A word from our CEO

VINGT Paris founder and CEO, Susie Hollands, was quick to embrace the working-from-home policy

Dear friends,

In these exceptional times, with the coronavirus impacting everyone from our families and our businesses to our brave medical teams, we hope that you and your loved ones are healthy, safe and well. We also wanted to bring you a few words of reassurance from our end to let you know that we will continue to be here for you in the normal way – and to update you on how we are supporting our employees, our community and you – our customers and partners.

Providing support

First and foremost, our main priority is always the safety and well-being of our staff and customers – and, on that note, I am pleased to say that everything is very much in control. In fact, with our team already set up to work from home, we took the decision to close the office more than a week ago – several days before the government decree came in – as we wholeheartedly support the current isolation policy.

As a global operation, our team has been using remote software for many years and is accustomed to working for international clients, regardless of their surroundings or where they are in the world. In fact, it is unlikely that our clients will see any change in our ability to work on their behalf.

This has also enabled us to respond quickly and effectively to our customers’ current needs. For example, as a full-service agency – with some 200 rental properties under our management – we have been helping those tenants who wanted to get back to their home countries. Equally, with others here on their own, far away from their families, we have been providing practical and emotional support for them. In the case of our sellers, we have been exploring new ways of marketing their properties by video link and so on.

Open for business

Beyond that, I am pleased to say that the market remains surprisingly buoyant for now, with new enquiries continuing to come in all the time. Equally, buyers who are in the middle of the process haven’t been cancelling, either. So, while we may see a slight price correction in the market, I don’t envisage any long-term effects as yet.

As I have written about before, it seems ‘Paris will always be Paris’ – and people will always want to be a part of that. Plus, with such limited stock in such a small city, demand is always going to exceed supply – even in the challenging times. Also, we are very lucky here in France to have a strong government – who have been doing an amazing job through all this – and we are hopeful that they will soon have the situation under control.

As such, we are committed to the smooth operation of the VINGT Paris and Global team during this period – just finding creative solutions remotely. In fact, we have already been exploring new and innovative forms of technology for our business for a while, so the current situation means we will just be accelerating some of those. Similarly, I should add that all the notaires are operating normally as well – just in a remote capacity.

Staying  connected

So, in summary, if there is anything at all you need during this time, we are very much here for you. This is only possible, however, through the dedication of our team and I would just like to express my thanks to each and every member of staff. I would also like to say a huge thank you to you – our customers and partners – for your loyalty and understanding during this period.

Lastly, we realise that many of you will be spending more time at home in the coming weeks. So, if you’re not already part of our social-media communities, we’d love you to join us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, where we’ll be continuing to share regular updates, and on our website. In due course, we will also be extending all this with new podcasts, videos and virtual visits. In short, we feel it is more important than ever that we all stay connected just now.

Once again, thank you for being a part of the VINGT Paris family during this challenging time. We are enormously grateful for your custom and loyalty, and look forward to helping out in any way needed. Our team will be available as usual to discuss any concerns you may have around the market, and you can get in touch with us here.

With our very best wishes to you and your loved ones.

Susie Hollands,
Founder and CEO,
VINGT Paris