy and France and, but I don't know where to go and what's more complicated and what's not.
What's that first step of, like, helping somebody decide on a place?
A Real Client Move to Paris
I think, uh, we can work through a typical client scenario, and maybe I can take you through a family I finished with a few weeks ago.
So, uh, American couples in New York. He's around 40. Uh, just, just sold his tech company, wants to start the next one. Wife, uh, one child. They had been coming to Paris for years and had fallen in love with it. And they didn't come to me asking for an apartment. Uh, they came asking where to start, residence, how long they were even allowed to stay, tax on both side, property, French bank,
moving the money, estate planning, uh, because they have a child, the administration. And yeah, and which of this you are supposed to do first.
And, we work through it in order. They came in wanting, to rent and end up, buying, two million euros, about 150 square meters, call it, uh, 1,600 square feet,
uh, in the 16th. Local French financing, then full renovation, and he move in last week. Um, and yes, I think, he didn't need a, another advisor. He needed someone to own, uh, the European side, so he could go build his next company without thinking about, all this stuff, basically.
Yeah. No, that makes sense. So in that scenario, 'cause you're not a lawyer, you're not an accountant, you know, so you're not taking people through immigration process. So is literally what you're doing is you're connecting them with immigration people, realtors, and things like that and helping them close on real estate?
Are you involved personally in all of the communication
Yeah, I'm involved personally on all the cases. Of course, based on the, on your experience, we can give some general concept, general advice.
But of course, each case is very specific, and we coordinate all the advisor.
Choosing a Country Framework
But for answering your question about, okay, if you want-- if you hesitate between France, Italy, Portugal, I think the country-- I wouldn't start with the country.
The country is the answer, not the question. Yeah, I would start with the life you're trying to build, because the, yeah, the country is the answer. And I ask five things generally. So what I say is life, clock, people, money, and exit. So I will explain.
Life is basically, what does an ordinary Tues-Tuesday look like? A city that works in February or a view in July. It's, of course, it's totally different. Clock is how many months, how many months a year and in what pattern?
Who visits how often? How hard is it for them? Uh, children, grandchildren, parents back home, business partners. Of course, it's totally different, if you choose an apartment, for example, in Paris, you're well connected to the US, so it's really easy to move from a place to another.
If you take a small city in the south of France without an international airport. You know, it's, it looks a bit obvious when you think about it, but, you know, I can see a lot of cases of people like: "Oh yeah, I love this place. Each year I spend, let's, I spend two months, and I love this place, and I would like to stay, there for eight months a year." Yes, but maybe for your life it doesn't work. It's not linked to an international airport. It will be very difficult. If you want to move your old parents, it will be challenging. You know, it's lot of question that you, you need to think about, and that's why people, I think it's the third, uh, word of this framework. Then, of course, the money,
and, uh, cost to build, cost to hold, and what tax, and I think it's your specialty, uh, and estates make of it. And then the final one is exit. If you're wrong and in three years, and what does it cost to get out? And if you're right in 30, what happens to it when you die? Uh, so it's important to think about the inheritance, and we'll discuss this after. But yeah, I think it's the five, word for my, let's say, my framework for discussing about, okay, what is the best country for you?
Right. Yeah, I think that's a great way to frame it. Um, it's obviously gonna depend, and it's a decision that people have to make personally based on what they want. But I think the exit one particularly is interesting and important. I spend a lot of time in Costa Rica and work with people there, and it just came to my mind.
A lot of times what happens down there, people love vacationing there, and they go to the beach. And so they're like, "I wanna buy at the beach." And then they buy down there, and they move there, and a lot of people end up going to the mountains because the beach is very touristy. And, you know, and people, as you spend more time there, it's like you're not vacationing anymore.
You wanna be, you want a home that's, you know, then you... Yeah, exactly. So, and it could be the same. It made me think when you were talking about France, people love going out to the wine country or going down to the south of France, but actually living there is a different scenario. It's not gonna have the same amenities that a, a Paris would have, obviously, or a bigger city, you know, in general.
Yeah. No, no, it's, it's totally different, and that's why of course, depending on your wealth. For example, one of the couple, one of my clients has decided to buy two houses,
one close to Paris and one in the south. Of course,
it
Let's...
problem. But
right
that, no, no, of course, it's, it's really important to think about it.
