Prospectus Aug09

Become a

FrenchEntrée Property Finder The simple & low cost route to starting your own property search business in France

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Proven business model Exclusive territories available Full legal compliance All training provided Marketing promotion included

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Live & work in France

Introduction Since 2004 FrenchEntrée has been the leading online resource for people buying property and considering a move to live in France. Every month over 150,000 visitors use our site to help them find property or answer their questions about all aspects of buying or living in France

a dozen property finders active across France. Now we are seeking energetic and talented people to join our growing team in all regions of France.

This business model has been proven over the last five years by one of our directors, Graham Downie who founded Cognac Property Services.

Within two to three months you could be up and running with:

Despite the economic down-turn many of our property finders have been busy with clients during 2009 so we are very confident that you will be successful. How hard you work and how much you earn is up to you – once you have paid the initial one-off joining fee you will be entitled to keep 80% of all property search fees charged to clients. Work part-time and enjoy the work / life balance you dream of, or work full-time and maximise your income potential in France!

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In 2008 we launched our independent Property Finder network and we already have 2

own fully registered independent property search agency An exclusive territory in France Full training on how to run the property finder business A website built and hosted for you A valuable online marketing package to generate enquiries Full compliance with all French legislation An operating manual and legal documentation Ongoing support and advice

Based on the actual experience of our founder partner and business director in France, who will provide

Graham Downie Director of FrenchEntrée Property Services Sarl

you with full training, you can expect to earn up to €60,000 p.a. working part-time and up to €90,000 p.a. full-time. You will be working from your home in France and fund your French lifestyle by providing a professional service to English speaking property buyers looking to purchase a home in France.

After some years, when you have built up your business as a going concern you may decide to sell the business, at which point you can look forward to a sizeable reward for all your earlier investment in time and effort.

The market

Even in a slowing world economy, France is unique in providing a property dream for every budget, rom the smallest Breton cottage to the grandest chateaux, from rural small holdings to millionaire Cote d’Azur villas. It offers something for everyone, great food and wine, beautiful landscapes, fascinating culture and property at comparatively affordable prices. Although the later stages of 2008 were very quiet, 2009 has seen the property market restarting with several trends evident: 

British buyers are shunning the over-hyped, quick-buck far-flung destinations and the scary property laws in Spain and focussing on France once again.

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International buyers are seeking a safe home for their investments and regard France as a

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predictable and stable economy with good long-term property investment prospects. 

Early retirees and people taking redundancy in the UK are still attracted to France by the affordability of property and the lifestyle when contrasted to the UK.

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When compared with more distant destinations, for British and northern European buyers it remains a short journey by low-cost flight, ferry, or car to the holiday home or for the family visits. Meanwhile enquiry levels for property on the FrenchEntrée website have been rising every month sonce the start of 2009 and the FrenchEntrée Property Finder exhibition stand at the France Show 2009 proved very popular and generated many good leads.

Territories still available in most parts of France

What does the job involve?

Testimonial “Using your company’s services saved time, travel expense and frustration. Someone on the ground dealing with Immobiliers and Notaires also really does sift out the best properties.” Mr & Mrs Fryer, Gemozac

“Thank you for your invaluable help in finding us such a lovely house, we can’t wait to see it again.” Mr & Mrs Larder, Headingley

“The agent has done a good job and we are grateful to her for all her efforts but our real thanks go to you for finding us such an ideal new home - thank you very much indeed.” Mr & Mrs Bowden, West Sussex

“Thanks for all your hard work in finding us such a wonderful house.” Mr & Mrs Gregory, East Sussex 4

Requirements You will need to be living in France or about to move to France and you will need to be able to speak some French. Whilst you do not need direct experience of estate agency you must be numerate, literate and have a genuine interest in the property market. You will need a home office, a computer, colour printer and ADSL/ phone line, a digital camera and a comfortable car to take clients on viewing trips.

video) and a shortlist for them to view. When your clients come to view the properties you will accompany them along with the vendor or relevant local estate agent who is handling each property. If they decide to buy one of the houses you introduce, you will help them negotiate the best price with the agent or vendor and then you step back from the transaction - your job is done.

Your client will sign the “compromis” (exchange of Your role contracts) with the local agent and As an independent search agent you your client will pay the search fees will take a brief from your clients at this stage so you do not have to as to their budget and their ideal wait until the end of the transaction property purchase. You will then to see your payment. scour the local market and view potential properties on their behalf. You receive no commission from Once you have finished your search the agent or the seller as you will you will send them a full report be providing an unbiased and fully on the best properties (including independent service. You are not an independent description, tied to any estate agent. photographs and maybe even

Testimonial “I am very happy and impressed with the service offered by Laurence. Right from my initial interest in purchasing a property in France, Laurence was friendly, helpful and provided all the information and support needed to make the process as simple and as enjoyable as possible. From finding properties to view that exactly matched my criteria, accompanying me to viewings, providing advice with legalities and paperwork once I had decided to buy, to even having a coffee and a chat. I know that if there is anything else I need with regards to living in France she is just a phone call or email away. I am very much looking forward to spending time at my new place in France and would recommend Laurence to anyone else thinking of buying there. Thank you.” M.W, Kent

How will I make money?

