Montana to the Côte d'Azur:
How One Call Unlocked a Dream
US couple (Montana), relocating to Nice · Montana, USA → Nice, French Riviera
Cats, currency, and the wrong choice between renting and buying
Linda and John Kreem had a clear dream: leave Montana and start a new life on the Côte d'Azur. What they had less clarity on was the process. They were considering renting first, a sensible instinct for many expats, but with two cats, the French rental market presented an almost insurmountable challenge.
They were also 7 hours behind UK time, working across two different legal systems, with no French contacts, no agent, and an uncertain approach to currency strategy. They'd opened a Wise account for initial deposits, but didn't know what to do about the larger balance, or whether forward contracts were something they should be considering.
Ben met them on a currency call in February 2026.
Honest advice, the right network, and a compromis in 10 weeks
The first and most consequential piece of advice Ben gave was to buy rather than rent. Given the difficulty of the French rental market with cats, where landlords routinely reject pet owners, the rental path was likely to end in prolonged frustration. Buying, counterintuitively, offered more certainty.
Ben immediately introduced Linda and John to two people: Keely Barrett at Nice Homes for the property search, and Laure Chaveron at Avocatline for legal structuring advice. That week, during a visit to the Riviera, Linda and John met Keely in person.
By late April 2026, roughly 10 weeks after the initial currency call, they were under contract on a starter apartment Keely had sourced. They came back to Ibanista specifically asking about forward contracts to lock in the USD→EUR rate on the balance during the completion window. Ibanista Senior Trader Ollie, managed the forward contract strategy.
The full circle: currency call → honest buy/rent advice → agent referral → legal referral → property found → back to Ibanista for the complex hedging. Every element managed by one trusted network.
Hi Ben, thanks for referring us to Keely. I don't know if she told you the latest, but we are under contract on a 'starter apartment' she showed us! We already set up a Wise account to pay the deposit, but are wondering whether we should be looking at some sort of futures contract to lock in an exchange rate for the balance. Is that a service you provide?
Timeline
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