France vs Italy vs Portugal
And when you think about the three countries, so France, Italy, Portugal, I think if I summarize them, I think what they are generally good at, for France, I think everything works all year. I think it's the best connectivity to the US. Paris is the easiest place in Europe to get home from. Um, real healthcare outside the big cities, high-speed rail, so you are not trapped by one airport in a lot of places, because it's really easy to, to go from a place to another. I think it's easily standard-standardized, notary-led purchase process. And I will explain what is it and all the,
the specificity about that, after. But that's the notary-led purchase process that protects a foreign buyer, more than people expect.
And I think on the underestimated aspect of France, I can say the administration is-- now the administration isn't hostile, but let's say it's sequential.
Uh, every doors needs the documents from the previous door and, and buying cost are real, uh, about uh, seven percent, seven to eight percent
What kind
an
costs? Say that again
When
you buy, Uh
a real estate apartment, when you buy an apartment or house, the transfer cost
Oh,
is between 7% to 8%,
Okay. I understand
on an older property.
Okay
it's mostly transfer tax. The notary basically takes 0.5% to support you in this transaction.
Okay. Under-
but we will discuss this after in, uh, in the re- in the acquisition topic.
Picking Cities and Real Examples
Earlier you mentioned, like, with your client that they knew they wanted to be in France, but they knew there was all these things, residency, real estate. What was the first step for them? Was it residency and visas and immigration? Was it real estate? Do you kinda do some at the same time ideally, I guess?
Yes. I think for generally my first job is to support the choice of a place. Uh, to just, you know, to confirm that it's the right decision to continue, um, this process and this transaction. So generally I help them to choose between the cities. So for example, if I take my New York couple, uh, were torn between, uh, Paris and, uh, something in the south. And the south, you know, is a, is a real tem-temptation.
Sun, space, a much bigger house for the money. So we looked at actual places, but not just what you can buy and for how much, or would they really use it often, are they flying, which airport, uh, is there a direct flight to New York? Or does every trips, become a connection? Can family get there without an expedition? Is it alive in February? It's really important point, but a lot of cities in France in February, it's totally different from August or July in term of, of lifestyle, in term of restaurant, in term of places where you can go.
Oh, you mean so like if it's a more touristy place, you mean in February everything might be closed?
Exactly. For example, like if you take Cannes. Cannes, it's, you know, for the movie, uh, you-- it's very active, during the summer, but in
February it's,
There's no one. So if you buy an apartment in this place and you want to live during the full year,
February will be a bit challenging, let's
Yeah, it may not be what you're expecting
exactly. And of course, you don't think about this sometimes when you, you buy, a place.
And yes, and what does it take to rent a big property with a garden when you're five thousand miles away eight months a year?
And put that way, Paris won on their own criteria,
a bit like the mountain with your example, and they already know the city. They arrive and life works immediately. People come to them, and there is no, house sitting empty needing a person.
Yeah, understood
And if I take, for example, another case, completely different, uh, couple, retired around 75, Dallas.
Italian family on one side, children and grandchildren. They were hesitating between south of France or Italy. And on the paper, the south of France was the easier answer.
But they were, you know, they weren't optimizing a spreadsheet, if I take this parallel with finance.
They were trying to build a place, their children and grandchildren would actually want to come back to. And the Italian side, was where the family story was.
Makes sense
when you think about it, so Italy wasn't the sentimental choice over the rational one. Once you know what the house is for, it was the rational one
Right. That makes sense
And, uh, for example, this couple, they end up in, Arcetri on the hill, uh, just south of Florence. Historic, uh, villino, 4,300 square feet, wall garden, a gate, the walled city under the window, and 10 minute from Florence.
Yeah
So yeah, it was, it was a good choice for them
Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, the first step I agree is making sure, or at least, you know, to some extent, moving to another country is always going to be a leap of faith, right? I mean, you can never be 100% sure about something you don't know, 100% about.
I mean, of course, spending time in the places is the obvious best way for you to understand if it's good for you. But realistically, it would take you years of spending time in different places to understand everything about what makes it right or wrong.
So having people like you, having people on the ground to give those insights. Like, maybe you haven't been to Cannes in, in February, and they don't have to experience that. You can just tell them, "Hey, all those restaurants that you love in July, they're not open in, from, for two months
you know? Understanding and knowing that.
Next Up France Residency Visas
So yeah, I agree, but let's say, yeah, let's move on to, like, the more technical side of it. So once, once we decide where we wanna be, I'm interested in France in particular, cause I have some clients, in France who have...
I mean, you mentioned the bureaucracy a little bit in France, and how do I say this? People have complained, let's put it that way, about, about, like, the process. And part of that is them trying to do it themselves, to be honest with you. They're just showing up places to, to apply for a visa and then finding out, well, the place they went, there's nobody there that speaks English, and they had a really hard time, navigating the process from a language perspective or whatever it may be.
