When an owner gets in touch from abroad, two worries come up again and again. The first: that the works drift without their seeing it. The second, quieter one: not knowing who, somewhere down the line, is making money off their back. That second worry is the better founded of the two, and the one least often met head-on. It has a name — conflict of interest. And how your representative is paid settles, on its own, whether they're clear of it.
How a commission slips in
The trick is quiet and common. A middleman points you to an architect, a contractor, a broker or a supplier — and pockets, in return, a percentage you never see. It comes wrapped in warm words: "trusted network", "hand-picked partners", "preferred craftsmen". The language is cosy; the deal is financial. You think you're paying for advice; what you're really paying for is an introduction.
Why that hollows out the advice
The problem isn't a moral one, it's mechanical. If I stand to gain when you pick a particular contractor, my recommending them is no longer free of charge — and you can no longer tell whether I'm pointing you their way because they're best for you, or best for me. Worse still: if that contractor pads a quote, I've no reason to flag it, since my cut climbs with their bill. The warning that should protect you never comes. A voice paid by both sides can't defend just one.
My commitment, in writing and in public
So I hold myself to one plain rule, signed and published on this site: I take no commission, rebate, gift, expense allowance, percentage or benefit in kind from any architect, contractor, engineering office, broker, insurer, notary, estate agent, or anyone else working on your project. My only income is the fee you pay me, at the published rates. From nobody else.
It's not a promise made in good faith — it's a charter you can hold me to like a contract.
What it changes for you, concretely
Three things, all concrete. First, you choose freely: I steer you toward no tied-up network, because there's nothing in it for me. Second, my warnings are straight: when I flag a quote drifting or a line priced too high, I've nothing to lose by saying so — it's the whole of my job. Third, you know exactly what you pay, and to whom: one fee, to me, agreed up front; the contractors invoice you, you pay them, and nothing changes hands behind the scenes.
Financial independence isn't one selling point among others. It's the precondition without which everything else — reading the quotes, following the site, the written warnings — would lose its worth. That's why I put it ahead of the service, not beside it.
For the full charter, see The representative. For how it feeds into my fees, read "How much does an owner's representative cost in Paris?". And for the whole journey, the guide "Renovating a Paris apartment from abroad".
— Paris, May 2026. Charles-Eric Guerrier.