Parler Paris Newsletter

Paris Lives in New York City

Parler Paris...
Your taste of life in Paris and France
http://www.parlerparis.com/
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Paris, France

Don't Miss Parler Paris! AOL blocks many major European ISPs, so we cannot guarantee that our mail to AOL addresses will arrive. Please use another email provider or "White List" our email address or add "Adrian@AdrianLeeds.com" to your contact list.

WRITING FROM THE IMAGINATIVE STORM
A creative writing workshop that crackles with passion, fun, and spontaneity.
Facilitated by poet, James Navé
December 1, 2007, 3 p.m. - 6 p.m.

In this collaborative afternoon you’ll spend the first half exploring the creative process by way of movement and improvisational word play. In the second half, you’ll craft your discoveries of memories, ideas, concert images, and surprising word combinations into meaningful rough drafts worthy of polishing into stories and poems. Many in the workshop will volunteer to read their drafts out loud to great applause.

Space is limited to 30, first come, first served.
Cost: 30 euros in cash at the door, and plan on ordering at least one drink.
Note: Bring pen and paper.

La Pierre du Marais
96, rue des Archives at the corner of rue de Bretagne, 75003 Paris
Métro Lines 9, 3 et 11, stations Temple, République or Arts et Métiers

It was a role-reversal for me -- being led on property visits by a real estate agent, meeting with a lender, speaking with an attorney, narrowing down the list of criteria, and doing all the due diligence one of our own property clients would do searching out a great pied-à-terre in Paris.

The search is equally as challenging, unless one has 'beaucoup bucks' to spend on a perfect apartment. Like in Paris, there isn't one. At any price, everything is a trade-off. Agent Klara Madlin (http://www.klaramadlin.com/index.asp) and her assistant, Mary Ann, has been educating me on the ins and outs of New York real estate and the co-op system which is not too dissimilar from our own "copropriété." One major exception is that the board has a lot more control than the association of a Paris building. One story they told was about a potential new owner's dog going through the interview process to be accepted into the building! I joked that in France, the dogs would be gladly accepted, but likely the children would not! (Yes, this IS a joke, but one that can have a lot of truth in it.)

The apartment we liked best was a loft-like open space in a triangular shape in a gorgeous pre-war building on 11th Street near Union Square with a view on Broadway. The apartment was one flight up just above street level (here that's 2nd floor and in France, 1st floor) and the main window was one large panel, but lower than our own physical heights, giving one the impression we were inside a fish bowl and everyone was watching us from the street.

If it weren't for that, we would have grabbed the fab space. The one redeeming feature of what was virtually like living directly on the sidewalk of Broadway, is that the view was of the "Place des Vosges," a reminder of home, but it wasn't of my favorite park in Paris, but an antique dealer with the same name (http://www.placedesvosges.us/). We laughed at the coincidence.

Learning about U.S. mortgages was a fascinating switch from the appeal of variable-rate loans in France vs fixed-rate loans Stateside. I met with Countrywide Financial (http://my.countrywide.com/) thanks to our GE MoneyBank contacts in France (https://www.gemoneybank.fr/ge-money-bank.do) who have friends there. The pros of working with the U.S. lender is that the mortgages I hold in France don't show up on a U.S. credit report. The downside is that interest rates are a bit higher than in France...about 6.25% compared with about 5.75%, depending of course on the type of loan. Believe it or not, there is a possibility that a French lender with which we work closely will be able to finance the New York property based on an equity release from our Paris property, saving again, 'beaucoup bucks.'

With no perfect New York pied-à-terre for which we could get excited, we will continue the search on a long distance basis, just as many of our own clients would do. The learning experience from the other side of the oceanic fence has been enlightening. I understand a little more fully what it's like to be on the receiving, or not receiving end, of the property quest.

Meanwhile, New York is New York, and no matter how many businesses have French names trying to look 'chic,' New York isn't Paris. From our table at "Modern," a "fine dining restaurant located at the Museum of Modern Art featuring the original French-American cuisine of Alsatian-born Chef Gabriel Kreuther, with desserts by Marc Aumont," the stunning dining room overlooks the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden of the Museum of Modern Art surrounded by typical mid-town apartment blocks. One in particular is pretty ugly, constructed of red brick, with box-like air conditioners suspended from the windows (outlawed in France) and not a single flower box or stone detail to make it more friendly or charming. Another, however, has a series of round carved windows at the top, resembling many buildings in Paris along the Seine, and acting as a much more pleasant backdrop to the sculpture garden. Oh, how I wish more of New York could take example of it. The meal was excellent and the decor, yes... sophisticated and stunning, but it was tough not to think of Paris even from this very New York setting. (http://www.themodernnyc.com/modern/modern.html)

