Based in the Gers, South-West France, we are experts in:
Moving to France, Buying, Owning, Renting & Selling French Real Estate,
Living and Working in France
The Team
Victoria Maître Headdon LLB Hons, MA, CIOL Member
Director
After successfully completing a combined French and English law degree, Victoria qualified as a Barrister and initially worked in London. She started working in French real estate in 2001 when she headed the legal department of a French real estate firm.
She moved to Gers, Gascony in the south-west of France in 2002 and worked as a freelance translator and interpreter specialised in legal texts and real estate matters. She carried on this work when she created her successful Estate Agency Compass Immobilier in 2005 which she continues to run to this day. In 2021, Victoria was awarded a Post-Graduate Diploma in Translation and she is a member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists.
Victoria has a wealth of experience not only in real estate but also in dealing with the French administration and helping people out with all sorts of situations. She is a dual national, is married with a daughter and lives in the countryside surrounded by her animals and books!
Christine Thomas
Christine arrived in the Gers in 2004 to live permanently in their holiday home, having fallen in love with the Gers, with her husband, 2 Rhodesian Ridgebacks and 2 cats to start their new life in France.
In 2005 Christine started a business as a Marchand de Biens (Property Developer) for the purchase, renovation and resale of property (mainly ruins) which covered all aspects of property from the initial search, costings, planning, utility connections, on site work then to the advertising, client visits and resale. Being a small business, for many of the labouring activities Christine was a willing pair of hands, learning practical skills and gaining knowledge from the Artisans along the way from Pierre Apparente to Fosse Septiques!
Following the retirement of her husband, it was a natural progression for Christine to turn to estate agency having actively been involved in many of the aspects of the job previously, including having long-term property rentals.
When not working Christine has 3 adopted Patou dogs and a husband to keep her occupied!
Claire Gates
Claire’s love of France and all that is French started with a BA (hons) in French and German which led to a French Licence LEA from the University of Bourgogne after a year in Dijon. She went on to obtain an MA in Translation before working in London as a translator for a large media-monitoring company. The next step took her to Brussels where she spent 20+ years working for the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Since moving to the Gers she has embarked on a more hands-on approach to using her language and organisational skills in the realm of property management. Claire has a good understanding of the processes and levels of admin involved in purchasing properties in France as well as renovating and renting out properties. Buying, renovating and renting her house, 2 gites and a Pyrenean chalet have proved testament to that. She and her husband have 2 crazy French bulldogs and a love of wine tasting.