DOES SHE KNOW THEY WON'T LET HER WEAR HER VEIL? (via Robert Schwartz):

In Paris, Romancing the Deal (DEBORAH BALDWIN, June 23, 2005, NY Times)

ROBYNN ROCKSTAD-REX had a large house in Seattle. But after her husband died two years ago she ached for a little piece of Paris. "It's the one city," she said, "where I could smile again." She found herself hunched over the computer scouring real estate listings until all hours. "It was an obsession for a while," she said.

A place of one's own in the city of light: it may sound like one of those impossible dreams, brought down to earth by the rude realities of doing business in a country where notoriously slow-moving bureaucracies can give apartment hunting a nightmarish hue. But this quest ended happily.

Working with a firm called Paris Real Estate Finders - one of several such services to have sprung up in recent years - Ms. Rockstad-Rex located a pied-à-terre near Montmartre within two weeks. Taking possession took several months, but Finders held her hand the whole time, and Ms. Rockstad-Rex suggested it was actually kind of fun.

Paris, that fantasy destination for so many expats and luxury goods connoisseurs, has become an unlikely destination for Americans hoping to acquire second homes. The prospective buyers are so plentiful, in fact, that they have spawned a cottage industry of local fixers who specialize in ushering Americans through the 7 percent transfer fee, codified inheritance rules, requisite "notaire" and other bewildering rituals of French real estate.

A strong euro has scared away some buyers, but others have clearly decided that it's a sign to buy in. Though the euro has sagged a bit in recent months, many economists see it bouncing back, indicating that now may be the time to buy.

Some buyers are also motivated by prices below those in New York and a conviction that they can only go up. "Let's say there are worse investments you can make," said Ms. Rockstad-Rex, asserting that her apartment has appreciated 50 percent since she bought it in 2003.

Of course, when the alternative is investing in municipal bonds, who wouldn't prefer a private hideaway stocked with French armoires and raw-milk Camembert?

Douglas C. Gaddis, and his partner, Dr. Gary Begin, found themselves lusting over photographs in real estate agency windows during regular trips to Paris. Last year, armed with listings from Paris Real Estate Finders' electronic database, they zeroed in on a one-bedroom in an 1890's building designed by Charles Plumet, and bought it based on photographs alone, like a mail-order bride.

The couple, who live outside Washington, flew to Paris to renovate, hiring a contractor "who came up the stairs with an air-powered jackhammer," Mr. Gaddis said with awe.

Shipping widowed and gay Blue Staters over isn't going to reverse the depopulation problem. The buildings will be filled with nothing but Algerian squatters in a few years.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 23, 2005 11:17 PM