I guess, let's start, what are your options from a residency perspective in France, and what, what do you recommend? How do people navigate through it? Let's talk a little bit about residency.
And maybe visas. I don't know. They kind of go hand in hand, right? But yeah.
Of course. Um, and that's why I put administration in the in the negative aspect in France.
Uh,
Schengen 90/180 Rule
I guess let's keep it from the perspective of a US person, 'cause it can be different depending
I think the important rule, it's a US passport give 90 days in any rolling 180 across Schengen. So it's Schengen wide. It's not per country. So hopping France to Italy resents, reset nothing. It's not like in Eas- in Asia, for example, where you can just go in another country just for one day
and then coming back and it reset. It's not like this. It's,
it's v- it's Schengen wide.
So just to make the math easy, you have 90 days in France or in the Schengen Area in general, and then you have to go outside of that whole Schengen area, so maybe back to the US or
or somewhere and you have to spend 180 days outside before you can go back? Or is it 90? Oh, a rolling 180, so you have another
annual rolling. Yeah, exactly.
Exactly. Exactly. So of course it depends. So for example, for the couple, in New York, as it's only for summer and Christmas, it's not a big issue. Um, but if you want to stay, you need to apply for a visa. It's not-- Let's say it's not difficult or challenging for a wealthy US family. The threshold of revenue/wealth are not really high.
Yeah
they are very low, if I want to be fair.
Visa Timing Pitfalls
But what is difficult, it's exactly what you said. It's no one is speaking English or few.
Uh, it's very difficult to challenge. It's long. And sometimes, you know, it's the, um, it's very diff... It's the impossible loop.
It's like they ask you, for example, for a French bank account, but you can't have a French bank account if you don't have a residency. So and you can't have, uh, the, this, real estate, uh, acquisition if you don't have this. So, and it's a nightmare. And that's why I said it's, they are not hostile, but it's sequential. It's really important to have the right sequence and it's very specific to each case. Sometimes you have to begin with, with a visa. Sometimes you have to start with the real estate acquisitions. And yeah, it's specific
Right. Yeah, no, that makes sense.
Residency Options Overview
Do you find that a lot of your clients, they're looking for a residency option? That, like, that's a big piece of it, is getting a second residency? You know, people call it plan B to have a, place to go. 'Cause, 'cause a lot of times, I mean, 90 days, that's a vacationer, right?
Like,
if you're, if you're wanting to have a place in south of France, you can spend a few weeks a year, maybe a couple months, that, then you don't have to worry about that. But if you're going somewhere, if you want to be able to spend half the year in these places, and, 'cause I think that rule...
Is the rule the same, the nine- the 180 rolling day in Italy, uh, Portugal?
it's for the Schengen area,
yeah
So yeah, that's the first distinction is one of your thing was the clock, right? One of your five. So, like, how many... Like, how long are you now staying there? So yeah, if, if you're trying to move there, residency is required really.
Exactly. And it's-- as I said, it's not difficult generally. It's between three to maximum six months, to obtain. So it's, it's of course, it's recommended if you want to acquire something quickly, it's recommended to take care of this aspect before.
Can you do it before you move
Yeah. Yeah, yeah,
If I wanted to,
let's say my kids are gonna be in college in 10 years, and I'd like to go ahead and get, French residency, go ahead and start the process. What, what are my options to get residency before moving?
Planning Visas Early
Of course, it's depending on your cases. Uh, for example, there is a specific visa for retiree.
If you are 70 and, uh, you have a pension, it's really easy to come in Paris, and to buy an apartment. You have a specific visa for that. If you are an entrepreneur, you have another visa for that. So of course, it depends. But generally, as I say, it's not so difficult, but you need to plan this before. For example, I have two example, of people that I know. They are not my clients. But, someone, uh, bought, an apartment, and they planned a lot of renovation in his apartment
and discover the 90 days, uh, rule. Uh, and so he was blocked in his renovation because, of course, he couldn't, you know, handle all the stuff at 5,000 miles away. So big problems. Another person, they planned, um, a move with their kid. And in France, the school start in September, so if you miss the deadline of the visa and you are blocked in the US
Ah, then you miss the whole school year.
Yeah, it makes sense.
Overstays and Consequences
How strict is France on that 90-day rule?
