We wholeheartedly recommend 56Paris and, specifically, Anne Pontabry, with whom we worked directly. From the moment we reached out to 56Paris on the recommendation of a lifelong friend to the moment we received the keys to our Paris home, 56Paris provided unfailingly superior services and personalized client care.
With little familiarity with the nuances of French real estate, we anticipated purchasing an apartment in Paris would be an incredibly arduous and complex process. Anne was an absolute lifesaver from start to finish. She not only helped us find the perfect property, but shepherded us through every daunting hurdle of the French buying process with grace, patience, and precision.
It would be hard to craft a concise review that readers would actually read and still provide all the detail that we would like to provide, but in an effort to do so…. Anne has our deepest appreciation for these aspects:
- Superb Guidance: Anne provided encyclopedic knowledge of Paris neighborhoods, architectural and urban history, and a keen eye for quality.
- Exceptional Attention: We learned early on that she was going to listen to every idea we had and respond in detail, educating us along the way.
- Problem Solving: No matter how complicated the paperwork or negotiations became, Anne stayed ten steps ahead, ensuring nothing fell through the cracks. Both organized and incredibly detail-oriented, Anne never lost sight of important subtleties or the bigger picture.
- True Advocacy: We felt completely supported. She wasn't "closing a deal" - she was genuinely invested in our success and happiness.
- Cross-cultural Skills: Anne provided the bridge between Parisian business practice and culture and our more limited experience, preventing possibly deal-breaking situations by helping us understand and navigate the real estate landscape. We would echo another client’s testimony that we “appreciated Anne’s clear, precise, and accurate interpretation of the pitfalls and liabilities of the transaction. Anne excelled at this – her knowledge of the ins & outs of Paris real estate transactions was extraordinary”. She also has amazing listening and people skills.
- More-than-turnkey Client Services: From the very outset to the successful closing and beyond, Anne outlined not only the process for buying a Parisian property and provided crucial contacts for adjacent and necessary services: currency exchange broker, mortgage broker, notaire, immigration attorney, and property management.
Anne turns what could be a stressful ordeal into a streamlined, successful experience. We cannot recommend her and the team at 56Paris highly enough.
Anne Pontabry of 56Paris was indispensable in my recent purchase of an apartment in Paris. I have bought many residential properties over the years, but this was my first purchase in France. Although I spent most of my childhood in Paris, and I speak quotidian French fairly fluently, I could not have done this purchase without Anne’s expert guidance. Being able to chat at a dinner party in French does not mean that you are prepared to navigate the arcane vocabulary and intricate procedures involved in purchasing a property in France.
From the beginning, Anne’s know-how was essential. She listened to what I was looking for and found every available apartment that matched my request. Because there is no centralized real estate listing system in Paris, only someone with Anne’s contacts and deep involvement in the Paris real estate community could achieve this. As the process moved forward, she helped me refine my search and prioritize my needs/wants. Steered by Anne’s sage guidance, I am now living in an apartment in Paris that is exactly the perfect apartment for me.
Finding the right apartment is the hardest part, but once the apartment has been identified, the negotiation and contractual phases require expert guidance, and Anne excelled at this. Although I am a lawyer, or perhaps because I am a lawyer, I appreciated Anne’s clear, precise, and accurate interpretation of the pitfalls and liabilities of the transaction. Anne excelled at this – her knowledge of the ins & outs of Paris real estate transactions was extraordinary, and I really believe that I would have paid more and received substantially less if she hadn’t been advising me.
On a more personal note, Anne is a lovely person, and I enjoyed interacting with her through all phases of the transaction. She has been a ‘Parisienne’ for more than two decades, she loves and understands the city, and has wonderful anecdotes that underscore the warmth and charm of Paris. It is a joy talking to her about the people and places that make Paris the most beautiful city on earth. I highly recommend that anyone thinking of making the leap to Paris reach out to her.
Kerstin is very knowledgeable about the Paris real estate market and was very helpful in giving us advice and guidance above and beyond what we could have expected. She went out of her way to assist and fit in with our schedule despite her being very busy at the time. She is positive and flexible, speaks English, French and German, possibly more, and was a pleasure to meet. I would recommend 56Paris.
My experience working with 56Paris was just extraordinary - I couldn’t rate them highly enough! Kerstin, who is fluent in English, French and German, worked with me remotely, doing the initial evaluations of an apartment I’d found online while I was in NYC. She visited the place and provided a virtual tour to confirm that it was exactly what I was looking for. She pointed out the strengths and highlighted the weaknesses of the place. We visited it together in person, and she told me she felt the property was overpriced. She handled the negotiations, and brought the price down nicely. She introduced me to a good contractor and an experienced facilitator, and helped me look for an architect to handle the renovation.
Ultimately, although the apartment was perfect, I suffered a financial reversal, and was unable to go through with the deal. She handled my disappointment - and hers - with tremendous kindness and understanding. An absolutely perfect experience, and I can’t imagine having a better realtor to represent a buyer’s interests. Just the BEST.
