Agnieszka Hancock
Partner adviser
- Languages:
- English, Polish
- Areas:
- Mougins, Valbonne, Cannes, Cap d’Antibes, Saint-Tropez
Buyer representation
Your buying team in the Riviera hinterland
We search, assess, negotiate and see the purchase through for buyers in Valbonne, Mougins, Opio, Biot, Grasse and the villages between them. Under a search mandate, we work for you.
Discuss your search with our teamThe short version
A buyer’s agent represents the purchaser, not the seller. At La Reserve that means a written search mandate, signed before your first viewing, and a team that searches across local agencies and private sellers, gives you a frank view of each house, negotiates the price and coordinates the notaire, surveys and finance until you have the keys. The fee is 6% TTC of the purchase price, payable only when the sale completes.
Why buyers use us
What representation changes
An honest view of each house
We tell you what is wrong with a property as readily as what is right: a busy road, a steep plot, ageing septic, planning limits, a price above recent sales in its sector.
One brief, many agencies
Hinterland homes are listed with many different agencies, and some owners sell privately. You brief us once; we approach the agencies and owners, so you are not managing a dozen inboxes.
Offers grounded in recorded sales
We compare each asking price with official DVF sales records in its sector before you make an offer, and negotiate from that evidence.
Built for buyers who live abroad
Video walk-throughs before you travel, accompanied viewings when you do, and every document explained in English so that nothing is signed on trust.
How a search works
Introductory call
We talk through what you want, your budget and your timing, and tell you honestly whether we can help.
Brief and mandate
We agree a written brief and sign the search mandate, with the fee stated, before any viewing.
Research
We search listed homes across local agencies and ask owners we know who may sell privately.
Shortlist and viewings
A short list with our view of each house. Video first if you are abroad, then accompanied visits.
Offer and negotiation
We check the price against sector sales, prepare the offer and negotiate on your side.
Through to the keys
We coordinate the compromis, surveys, finance and the notaire until the deed is signed.
Where we search
Our advisers work across the hinterland between Cannes and Grasse. Each town below has its own guide, with recent sales and prices by sector. We also search in Cannes and Antibes.
The team
Three advisers cover the area. Between them they work in English, French and Polish, and one of them leads your search from the first call to the deed.
Cindy Fournier
Partner adviser
- Languages:
- French
- Areas:
- Valbonne, Opio, Biot, Mougins, Châteauneuf-de-Grasse, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins
Bruno Hubert
Partner adviser
- Languages:
- English, French
- Areas:
- Valbonne, Mougins, Cannes, Grasse and the surrounding villages
Whose side we are on
La Reserve also sells homes for their owners. If a house that fits your brief is one we hold for its seller, we tell you before you view it, and you still pay one fee only: never a fee from each side.
We take no commission from the lenders, brokers, surveyors, builders or architects we introduce you to. Our only fee is the one in your mandate.
Fees and the search mandate
6%
TTC of the purchase price for houses and apartments, payable only when the sale completes. Nothing is due before the deed is signed. Under the search mandate the buyer pays the fee, and it sits outside the price in the deed, so transfer duties are charged on the net price, which offsets part of the fee. See the full fee schedule.
Questions buyers ask
What does a buyer’s agent do in France?
A buyer’s agent (chasseur immobilier) acts for the purchaser under a written search mandate, the mandat de recherche. The agent searches for homes that match your brief, arranges and accompanies viewings, gives an independent view of each property, negotiates the price and follows the purchase through the compromis de vente to the final deed at the notaire.
How is this different from contacting the listing agency?
The listing agency is engaged by the seller and its job is to sell that home at the best price for its client. It can show you its own homes and may know of others, but it does not represent you. Under a search mandate we work for you across every agency we deal with, and we tell you when a house is not right.
Do you search across different agencies?
Yes. We search listings held by other agencies in the area as well as our own, and we ask owners we know who may be preparing to sell privately. We cannot promise access to every home on the market, but you brief one team instead of many.
Will you give an opinion on a house we have already found?
No. We do not assess homes that another agency is selling to you: that agency has a client, and judging its work from the outside would not be fair to anyone. If you would like us to represent you, we start with your brief and a search mandate, and search with you from there.
What if a house we like is one La Reserve is selling?
We tell you at the outset, before you view it. You pay one fee only, never a fee from the seller’s side and another from yours.
How do you help buyers who live abroad?
We run the search in English, send video walk-throughs so you only travel for homes worth seeing, group viewings into short visits, and explain every document before you sign it. We can introduce a notaire, lenders, brokers and tax advisers who work with international buyers.
Which areas do you cover?
Valbonne, Mougins, Opio, Biot, Grasse, Roquefort-les-Pins, Châteauneuf-de-Grasse and Le Rouret, and the sectors around them. We also search in Cannes and Antibes.
How are your fees paid?
Our fee is 6% TTC of the purchase price for houses and apartments, paid only when the sale completes, at the notaire. Under a search mandate the buyer pays it, outside the price in the deed, so transfer duties apply to the net price only.
Do we need to sign a search mandate?
Yes. French law requires a written mandate before an agency can act for a buyer, and it must be signed before your first viewing. It names your adviser, sets out the brief and states the fee and who pays it.
Discuss your property search with our team
Tell us where you would like to live, roughly what you want to spend and when. An adviser will reply, usually within one working day, and tell you honestly whether we are the right people to help.