It's not like the US,
Okay.
if you want a comparison. It's not like the
US. They are not, uh, rude and strict as the US,
Okay
but, you know, I think it's
It's a risk you don't necessarily want to accidentally you don't ac- you don't accidentally end up in, in French prison, you know? Uh
No, I, I-- you, you won't go in prison for that, but it's more like, for example, if you want after the full residency, if you want to stay and you have this...
It's not gonna look good. It's gonna make it hard.
It won't help you. So you will need to pay your lawyer more for solving
this issue.
That's a, yeah, it's an expensive mistake at the very least.
Exactly. So no, it's...
Residency Process Steps
so what is the process there? Like, for, for a client, you know, if I was trying to get residency, let's say, I, I guess it depends on the type of residency or visa you're going after, but you get them connected with an immigration attorney and that helps, and then they walk them through the process?
Exactly. Uh, I think first we decide, uh, the life and the months.
So how many months a year, in what pattern? Because for example, the New York couple doesn't need this visa when you think about it. So, you know, if you can, if you can miss this, it's, it's better.
Not gonna spend more than 90 days, then you can just use your US passport and you're good
If you can just use your US passport and it works, why do you want to apply for a visa to take someone to help you? If they need more, we identify the long stay route, uh, before moving. So depending on the case, we can handle the process for them or with an immigration lawyer. From the US, uh, on a calendar, not after, arrival, uh, as I said, is better.
Tax Implications by Profile
And then, What is very important, it's your aspect, it's, uh, the same plan that works for immigration may look very different from a tax perspective
Yeah, that was gonna be my next question is, I know you're not, y- you know, a tax lawyer, but I mean, When is residency generally triggered in, France from a tax perspective?
From a tax perspective, it's, very different depending on the profile. For example, I take, uh, the retiree couple. They have a very, very nice, conditions in term of tax, for retired people in France. Uh, for example, they are not taxed on their pension.
Are only taxed in the US. exactly. Uh, the healthcare is free
Yeah.
Totally free.
Yeah
Generally nice when you're a bit old and you have a lot of, uh, healthcare ex- expense.
And that's under the retiree visa residency. So these are permanent residents at this point
When you're a French resident after three months, it's like this. You don't pay for the healthcare. You are not taxed on the pensions. So of course, you need to have a proper visa. But if you have a right visa, if everything is under well, you don't pay anything in term of on your pension, on the healthcare. Uh, of course, if you buy an apartment, you have to pay the transfer taxes,
uh, and you have to pay all the local taxes linked to the real estate and stuff.
But on other aspect, you don't pay.
Structuring Businesses and Trusts
When you are an entrepreneur, it's of course, it depends on your structure. So for example, if it's a, a US LLC, as you know, it's, it's a transparent structure. So if you have a French residency, it's not the best in term of optimization, and I don't recommend, for example, the US LLC, in France. Or of course depend-- You have to structure it maybe differently, uh, if you want to have a full residency in France, if you want to live in France full-time, because it will have a lot of, of impact
Right. Yeah, it's definitely gonna be different for an entrepreneur. I would just say if you're moving to France, Italy, any- basically anywhere in Europe, you're not doing it to save taxes if you're a US person. No, that, that's not the, that's not... You're gonna be disappointed if, if that's your, if that's your goal.
But you can make it worse than it needs to be by not structuring things correctly. It's important to make things efficient, which the only way to make things efficient is to understand what the implication is in the first place and plan for it accordingly. You're not gonna pay less taxes at the end of the day if you're following rules, but you're not gonna unnecessarily...
I mean, it's always a balance, right? It's structure things efficiently to reduce your taxes to a legal amount. But at the same time, don't overly complicate your structure unless there's actual value to doing so. You know, a lot of people come to me with setting up trusts and companies and French, French SAs and all these things, but the first step is, I mean, kind of like we talked about before with like the moving concept is what is the value of doing this and does it really make sense?
Um, in a lot of cases it doesn't. Like a lot
E-exactly. And, and sometimes you need to know, for example, a trust doesn't work in France. So if you buy, for example, if you have a trust and you want to buy, an apartment with your trust, it doesn't work well. So you should, for example, in this case, focus on a more local, structure, or maybe you can use your normal structure.
But for example, in this case, for France, it doesn't work. So yeah, that's why sometimes when you want to overcomplicate things
For sure.
Countries Served and Wrap-Up
So in general, like what, what countries if I was to come to you, what countries are you able to help with, do you focus on with your business?
Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Greece, and Monaco. Uh, the framework doesn't change, only the local execution does
Very good. Well, look, this is very interesting stuff. The business you've put together is definitely one where I see a huge need in the market. I mean, people moving to Europe has been and always will be, a thing, and it's not that... It's not a simple thing to try and do yourself. In a lot of cases, there's more information out there, than there's ever been.
