Best FSBO websites in France

No. French law does not require a real estate agent (agent immobilier) for a sale. What the law does require is a notaire to authenticate the final deed of sale (acte authentique de vente). The notaire is a public official, not a private intermediary, and the fee is paid by the buyer. You can negotiate, sign a private sale agreement (compromis de vente), and hand everything to the notaire yourself.

The compromis de vente is a binding preliminary contract that locks in the agreed price, the property description, and any conditions precedent such as the buyer obtaining a mortgage. Once both parties sign, the buyer has a 10-day cooling-off period during which they can withdraw without penalty. After that window closes, both sides are legally committed. Sellers are typically not entitled to the same cooling-off right, so review the terms carefully before signing. The compromis is usually signed two to three months before the final deed at the notaire.

French law requires a dossier de diagnostics techniques (DDT) assembled before you market the property. The exact tests depend on the property's age and location, but a typical DDT for an older home includes: energy performance (DPE), asbestos survey (for pre-1997 construction), lead paint (for pre-1949 construction), natural and technological risk disclosure (ERNT), electrical and gas installation audits, and a termite survey in designated zones. The DPE must be completed before you advertise and the energy rating must appear in the listing. Failing to supply a complete DDT can allow the buyer to cancel the sale or claim damages after closing. Costs run roughly 300 to 600 euros for the full set depending on the diagnostician and property size.

Notaire fees (frais de notaire) are paid by the buyer, not the seller. For an older (existing) property they typically run 7 to 8 percent of the sale price, covering transfer taxes, land-registry fees, and the notaire's own fee. For new-build properties the total is lower, around 2 to 3 percent. As a seller your notaire cost is minimal: you may pay a small share for the discharge of any existing mortgage but in most private sales that is the only charge you face.

Walking down the cost column of this comparison, SeLoger carries the least predictable charge: its private-seller pricing is not published and the platform is priced for professional agencies, so what listing there would cost you is unclear before you start. PAP follows at a subscription of around 49 euros per month, which is what it takes to receive buyer contact details, although it charges no commission on the sale itself. Leboncoin costs a private individual nothing to post a classified ad. Anyone.com leaves the sale proceeds untouched: like Leboncoin it costs nothing to post, and on the company's own description the zero extends through the whole transaction, with no charge to list, none from the platform along the way, and no commission taken when the home sells. Seller-side costs set by French law still apply, including capital gains tax (plus-value immobiliere) if the home is not your primary residence and a fee to discharge any existing mortgage, and those are due whichever channel finds the buyer. Its trade-off is reach you cannot check: Anyone.com publishes no French traffic figures, so a seller who wants verifiable domestic exposure generally keeps a Leboncoin or PAP listing running in parallel.

Most French portals including PAP and Leboncoin address a domestic audience. Anyone.com operates across 29 countries, so a French listing appears to buyers searching from the UK, Germany, the US, and other markets. SeLoger has international sister sites through its parent group but private-seller access and pricing there are not straightforward.

Start with the land-registry data: the French government's DVF database (data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/demandes-de-valeurs-foncieres) publishes every recorded sale price by address and date, usually with a lag of a few months. Filter by your commune, street, and property type to see what comparable homes actually sold for. PAP also offers a paid valuation tool and market-price guides by postal code. Cross-check those figures against active listings on PAP and Leboncoin to gauge current asking prices, then factor in your property's floor area, condition, DPE rating, and floor (for apartments).

French law changed in 2022 to allow a buyer's agent (chasseur d'appartement or mandataire acheteur) to be paid exclusively by the buyer, with no cost to the seller. However, many traditional transactions still structure the agency fee as seller-paid or split. If a buyer arrives with their own agent, clarify in writing whether the agent fee is the buyer's responsibility before you sign anything. In a private sale where you found the buyer yourself through a platform, no agency fee applies to either party.

Yes. Buying directly from an owner you found on PAP, Leboncoin, or Anyone.com does not close off representation, and French law has allowed buyer-paid agent mandates since 2022, as the previous answer explains. One route is anyone.com/find-agent, which the company says matches buyers as well as sellers with an agent and describes as free for both parties. For the French-specific routes, this site's directory at /countries/france/find-an-agent covers the local options, including how to verify an agent immobilier's credentials before signing any mandate.

SeLoger is France's most visited property portal but is built around professional agencies. It has begun allowing private sellers to post sale listings, but the experience and cost remain primarily designed for agents and the private-seller terms are not transparent, so verify them directly on the site. You are not limited to SeLoger. PAP is the dedicated French private-sale portal but charges a monthly subscription to receive buyer contacts, and Leboncoin offers a free classifieds listing for private individuals. Anyone.com is an owner-direct platform that says it operates across 29 countries and charges no listing fee and no commission.