Making Delhi her property

Doris Delessard seems perfectly at ease as she orders a coffee at Barista in Defence Colony Market, though the manager behind the counter does a double take at this 24-year-old blonde’s perfect Hindi. But then, this French girl is no ordinary foreigner visiting India. For the last year and a half, she has been a real estate broker in Delhi, sourcing apartments, houses and office spaces for her clients, mostly foreigners.

“When I came to India on my first job as a merchandiser, I realised how difficult it is for foreigners to find their way around,” says Delessard. “I went back to France and I advised two friends who wanted to visit India. Then I thought why not make a business of it?” she smiles.

In the last year, Delessard has helped over 100 Brazilians, Germans, French and Spaniards working with companies like Chanel, Total and The New York Times, to set up home in Delhi, right from finding them a house to organising air conditioners and gensets, for a commission. “In the West getting a phone, a gas and Internet connection is not such a problem. Here it can be a nightmare, and that’s where I come in,” grins Delessard.

On her first trip to India three years ago, Delessard split an apartment in Malviya Nagar with some Indian student friends. She built a little network of people and contacts, whose services she uses even now, in her business.

Dressed in a business suit, self assured and confident, Delessard is like an encyclopedia on Delhi roads and shortcuts, and talks knowledgeably about real estate prices and escalating rentals in South Delhi. Considering real estate brokering in Delhi remains largely dominated by men, Delessard sure stands out in this community.

“When I meet other brokers, they laugh and don’t take me seriously,” explains Delessard and adds, “They try to fool me till they realise I know my business.”

Delessard has changed 14 Indian real estate partners since she started out 18 months ago, before zeroing in on her current collaborator. “Our understanding is good. He finds the houses, I get the clients and we share the commission,” she explains.

Delessard lives in Freedom Fighter Colony in Neb Sarai and initially, she moved around Delhi meeting clients in an autorickshaw, after striking a deal with the driver to reserve his vehicle exclusively for her, at Rs 6,000 a month. Last month, she bought an Innova, and retained the same driver. Now Delessard is expanding from real estate into services. She’s just launched her company, Doris services & consultancy Pvt Ltd where she provides foreigners in Delhi the works: drivers and maids, interpreters, a non-stop supply of plumbers, electricians and carpenters, and car rental options.

“Nobody in India is offering these services and I guess Indians don’t realise how intimidating this country can be for foreigners,” says Delessard, who’s recently hired a lawyer and an accountant to take care of her company.

Clearly, she has taken to Delhi well. “I love this city and it’s a wonderful country,” she smiles. Through her real estate work, Delessard has also come across Indians looking to buy property across Europe, and is currently tying up with real estate brokers in France.

Her French assistant, Margo, a 20-year-old student studying in Paris, who’s here to learn the ropes on real estate, lunges for her boss’s phone, that’s been ringing constantly. “We’ve got four more meetings today,” explains Delessard, leaving hurriedly.

Real estate companies like Chesterton Meghraj and Richard Ellis had better look sharp.

Making Delhi her property