Jules Caris, founder and director of the Galerie de l'Immobilier, is very forthcoming when asked what he finds interesting about his job.
It's sometimes difficult to understand the enthusiasm that comes from working in a profession, and it's equally difficult to express that enthusiasm. Fortunately, this was not the case for our interviewee.
An original and coherent career path
And discovering his background is surprising. Although he was born into a family in which interior design plays an important role, nothing seemed to predispose him to setting up an estate agency. And it was as a professional classical musician that he arrived in Paris nearly 30 years ago. An accident and a hand injury prevented him from pursuing his musical career. A professional reorientation was imposed by this painful circumstance and Jules Caris made the best of it. There's no time for procrastination, life moves on and you have to live it. And, like an echo of his parents' profession, both interior decorators, he very quickly joined an agency in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. So here he was, an estate agent. It was a job that he quickly realised suited him perfectly. And for good reason," he explains, "what profession allows you to simultaneously tackle the complementary sectors of sales, communication, finance, law and psychology?
If you've got a lively, inquisitive mind and a thirst for knowledge, working as an estate agent is a godsend, and an opportunity that Jules Caris seized. It was only natural that, after several years in the profession, he should decide to set up his own agency. And now our musician is at the helm of his own orchestra: La Galerie de l'Immobilier. That was in 2001. Over 20 years in business, and not a false note to be deplored.
Understanding to advise
Investing in property is always a decisive act, determining the rest of your life. It's the kind of decision you don't take lightly. It's a decision that requires guidance, direction, advice and guidance. With patience and accuracy. We form precious bonds with the place where we live, and it's important to select it meticulously. So with La Galerie de l'Immobilier, whether you're selling or buying, you benefit from precise, valuable and, let's stress it, human support. We adapt to the customer to optimise our service. Needs have to be identified as closely as possible if they are to be met, but they also have to correspond to real financial capacities. As Jules Caris explains, 90% of his agents' work is devoted to understanding customer expectations. On the buyer's side, we have to integrate these expectations, but sometimes we also have to help the customer put them into perspective and adjust them to the economic and structural realities of the market, so that in the end he or she can make the purchase.
For sellers, our professional duty is to help them understand the reality of the market and establish the likelihood of selling in the medium term at a given price.
The remaining 10% of the mission is an opportunity for the estate agent to use his pragmatism and diplomacy to harmonise the sometimes slightly divergent points of view on value once the right property has been found. By this we mean the final negotiation or what the Anglo-Saxons call 'the closing'. This often involves a very small percentage of the price, but it also involves an important psychological element that needs to be carefully managed to ensure that the climate remains positive and that both parties sign the contract.
As you can see, being a successful estate agent, capable of establishing a win-win relationship between the customer and the agency, is not something you learn at school. You have to put your skills to the test in the field, put them to the test in practice, evaluate your effectiveness - and reinforce it - by successively handling a wide range of mandates. And, in fact, at Galerie de l'Immobilier, the members of this small team - you could say family - have one thing in common: the healthy combination of responsiveness and patience. We listen, we understand, we advise and we suggest.
Priority to efficiency
With the proliferation of independent estate agents, there are many advantages to using the services of an agency. Particularly for this agency. The elegant premises and impeccably rigorous logistical organisation. The setting is reassuring, and you can be sure very quickly that you won't be confused by administrative and legal considerations.
With 25 years' experience under his belt, Canadian-born Jules Caris, who speaks two languages (English and French), has succeeded in building up a team of experienced, multicultural colleagues, as well as a network of notaries, tax specialists, architects and interior designers, and, of course, a network of real estate professionals.
It should also be noted that the efficiency of this agency is produced by the concentration of services. You can't disperse when you want to act effectively.
So, rather than diversifying and multiplying missions, we choose to give priority to their success. The field of action is reduced to increase the success rate of transactions.
This makes the agency more efficient and, as Jules Caris told us, it's easy to see why buyers and sellers who have used Galerie de l'Immobilier go on to recommend it.
It's a virtuous circle that makes perfect sense. When you have a quality service, how can you not become its promoter?
Source : https://www.lepoint.fr/stories/une-agence-a-taille-humaine-la-galerie-de-l-immobilier-03-04-2023-2514667_3919.php