Sue - Property purchased in Nanteuil-en-Vallée Aug 2011
My house-buying experience was a much more enjoyable one than I had expected due to the help, advice and guidance I was given by James and the team. At no time did I feel pressured to make swift decisions and the questions I had were always responded to quickly by email or telephone and I was never made to feel that I was being a nuisance. (Well done James!) The legalities of the whole process were handled quickly and efficiently and therefore any anxieties that I had regarding the amount of paperwork that I might have to contend with was removed and as if by magic, appeared and then was explained to me in English so that I clearly understood everything that I needed to know. The time and patience shown to me were fabulous. Thank you for all your hard work and help James.
Paul and Frances- Property purchased in Ruffec March 2011
I found the website by chance, having googled 'properties in Charente'. The site was easy to use. I liked it having French and English information side by side and really found it useful to have the situation of the property ie town, hamlet, countryside stated. When I sent a query about one of the houses I got a prompt reply and I found it very easy to arrange an appointment for viewings; When we came out, James showed us several houses, all of which were a reasonable fit to our requirements. As we went along James asked us what we thought and modified what he was going to show us. It was the best house buying experience we've had! The support we had between agreeing the sale and completion was excellent and indeed we were given help after the sale was complete. In short, we would not hesitate to recommend your agency to anyone thinking about buying in the Charente. We also wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Charente to anyone; it's a great place to live.
Paul and Laura - Property purchased in Cellefrouin Aug 2011
Put simply, our experience with CIC was exceptional. Having bought and sold a number of houses in the UK we had no reason to presume the French experience would be any different, how wrong can you be ! Based on our brief requirements Douglas was able to filter our initial selection to avoid wasted time and presented us with some real gems. The French property sale arrangements are far superior to those in the UK in many ways, but with the help of Douglas the whole exercise became almost painless. His help went well beyond the purchase, assisting us with utilities, insurance and banking, even introducing local builders. At all times his communication was both proactive and timely, and he took time to explain the process thoroughly. We can honestly say that if any of our friends were to consider a home in France then CIC would be our first recommendation, this agent coupled with appeal of the region make it almost irresistible !
Meg and David - Property purchased in Taizé-Aizie Aug 2011
We found the agency to be exceptional - James showed us exactly the kind of houses that we said we were looking for. We received as much help as we needed before, during and after our purchase. We have recommended the agency to people that we know who were seeking to buy a house in this region. We found James to be charming, helpful and patient.
Helen and Ric - Property purchased in Souvigné May 2011
We were extremely happy with the service that Compagnie Immobilière Charentaise provided us, from start to finish. Offering not only a professional but friendly approach - keeping in touch with us constantly by phone, e-mail and through the Notaire and helping us to source local artisans that we would have found difficult to do from the UK. Thank you very much Douglas for helping us buy the house of our dreams.
Colin and Sheila - Property purchased in Lorigné Dec 2011
We cannot thank James enough for helping to find us such a lovely house and look forward to having many holidays there. James helped us with every step of the tranaction and we would happily recomend you to other people looking for a new home.
Tina and John - Property purchased in Vieux-Cerier April 2011
Having brought and sold two previous properties in France in other departments, we were keen to purchase a home with a lake and views. When searching via the web, our dream property came up under CIC. The quality of the photos and description online immediately stood out. Within a few hours, we had spoken to Douglas on the telephone from the UK, and arranged a viewing the next day. Within 24 hours of siting the property online, our offer was presented, accepted and the deposit paid. We had every confidence in Douglas to hold our hand and guide us through the process, especially as our French language is limited. We were not disappointed. His support extended beyond completion, including help with setting up utilities, planning permissions and dealings with the Notaire and local artisans. We would not hesitate to recommend their services to other UK buyers and will certainly ask them to market our holiday home when we come to sell it in the future. Thank you so much for a superb, professional and friendly service.
Rick and Arzu - Property purchased in Aug 2011
I have been very happy with the service provided. James is always very helpful in answering my many queries, even months after the purchase. Which is why we sold the first property through yourselves and have again engaged your services to sell this latest property.
Tricia and Trevor - Property purchased in Beaulieu July 2011
We would like to thank Compagnie Immobiliere Charentaise for helping us to buy a house in France. This was completely new to us and we had absolutely no experience of buying a property in another Country. But then we came upon Douglas at CIC who just walked us through every step of the way with our adventure. They gave us a wide variety of properties to view, understanding our needs. Douglas was very knowledgable about the areas and supplied us with lots of information on everything which increased our confidence about buying a property in France.
Once we found the house we wanted everything was smoothly and effectively managed, over and above our expectations, and without the need for us to keep having to return to France. I don't think we would have managed without this support. We are now the proud owners of our first house in France, all down to the easy, stress free, positive experience provided by Douglas and the team at Compagnie Immobiliere Charentaise
Thanks for everything and bonne chance pour l'avenir.
David and Sam - Property purchased in Pleuville Feb 2011
The service from James was second to none, he gave us far more help than we would dare to expect from a UK selling agent and he made the process far less daunting (given we knew zero French year ago) than it otherwise might have been.
Property purchased in Le Bouchage Jul 2011
We really have no problem with saying the service was very good . In point of fact and coincidentally we did try to see our property through another agent before we contacted you originally and as they took so long to come back to us -we'd actually bought the place before they contacted us! Your service was always prompt and reliable and the whole thing was pretty much as perfect as possible - and my wife is an ex estate agent - so that's praise indeed!
Dermot and Veronca - Property purchased in Montjean April 2009
I was so pleased with all the professional help and quick response to any query. All the help on every step of the buying process was so much appreciated by us. I would highly recommend your agency to anyone interested in buying a home in France.
Linda and Steve - Property purchased in Luxé Feb 2011
It's been two months now since we got our key's to our new home in Luxe. Since then we have been very busy with the alterations. We would like to thank Douglas Hines and company for helping to make our move to France a good experience. After viewing the property for the second time in early December 2010 we signed the Compromis de Vente and got our keys on the 8th February 2011, No complications, no hiccups, just so straight forward. There service was swift and always prompt, with help and impartial advice on all sorts of information.