The exterior of the Guggenheim Museum is undergoing a face lift, but that didn't stop us from ogling the permanent collection of French impressionist works including an 1867 landscape by Camille Pissarro and having recently added almost 100 works from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection from Venice. Frank Lloyd Wright's spiral design is America's contemporary architecture at its best, so I never get dizzy from circling up to the glass-domed ceiling and then down again, while enjoying the temporary and permanent collections. (http://www.guggenheim.org/)

From the serenity of the white walled gallery, we had no time to spare to hop a taxi and take our seats at "Young Frankenstein," Mel Brooks' musical based on his film from 1974 -- my favorite of all his nutty comedies. Luckily, it was one of eight Broadway plays NOT on the stagehands' strike! A full house laughed until they cried and applauded Mel and his brilliant troupe who clearly loved every minute of being on stage performing some of history's silliest lines, such as Igor's "Walk this way" or "What hump? I don't know what you're talking about." (http://www.youngfrankensteinthemusical.com)

Tomorrow we'll all be talking turkey, along with all the friends I left behind in Paris who will be cooking up their French birds (the tastiest you've ever eaten) for their own Thankgsiving feasts. We'll be downing stuffing and sweet potatoes from the top of a West Side apartment with a view on Central Park. Not too shabby. And on Sunday, I'll be back in the City of Light where I belong.

Respond to
Adrian

P.S. Discover everything you need to know about purchasing Paris real estate or buying French property at the Living and Investing in France Real Estate Conference, February 16-17, 2008 at the Alliance Française in Miami. For all the details and to register, visit: http://www.frenchpropertyconference.com/ or email Schuyler Hoffman at RSVP@adrianleeds.com

Adrian Leeds and her team of property professionals can help make your dream to live or invest in France a reality. These experienced property experts provide comprehensive services including property search, purchase, mortgage and other after-the-sale services, such as renovation and rental management.

Reporting on the Fractional Ownership Solution Conference Call
November 11, 2007
By Adrian Leeds

Steven Navaro of Paris Home Shares and his wife, Suzanne, have been in Paris the last two weeks overseeing the renovation of Le Jardin Saint-Paul, a Fractional Ownership property in the heart of Le Marais on rue Fernand Duval (4th). It was a perfect opportunity for Steve to host a conference call for FPI subscribers to address the concept of Fractional Ownership and answer questions from the listening audience...

French Property Insider is a weekly e-zine, sharing insights, recommendations, tips, and discoveries about Paris real estate and French property. Each information-packed issue is devoted to educating its readers on how to effectively, efficiently and profitably purchase property in France.

Living and Investing in France Real Estate Conference!
February 16-17, 2008
Alliance Française, Miami, Florida

If you've always dreamed of owning your own "pied-à-terre" in Paris or home in the Provinces of France, perhaps as a future retirement home or for now as investment property rented part of the year...this power-packed two-day conference is a MUST.

Hosted by Adrian Leeds, long time resident of Paris, Editor of the Parler Paris Newsletter and French Property Insider weekly E-zine and John Howell, lead attorney for the International Law Partnership, London, these two days in Miami will point you in the right direction to make it really happen! Includes three course lunch and cocktail reception.

Insider Paris Guides are written for people who love the City of Light. You'll get a Paris insider perspective on Good Value Restaurants... Making a Life... Black Culture... Expat Writers...plus the newest guide, Practical Paris!

Welcome to your home in Paris. Home is how you will feel in a private apartment in Paris that has the "seal of approval" from Parler Paris Apartments and me, Adrian Leeds.

DECEMBER SPECIALS!
Book by November 30, 2007 and get 10% off any apartment rental in December! (Four night minimum, subject to availability)

American comfort with French flair! Overlooking Boulevards Richard Lenoir and Voltaire, in the 11th Arrondissement.This three-bedroom, two-bath luxury penthouse with wrap-around balconies and spectacular views, sleeps 6.

Parler Paris Apres Midi Parler Paris Après Midi
http://www.parlerparis.com/apresmidi.html

Come for a drink and to meet and chat with other readers in Paris...

Parler Parlor French-English Conversation Group
http://www.parlerparlor.com/

Practice speaking French and English. Make friends, discuss interesting topics, learn about other cultures, progress in understanding and speaking, naturally and easily. Meets three times a week -- come as often as you like!

Subscribe to the PARISMARAIS monthly newsletter FREE...

The Art of Living Guide to Le Marais.

http://www.parismarais.com/parismarais-newsletter.htm

France Today The Magazine of French Culture and Travel, delivers all the information you need to indulge your passion for France: travel advice you won’t find anywhere else, off-the-beaten-path trips, the inside track on trends in dining, hotels, shopping and style, and the culture scene.

To subscribe, visit http://www.francetoday.com or call 1-800-901-6560