Location, location, location In recent years the popularity of independent property search services has grown. Property buyers have been educated about the value of using search agents, especially when it comes to the challenges of buying abroad. So now is a very good time to be offering a service of this type. The way it works We will pay you 80% of all the property search fees charged to your FrenchEntrée Property Finder clients. The fee system works as follows: 

A consultancy fee of a minimum 500 euros is charged to the client in order to begin a search (refundable if they purchase a house you have found them)

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The client pays the full search fee of 2.75% of the purchase price

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should they buy a property you have found for them. For instance, if they buy a house for 300,000 euros the total search fee will be 8,250 euros. The fact that you charge a 500+ euro fee to begin a search means that you will be working with serious buyers who will be in a position to act immediately if you

are able to find the right house for them. A minimum fee policy of 3,500 Euros ensures you make a reasonable return even on lower value property searches. Unlike some property finders who are, behind the scenes, actually tied to certain estate agents, you remain independent – the fees come from the buyer and not the estate agent. Additional services and fees If your clients are buying the house as a holiday home or rental investment you will be well placed to offer property management services at a competitive rate. You will be able to keep 100% of these add-on fees as they fall outside our remit. You will also be entitled to participate in a range of FrenchEntrée organised affiliate schemes whereby you can earn additional commission income by introducing clients to mortgage and currency services.

Your costs Joining Fee - the initial fee is payable on signing contracts. This is a one-off payment providing you with all the benefits outlined below. It assumes that there will be one person running the business. There are two levels of joining fee dependent on the region of France in which your territory will be based:  Territory A: 21,000 Euros (within the Cote d’Azur, Provence, Ile de France, French Alps)  Territory B: 13,750 Euros (within all other regions)  Service Fees – we will retain 20% of any property search commission fees paid by the client as payment for the services that we provide to you.  Business costs e.g. Telephone, postage, car, petrol, stationery, accounting etc  Taxes – unfortunately these are a fact of life, even in France, and we will help you understand your liabilities

What do you offer me?

What you receive on joining and paying your one-offJoining Fee When you first become a FrenchEntrée Property Finder we will supply you with: 

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Full training on all aspects of running the business: Company formation Administration Marketing and business development Client handling Working with estate agents Hints and tips

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Design and creation of a FrenchEntrée website for you to promote your business, optimised for search engines and with full instructions on updating the site with articles and pictures etc A FrenchEntrée email account Appropriate legal documentation A logo and personalised stationery template A step by step operating manual A list of English speaking What you receive on an ongoing professional advisers (legal, tax, basis accounts, banking) Once you have joined you will benefit from: 

Exclusive rights to use the FrenchEntrée brand and trade as the only FrenchEntrée Property finder in your territory (agreed between us and clearly defined using map references)  Rights to work under our Carte Professionelle  A FrenchEntrée marketing package including: – Editorial articles placed in 6

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relevant regional property sections Advertising on relevant local property and related pages Advertising on our property database Advertising in our online directories of property services Business advice support by phone or email Website and email hosting Website support by phone & email

And finally...

About your territory The territory is a very important aspect of the business model and one that we will plan and discuss in some detail with you should you wish to pursue the opportunity. Your territory will be identified with reference to local maps and will be exclusive to you and no other FrenchEntrée Property Finder will be offered any part of your territory. Territories are agreed according to a number of factors such as: 

Historic and anticipated popularity and demand for property  Numbers of properties and estate agents  Proximity to airports, ferry ports Terrain  Driving distances Your local knowledge

Legal compliance We consider that working within the correct framework of French law is an essential requirement for all FrenchEntrée Property Finders. To comply with French legislation you will work under the umbrella of the Carte Professionelle that we provide as part of our service, which provides insurance and financial guarantees. We have taken extensive legal advice on this matter to ensure that the arrangement complies with French legislation and will enable you to establish your business. You may wish to work or study to obtain your own Carte or simply continue to work under our Carte.

