Interview with Susie Hollands of Vingt Paris

Created in 2003, Vingt Paris is the city’s only full-service real estate agency. Covering buying, selling, rentals and property management, the agency has helped individuals navigate the French property process for over 15 years. We spoke to founder Susie Hollands about her inspiration behind Vingt Paris, her beloved city’s enticing property market and what is next in the company’s future.

If investing in Parisian property piques your interest, Vingt Paris should be your first point of call.

What did you do prior to VINGT Paris?

I worked in tech in the City of London for a very dynamic company called Blue Square – the brainchild of Michael Spencer who was previously the owner of ICAP (now Nex Group). During my time with the company, we pioneered online gambling in the UK. It was a great apprenticeship for me in a fast-moving business. Working there also whetted my appetite for becoming an entrepreneur. We had everything you can imagine in a start-up: free food, masseur in the office and masses of responsibility. The CEO Martin Belsham was amazingly hands-off and let us run with every decision. I was about 24 at the time and it was a great place to work.

What inspired you to set up the company? 

The complete lack of service for foreign customers trying to do business and invest in property in Paris was my major motivation. I knew that I could do better and I knew there was a huge market for a service-focused company. A Cypriot client being turned away from an agency after saying he had three days in Paris to find a house for his daughter with a budget of up to €3m is an occasion that I remember. I was happy to make sure he did not leave Paris disappointed. As agencies here do not share listings, this is still a common situation today. If a big firm does not have a product that suits you, you will be sent packing. That’s why we love to work as a buyer’s agent as we can really add value for the customer and cover the whole market here and save them time and advise on values. Another problem for time-poor customers is local agents will not do showings on a weekend, as frequently there are access issues if they do not have the right to visit the property when the owner is away. There are also limited documents to assist making decisions from afar, such as no floor plans. The list of frustrations is endless - but that’s where VINGT Paris can help.

What does the HNW property landscape look like in Paris in 2018? 

It’s very interesting because we have a lack of stock in central Paris and the prime areas, meaning that the market is particularly competitive and moves fast. Buyers have to be well-informed and they need to work seamlessly with the agent. Due to the limited stock, there also has to be trust established because of the lack of information on past sales. So, in short, the buyer needs to be comfortable in taking a decision on the right property very quickly because the market doesn’t wait. There are no deals in Paris, unfortunately, and waiting for one to show up will just make the process more protracted. The ideal situation is for someone to be able to renovate because the best value is the best location with property that needs work. But be aware this will be a one to one-and-a-half-year project for a big property of three or four hundred metres square. If required, we will handle the renovation project management.

Where do you see VINGT Paris in the next 10 years? 

We will expand our services to include Family Office services.  It’s simpler for a HNW client to keep everything under one roof: taxes, purchases, accommodation for a child attending university in Paris and domestic staff hiring and management. Also, going to the outskirts of Paris to find more value for serious investors in the commercial and residential sectors. That is known as the “Grand Paris”, which includes the outer suburbs. Great fun and very interesting for investors, but it’s time to gen up on it now! The Olympics are coming!

As a CEO and founder, what are the three most important business values?

Brutal honesty, putting the client before yourself and going with your gut feeling – being brave.

For more information, go to www.vingtparis.com

 If you’re looking to secure a mortgage in France, contact us on +44(0)203 758 9393 or go to www.enness.co.uk