Pastures Greener

"Carrie's help with our farmhouse purchase was invaluable. She quickly assessed what it was we were looking for in a property -offering business potential but more importantly our home for the future. Once we found the property she negotiated on our behalf and kept us fully informed about what was happening during the buying process. We feel that she has gone way beyond the duties of an estate agent and as a result has made the whole experience less daunting- it can be hard for English home buyers who do not understand the French system. Carrie has also directed us to other support and advice locally that has proved incredibly useful, especially when it came to sorting out utilities. We would highly recommend Carrie as a most friendly, approachable, supportive and knowledgeable estate agent."

"Dear Carrie, I would like to thank you for all the help and assistance you gave you us in the purchase of our ski chalet in Les Gets. From the first point of contact you always phoned or emailed us back very quickly,and the list of properties you compiled helped us make our final choice. Your local knowledge relating to the legal system gave us great assistance and reassurance and your ability to speak fluent french is second to none. We had several issues when purchasing our chalet but with your help all were sorted out very quickly so I thank you for that. Janet and I would have no hesitation in recommending Pastures Greener to any prospective buyers, and once again THANK YOU so much."

"Carrie’s greatest strength lies in her ability to source the right buyers for the right properties. Her client network in the local region and in the UK enables her to target genuine buying interest and complete a sale quickly and painlessly."

"Selling my plot of land in Morzine with Pastures Greener was a very straight forward process. A buyer was found quickly, and the price received was good. Carrie was very professional throughout, and kept me informed of the sales progress as it happened. I would thoroughly recommend Pastures Greener for anyone thinking of buying or selling a property in France."

"In 2009 we made an offer to purchase a plot of land in Morzine through Pastures Greener. Carrie helped us find the plot and then to make a sensible offer that reflected the market conditions at the time. As soon as our offer was accepted the difficult bit started i.e. finding an architect & builder and gaining planning permission. Throughout this very long period Carrie remained on hand with excellent advice; assisted greatly in keeping the project alive and provided quality contacts through her extensive network. Without a doubt Carrie was instrumental in getting our project off the ground and without her local expertise and knowledge it would have been a struggle to get it to completion. If you are looking to purchase in the Alps I recommend you start with Carrie at Pastures Greener."

"When we decided to look at buying a property in Morzine we did the usual trawl of the internet and spent many a day viewing properties. Having met with most of the estate agents in Morzine it was a joy to discover Carrie Smith at Pastures Greener who quickly found our dream property. The euphoria of finding the right property was followed by the daunting prospect of the buying process in France. The help we received from Carrie went well and truly above and beyond that which we would have received from any of the other estate agents we met. She was always available by phone or e-mail to give advice and helped guide us when it came to the legal and financial side of things. With her fluent French and excellent local knowledge she held our hands through the entire process and we are forever grateful! We would have no hesitation in recommending Carrie to anyone looking to buy in the French Alps, in fact we already have!"

"We purchased a chalet through Pastures Greener who we discovered through the internet. It is the first time we have purchased a property outside of the UK and were a little concerned at the prospect. Carrie Smith helped us through the whole process in a very professional and understanding way. Her experience and knowledge of the whole French system was very reassuring. The purchase was very straight forward and I cannot recommend Pastures Greener enough."

"The easy bit about buying property in France is the decision! The next steps are what makes it a challenge and it is knowing that you have someone like Carrie alongside you that takes some of the pain out of it! French estate agencies have their moments – whilst they do have lists of properties and retail shops to pop into, they do not have the expertise in marketing that we Brits are used to back home. The photos found on many agents' websites leave a lot to be desired and it is extremely difficult to judge just what the property is like. Carrie can do this for you and once she understands what you are looking for she can then cut down on a lot of the hard footwork for you. The search for land (in our case) is tricky and often slow as it doesn’t come up that often. However, having Carrie on side meant that as soon as new parcels were available she immediately let us know. We were then the ‘first’ in the queue and were able to beat others to it. She has the contacts and insight into the area to allow this to happen. The process itself of buying can be complicated – Carrie, as a fluent French speaker, is at your side the whole way and hence is an invaluable aid in overcoming any technical difficulties. Her knowledge of the French system - the agents/notaires and other official departments is excellent, inspiring confidence. We would highly recommend Pastures Greener to any of our friends and if we ever have to go through the process again, either buying or selling, we would head to Carrie first."

"If you looking for an English contact in the French Alps who you can trust, speaks fluent French, understands the Alps, has estate agent contacts in all the main areas and has worked and lived there so understands the local politics, then you need to look no further than Carrie Smith at Pastures Greener. My husband and I have a little boy so time is limited, prior to our arrival in Morzine we gave Carrie a very basic search criteria and limited budget and she came through with a good range of properties to view. We had several potentials but finally made an offer on one. We got nothing but professional advice and an excellent service. Thank you Carrie!"