Contact us now for an informal discussion about becoming a FrenchEntrée Property Finder. Guy Hibbert Managing Director, FrenchEntrée Tel: 0044 (0) 1225 463752 Email: [email protected]

Graham Downie FrenchEntrée Property Services Sarl Tel: 0033 (0) 545 324641 Email: [email protected]

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faqs Why would anyone pay fees to a property finder? Many people do. It’s a fast growing business and indeed in the USA 63% of homes were bought through a property finder last year. Clients are usually professional people to whom time is money. They do not want the hassle or expense of unfruitful property searches and are happy to pay someone on the ground to do the legwork. A good property finder will save clients time spent on wasted trips and help him save money when it comes to negotiating the lowest price possible. Why would the buyer pay fees to the Property Finder and to the agent as well? Estate agencies work for the vendor and try to sell houses for the highest price possible. They highlight the positive points of a house and steer away from any negative issues. We are in a position to give unbiased advice on all houses we view. We work exclusively for the purchaser and are fully independent of all agents. As such one of our roles is to help purchase the property for the lowest price possible – in almost every case the savings we help negotiate for clients more than cover our fees. Can a Property Finder save a buyer money? Definitely. During a search we collect a huge amount of “comparable evidence” that helps highlight the true value of properties we have viewed. When it comes to negotiating the price this evidence is a real asset. Our founder agent has averaged an 18% reduction over the asking price since he started and has often helped negotiate far bigger savings. Isn’t the market slowing down? There is no doubt that during 2008 the overseas property market slowed down rapidly due to the credit crunch, economies falling into recession and problems with local property markets. However, the signs in 2009 are that the French property market has “re-started” and remains popular with overseas buyers. FrenchEntrée property finders have seen clients from USA, South Africa, Sweden and Thailand as well as UK buyers. New leads continue to come in. Considering the negative economic news property enquiry levels at FrenchEntrée remain healthy during

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2009 and there are people looking and starting to buy across all regions and price-bands. What happens if my buyer decided to buy elsewhere? We have introduced commission schemes to allow you to earn referral commissions when you introduce a client to another FE property finder or to one of our Premier Partner agents. So you can still make money even if your client changes their mind and wants to look elsewhere. How many clients will I need to make a decent living? This depends upon your definition of a decent living. Over the last four years the average purchase price of houses bought by our founder agent is 280,000€ and rising (and don’t forget the Charente is one of the cheaper areas of France to live). With search fees of 2.75% this equates to an average fee of 7,700€ per house bought. A minimum fee policy of 3,500 Euros ensures you make a reasonable return even on lower value property searches. Of course there are also additional fees to be earned in property management, project management, referral income from currency brokers, mortgage brokers etc. The initial joining fee seems large – how do you justify it? We think it is excellent value for these reasons: The permanent long-term income potential is very large in relation to the one-off joining fee You will be buying into a proven business model so you greatly reduce the normal risks associated with a new venture You only pay the joining fee once, but you earn your income every year for as long as you want A large percentage, 80%, of the search fees are paid to you. Thanks to our experience and previous investments you can be up and running in a very short period of time It is a complete “turnkey” solution requiring only limited experience and know-how You are building up your business as an asset which you can sell to someone else in the future, earning a lump-sum when you retire or change direction.

How long will I be entitled to run the business? You will sign an open ended agreement. As long as both parties keep to some basic obligations you will be able to keep your business in perpetuity. Why don’t I just start this myself and save your fees? Of course there is nothing to stop you having a go. But most new businesses fail due to the founder lacking know-how and experience, so our model is designed to minimise your risks of failure and maximise your chances of success. We offer you know-how and access to our experience, full legal compliance, a proven business model plus a trusted brand and a valuable marketing package all included in the costs. How can you support your claim that I can generate fees up to 60-90,000€ pa? Our founder agent will be happy to talk to you about this, as well as giving you testimonials from clients he has acquired houses for and agents he works with. His experience shows that around 80% of his income comes from transactional work (i.e. house purchases) and 20% from add-on work and affiliate commissions. How much you earn will depend upon how much time you devote to your business and will be affected by the area of France you live & work in.

As an example*: Area one Average price of house purchases .............. 280,000€ Average fee .................................................. 7,700€ Houses purchased per annum ..................... 8 Total gross income from searches ............... 61,600€ Your income after our % deduction ............ 49,280€ Assumed income from add-on work .......... 14,000€ Total gross income pa .................................. 63,280€ Area two Average price of house purchases .............. 450,000€ Average fee .................................................. 12,375€ Houses purchased per annum .................... 8 Total gross income from searches .............. 99,000€ Your income after our % deduction ........... 79,200€ Assumed income from add-on work .......... 18,000€ Total gross income pa .................................. 97,200€ *all figures quoted are gross and include TVA at 19.6%

