I have been helping a local agent immobilier based in the Lot et Garonne with a number of translations and other communications for their English clients and have been doing this unpaid as I am not registered. I would love to become an officially registered agent commercial with a view to getting my carte professional at a later date. I understand that to do so I must be associated with an agent and work on a commission only basis, which would be fine. My questions are: What would be the implications insurance wise etc, for the agent immobilier and how do I go about registering myself as an agent commercial.

I have tried to research this subject, but the guidelines are not clear.

Many thanks.

Hi There

It can be a minefield. Maybe your first port of call should be to your local Chamber of Commerce (Chambres de Metiers) to get as much information as you can.

They are usually very helpful.

All the best

Carole Bayliss
mortgagefrance.com

Hi db1307,

The good news is that you won't need to register as an agent commercial if you don't intend to sign mandats or negotiate transactions for house sales.

You could register as a Courtier Libre.

Eiher way, don't be put off. It's actually quite painless. You obviously speak french fluently which is very useful.

In a nutshell, you will need to firstly agree a contract for a Courtier Libre or Agent Commercial as appropriate with the agency you work with.

You then take this contract to the Gref de Tribunal in Villeneuve-sur-Lot with your passport, a utility bill and 40 euros. The Chamber de Commerce no longer process applications for Agents Commercials.

You will have to fill out a couple of other forms but you can do those at the counter at the Gref. Then they'll process your application. The whole process for me took about three weeks from application to registration. I thought it was extremely efficient.

For an Agent Commercial application this entails informing various government bodies for retirement and medical insurance. It also means that, once registered, you will be eligible for payment of your cotisations.

You will be notified by post of your registration and sent a Carte Professionnelle.

I'm sure you have lots of questions. I'd be more than happy to try and answer them if you'd like to give me a call.

__________________
Gerry O'NEILL
http://www.premierfrenchproperty.com
Mobile: +33 6 31 44 32 97 Office: +33 5 53 22 53 80

Dear Gerry,

Thank you for your reply, it was very useful. I appreciate the offer of further help and should I have more questions, which I undoubtedly will, I will be in touch.

Kind regards,

Donna.