But that almost makes it worse because , it makes it more complicated 'cause you have all this information to read through and decipher and, every situation's not the same. That's the point, I think, is that every situation's gonna be unique to that person, and that's where somebody like you and your team can definitely help put people in the right place, avoid costly mistakes, and get where you wanna be.
If we could maybe wrap up with are there any specific mistakes that you see people make that people should be aware of?
French Real Estate Gotchas
I, I think, uh, Americans arrive with an American mo-mental model. Uh, for example, for real estate, my agent, their agent, my lawyer, their lawyer, uh,
title insurance, closing. But France, uh, doesn't work that way. The agent is, normally instructed by the seller. A dedicated buyer's agent exist but isn't the norm. Uh, and the transaction run through a notaire, who is a public officer with a duty to the transaction itself, not an advocate for one side. And here is where almost, uh, no American knows, uh, you can appoint your own notaire alongside the sellers.
And you're saying notary like a notary, that's what you're
Yeah, like the notary. Yeah, sorry. Notaire, it's the French word for
notary. Exactly. Uh, but it's, it's totally different from the notary that you know in the
yeah, the US notary is it's a very limited thing that
In France, it's mandatory. So if you buy, uh, an apartment or a house, you need to have a notary.
Mm-hmm.
And yeah, it's a public officer, will basically check the transaction. And the problem of that, it's-- And what I said is almost no American knows that you can appoint your own notary alongside the seller. So two notaires, two notaries, and they share one set of regulated fees. The buyer doesn't pay twice. And I'm not saying the seller or notaire does a bad job, uh, that isn't how the profession works. But I'm saying that if you're a foreigner, if you're a foreign buying in a language that you don't read, having someone in that room who's file you or, and who's question or your question cost you nothing. Yeah, people spend two millions euros and never find out the option exists. And you know, I have a case, for example, because agents, for example, right, and it's really important to know and understand it. Real estate agents in France or in Europe in general, they are totally, different from the agents that you know in the US.
Uh, if they hide you some information, you can sue them. In France, in Europe, it's very difficult. So imagine as the agent is, hired by the seller, as the notary is linked to the seller
Okay
You know, if the notary is a friend,
Right
just want is a transaction fee. They can hide you some information. And if you don't have someone to inspect, to check everything, imagine for example, , the, real estate the building has decided, uh, to launch a huge renovation work,
Mm-hmm
In 12 months. It will cost you, uh, I don't know, 200,000 euros And you don't know about this. So you know, you will-- you won't adjust your price because you don't know about this renovation.
Right
And if you don't have someone who will read the 300 pages of all the reports, of all the discussion about the renovations and flag this,
of course, they don't have... it's not mandatory to flag, to flag you this information. And if the notary is linked to the seller
Right. And you can't blame, you can't blame ChatGPT later if it didn't point it out to you when you put it
Exactly. Exactly. Of course.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, have somebody in your corner, on your side. And like you said, I wouldn't know that it's even an option to get my own notary, unless somebody tells me that, so.
And it's free. It doesn't cost you more.
Yeah. Oh, because they share the fee. I understand. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Interesting
Notaire Protections and Cooling-Off
In France, for example, once you sign, the preliminary contract, uh, you get 10 days to walk away. No reason needed, no penalty. And on top of that, if you need a mortgage and you say so in the contract, the sale is legally conditional on you getting it. So if a banks turns you down, the deal stop and your deposit come back. And it's not something you have to negotiate in, it's the default, and you actually have to write it out by hand if you want to give it up.
Final Advice and Contact
I would say that's probably like real estate makes me the most nervous. Even when I'm doing it in a, in the US and locally where I live, it's very complicated in your own language, much less somebody else's language, a different culture, a whole different...
And the legal system is, is totally different in France, obviously. So yeah, no question, you need somebody advocating on your side with real estate deals. If nothing, if you have no other help, real estate is definitely one you need. But across the board, having a coach, having an advisor help you find the place, help you walk through the details, it's gonna save you, it's gonna save you a lot of time at the very least. What's the best way for people to find you and reach out to you if they wanna work with you?
Yeah, I think the best way to reach me, it's on my website, uh, so europeanprivateoffice.com.
Very good. Yeah, and I'll definitely leave links to your website and to your contact in the description to the show and, I appreciate you coming on. Let's, uh, let's stay in touch, and we'll definitely, we'll definitely be working together with mutual clients 'cause we're in the same, same world together, so
Of course.