Français
EnglishBuy a property without being there
A local home finder who speaks your language, living in the city where you are buying. They view, place the price within its market, negotiate and secure the deed — while you stay at home.
Acquiring a property located outside your country of residence, governed by local law: ownership rules, taxation, the role of the notary or its equivalent, and the mortgage conditions open to a non-resident.
Every country has its own rules. It is those rules, not the property itself, that derail most purchases run from a distance.
Buying alone, or with support?
The difference isn't how many listings you read. It's everything you can't do from a distance: see it, compare it, check it.
A home finder replaces neither the notary nor the local lawyer: they take you to them, and check that nothing was left behind along the way.
What they actually do
Six jobs, from the first brief to the handover of the keys.
They frame the project
Real budget including fees, neighbourhoods that hold up, intended use — home, rental, resale. The brief is written before the first listing.
They open up the local market
Local agencies, private sellers, properties never published at all. From a distance, that is the part you cannot cover yourself.
They view it for you
A filmed viewing, a straight report, and a walk through the neighbourhood at different hours. You only fly out if you want to.
They place the price
Price per m² for the area, how long it has been on the market, work needed, service charges. All of it turns into figures you can negotiate with.
They secure the deed
Title, easements, compliance, conditions precedent, cooling-off periods. This is where foreign purchases most often come unstuck.
They hand you the keys
Signature, meters, insurance, the first local formalities. The property works on the day you arrive.
How a supported purchase runs
Four steps. Nothing is charged to you before the mandate is signed.
We get to know each other
30 minutes on video to frame the project, check it can be financed and that it holds up in the market you're targeting.
GratuitThe search mandate
The brief, the fee and the duration, in writing before anything starts.
The search and the viewings
Sourcing across the whole local market, filmed viewings, an honest verdict on every property — including when the answer is no.
Offer, deed, keys
An offer built on comparable sales, the paperwork assembled, the deed reviewed before signature, and the keys handed over on the ground.
What does a supported purchase cost?
The home finder's fee is due on success, at signature. The figures below apply to France; elsewhere, local practice applies.
A tapering percentage or a flat fee depending on the budget. A minimum fee applies on smaller amounts.
Because the fee is due on success, a search that doesn't complete is not charged to you.
A 30-minute video call and a tailored quote, with no commitment.
The asking price is never the final cost. Depending on the country you have to add transfer duties, deed costs, the seller's agency commission where the buyer carries it, and sometimes an extra tax for non-residents. Your home finder gives you the full cost before the offer, not after.
Between our cheapest and most expensive destinations, the price per m² varies by a factor of ten. Each home finder sets their terms according to their market and presents them before you commit to anything.
When it genuinely pays off
A home finder isn't essential everywhere. These are the situations where they become decisive.
You're buying remotely
Running viewings back to back from another country is impossible. Someone has to go for you, more than once.
You don't speak the language
A deed of sale has to be read in detail. A rough translation costs more than a fee does.
The market is tight
When a property goes in 48 hours, only someone already plugged into the local network keeps up.
You're investing
Real yield, non-resident taxation, rental demand: the selection matters more than falling in love with a place.
You're preparing a move abroad
Buying before you arrive saves six months of interim renting — as long as you pick the right neighbourhood.
You're buying a second home
Service charges, managing it from a distance, short-let rules: what matters never appears in the listing.
A home finder who speaks your language, living in the city
Every home finder in the network lives in the city where they search for you, and is interviewed before being listed.
“Manue found us the rare gem in record time, despite a complicated application. She handled every exchange with the agency from start to finish and went through the contracts with us.”
An interview upfront, plus checks on local professional status and insurance. A home finder is only listed for a destination if they genuinely live there.
Frequently asked questions
In most European countries, yes, with no residency condition. Elsewhere, property ownership for a foreigner can be restricted: prior authorisation, limits on land, or an obligation to buy through a local company.
That is the first thing your home finder checks, before even looking for a property.
There are two routes: borrow from a bank in your own country, which will usually want security over a property there, or borrow locally, which means qualifying for that country's non-resident lending.
Conditions vary widely from one country to the next. It is far better to settle the financing before making an offer, not after.
They are two separate payments: the agency fee pays the seller's professional, the search fee pays yours.
How they split varies by property and by country. Your home finder gives you the full cost structure before you commit to anything.
Not always. Many countries allow signature by power of attorney, often before a notary or a consulate. It is a possibility, not a rule: some deeds require you to be physically present.
Your home finder tells you from the outset what the country requires, so you can arrange the trip if one is needed.
The search itself usually takes a few weeks. What stretches the timeline is everything after: financing, legal checks and the statutory delays between offer and final deed, which vary a great deal by country.
The deciding factor remains how tight the local market is and how precise the original brief was.
That is often the wiser call when you don't know the city. The same network covers rentals: you can start there, then pick up a purchase search with the same home finder, who will already know your situation.
Tell us about your project and we'll match you
A local home finder in your destination gets back to you within 24 hours. The call and the quote are free, with no commitment.
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