English included. At no extra cost.
The agency fee is exactly the same for an English and a French speaking client. The full fee scale of Orpi Les Carmes is published below: from 5.4% including VAT above €412,000, rising for more modest prices, and identical whatever language your sale runs in. There is no English surcharge, because English is not an extra here. It is the house.
The fee scale, published in full.
This is the barème of Orpi Les Carmes, the same document displayed at the agency as French law requires. Rates include VAT and are calculated on the price excluding the fee, which is the standard French convention.
| Sale price (fees included) | Agency fee, VAT included |
|---|---|
| €412,000 and above | 5.40% |
| €310,000 to €411,999 | 5.90% |
| €259,000 to €309,999 | 6.40% |
| €208,000 to €258,999 | 6.90% |
| €156,000 to €207,999 | 7.40% |
| €131,000 to €155,999 | 7.90% |
| €105,000 to €130,999 | 8.40% |
| €74,000 to €104,999 | 8.90% |
| €36,000 to €73,999 | 9.40% |
| Up to €35,597 | Flat fee of €3,000 |
A worked example
A home advertised at €350,000, fees included, sits in the 5.90% band: an agency fee of about €20,000, already inside the advertised price. The seller receives about €330,000; the buyer pays what the listing said. Nobody discovers a surprise line at the notaire's office.
Two agencies never means two fees
When another agency introduces the buyer, through Orpi or the shared Amanda file, the agencies split the same commission between them. The figure you see in this scale is the whole fee, however many agents worked on the sale.
Where every euro goes
Sellers: in your written study, I open the fee up line by line, what goes to the state, what pays for your home's visibility, what runs the agency, and what comes to me. You see it before you sign anything.
You will understand every line before you sign it. Including at the notaire.
The deed itself stays in French, because French law requires it: the notaire, the state official who handles every property sale in France, must receive the official document in French. Everything around it runs in English. I read the mandate, any offer, the preliminary contract (the compromis) and the final deed across with you, line by line, days before anyone is waiting for a signature.
And if a sworn interpreter is legally required at the signing, I pay for it. Not you.
Interpreter quotes circulate anywhere between €200 and €1,000, and you cannot predict which you will get. With me the number is zero, whatever the notaire decides your file needs. That is what “at no extra cost” means here: a commitment with a price on it, and I am the one paying the price.
The notaire's fees are a separate thing.
On top of the agency commission, every French purchase carries the notaire's fees: roughly 7 to 8% of the price on an older property, 2 to 3% on a new build, paid by the buyer and set by the state. They are the same in every agency and every language, because most of that money is tax. My guide explains them in plain English.
Read the notaire guide →When is the commission actually paid?
Only on completion, at the final signing, out of the sale funds handled by the notaire. The valuation study is free. The visits are free. The second opinion on a live listing is free. If your sale never completes, nobody owes me anything.