How many property finders do you have already signed-up? We have a total of twelve in our network, with several others due to sign shortly. Some details are provided on the next page. What territories are available? Our current property finders cover territories within the Alps, Provence, Poitou-Charentes, Pays-de-la-Loire, Gironde, Pyrénées Orientales and Normandy. It is important to note that territories are typically smaller in size than a single Département so you should not be put off applying for any of the above areas where there are still plenty of territories available. See the paragraph above “About your territory” for further details about territories. What marketing support is provided? As described above your membership of the network includes a guaranteed ongoing promotional package on FrenchEntrée.com. In addition to this we will from time to time recommend additional co-operative marketing opportunities such as exhibitions and advertising. Such activities will be subsidised by us in order to provide discounted prices to members who will be invited to participate on a first-come-first served basis.

faqs How are you promoting the service to property buyers? We are now running a series of promotions to gain the attention of the property buying public and to build awareness of the service and generate business for our recently joined property finders, including: Exhibition stand at The France Show 2009

PR campaign to French property press and UK national newspapers Every month in French Property News one of our Property Finders writes an two page article about their area Distribution via international property press channels Now is therefore a great time to be joining the network in order to benefit from the publicity in place and the increasing awareness of the network.

Can you give me some examples of the kind of

Laurence Verhaeghe people who are joining? Limousin Show Update! The France Show was well attended and our stand was busy much of the time, generating many leads for property finders and a number of immediate search commissions. It was a great opportunity for some of our property finders to get to know each other and test their presentation skills!

Laurence Verhaeghe, Limousin “I love this area as it offers beautiful countryside and all types of property including cottages, barns, traditional farm with land, mills, “maisons de maître”, manoirs and even castles. Working as a FrenchEntrée property finder my knowledge of the area has enabled me to seek out and negotiate the ideal properties for my clients. I’ve been busy already looking on behalf of several clients and it has been very gratifying see that the properties exactly matched the clients’ criterias!

Alison Morton Loire

Advertising in French Property News US advertising in France Today and France magazine Advertising and editorial coverage on FrenchEntrée.com

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Alison Morton, Saumur “My husband, Steve, and I have had a holiday home in France for some time now. I have been a regular visitor to France, particularly this area, since I was a little girl. Living in France when I was younger was a wonderful time so we recently decided to move across full time; this seems the perfect opportunity. I look forward to welcoming clients and friends to what is undoubtedly one of the prettiest and best value areas of France”..

Rebecca Russell, Nice When I tell people I live in Nice they often ask if it feels like being permanently on holiday. It can sometimes feel that way - the sun shines, the Mediterranean glistens and people are never in a hurry. However, I do have to work and joining French Entrée’s network of property finders was a perfect choice. I have found that the business model works very well, providing not only a much-needed service for buyers but also a good support structure that offers advice, marketing and assistance. With a couple of clients signed up in the first few months, I’m delighted now to be able to help other people find ‘la belle vie’ on the Côte d’Azur. It means less holiday, more work, but that’s something with which I can certainly live! Janine Zdziebczok, Calvados, Normandy The attraction of Calvados for me is the diversity of countryside and coast and equally wide ranging property styles. Sharing my love of the area with clients who have also chosen this region for their future home is without doubt one of the most enjoyable aspects of the role, but I am also benefitting from getting to know the area in far greater depth as I make my searches. Coming back from a day viewing properties with the feeling that you have just found your client that special property is a great reward after the hours spent in research.

How do I know that my training will be good enough to get me started? Allison Hunter, FrenchEntrée Property Finder, Northern Alps, comments on the training provided:

“I was both delighted and relieved to have found the session comprehensive, thoughtful, well-prepared and therefore time efficient - all aspects which I personally value enormously. I can often find myself overprepared relative to other efforts made but I’m happy to have found my match in Graham! He had considered my business plan, my market and my questions and had structured pertinent comments, tips and general advice around this. The 24-hour slot we had together was well-tailored to me and not a waking minute wasted. Without this well-structured approach, we might not have achieved half as much, as we only really had a half day working through the manual. However, with good preparation and discussion notes we covered a lot of detail in the car and over dinner. I have come away with a clear action plan in my mind for getting started, clear about what needs to be put in place to be ‘open for business’ and some structure to my ideas for future evolution. The value of having the ‘structure’ that comes with an existing model, to add to one’s own ideas and local market characteristics, starts to become more tangible. Having started up my previous PR consultancy business totally on my own, I feel as if the model and the ‘induction’ provided by Graham should really avoid a lot of lost time and momentum that is often par for the course in the early phase of any start-up business. I commented to Graham on the way back to the airport that it seemed as if at least a week had passed while we’d been working together, rather than 24hours, because of how much I had been able to move on in my thoughts. What pleased me was that I was able to get a clear view of all the basic mechanics needed now for set up, the adaptations relevant to my market and the opportunities for the future.”