An estate management firm, not a concierge service

Maison Aubier began with an observation that is hardly original: the villas of Arcachon Bay are among the most valuable built assets on the French Atlantic coast, and in the overwhelming majority of cases they are looked after without any method at all.

A loyal but overstretched caretaker. A helpful neighbour with no mandate. A seaside concierge whose business is letting the villa, not preserving it. The owner — in Paris, Bordeaux, Geneva or London — arrives to find damage nobody saw coming.

Nobody is to blame. A trade was simply missing.

What we do

We apply to a single property what a private asset management office applies to a portfolio: structured monitoring, periodic reporting, documented indicators, a multi-year action plan and archives that can be handed on.

In practice, this means five activities.

Monitoring. Documented visits at an agreed frequency, following a written checklist, with dated photographs. Supported, where the property warrants it, by discreet sensors — leak, temperature, opening, mains power — whose alerts we filter before they reach you.

Preventive maintenance. An annual calendar built for the house, carried out by local firms we know, whose work we inspect before approving it.

Coordination. We open the door, explain the problem, compare the quotes, sign off the work and record it. It is the most mundane part of the job, and the one most conspicuously missing for a distant owner.

Documentation. Every house has a file: plans, service runs, equipment ages, intervention history, warranties, visit reports. That file belongs to you and follows you, including if you stop working with us.

Judgement. We tell you what must be done now, what can wait, and what waiting will cost. With figures, not adjectives.

What we do not do

We do not market any property. Our stewardship subscription does not depend on whether your house is occupied, and we have no interest of our own in whether it is let.

Everyday cleaning is not our trade. It enters our service where it serves the house and its owner: an arrival preparation includes cleaning, beds, linen and provisions, and the Excellence tier adds an in-stay concierge service. What we do not do is serve paying guests' stays — a concierge does that better than we would, and we are happy to work alongside one.

We employ no security guards and provide no permanent on-site presence.

We are not tradespeople. We do not lay tiles or repair pipework. We bring in those whose trade it is, and we check what they have done.

The founder

Maison Aubier was founded by Benjamin Segura, who runs it from Le Teich.

The firm is based on the Bay itself, which is not a marketing line but an operating constraint: the work requires being within thirty minutes of the properties in our care, all year, including on a Sunday in January.

Where we work

We cover the whole of Arcachon Bay: Arcachon, Pyla-sur-Mer, La Teste-de-Buch, Gujan-Mestras, Le Teich, Biganos, Audenge, Lanton, Andernos-les-Bains, Arès, and the entire Lège-Cap-Ferret peninsula, oyster villages included.

We deliberately limit the number of properties under management. Too broad a portfolio would make impossible the very thing that gives the service its value: knowing each house, its weaknesses, its history and its habits.

Our motto

Preserve the condition. Pass on the memory. Enhance the asset.

It is not a slogan but an order of priority: you preserve first, you document second, and value follows from holding to those two over time.

Frequently asked questions

Is Maison Aubier a concierge service?

No. A concierge serves the stay and often the letting: welcome, cleaning, linen, bookings. Maison Aubier handles the technical monitoring of the property, its preventive maintenance and its documentary record. The two trades complement each other, and we regularly work alongside local concierge firms.

Where is Maison Aubier based?

At Le Teich, on Arcachon Bay, which places every commune on the Bay within forty minutes all year round. A permanent local presence is a condition of doing this work properly, not a selling point.

Does Maison Aubier take a commission on works?

No — not on the works coordinated under the subscription. Maison Aubier is paid a monthly retainer independent of the number of interventions. Whoever recommends the work should have no interest in there being more of it. Overseeing a renovation, where the owner requests it, falls under a separate written mandate whose fee is fixed when the mandate is signed and does not vary with the final cost of the works.

Can Maison Aubier oversee a renovation?

Yes, under a mandate separate from the subscription, where the owner wishes to be represented in dealings with the contractors. The fee is fixed in euros when the mandate is signed, on the basis of the projected budget, and does not vary if the project grows. Outside that mandate, no commission is taken on the works coordinated.

Can Maison Aubier work alongside an existing concierge service?

Yes, and this is the most common arrangement. Our monitoring module was designed to be added to an existing setup rather than replace it. We then define each party's scope precisely to avoid paying twice for the same service.

Which communes does Maison Aubier cover?

All the communes of Arcachon Bay, from Arcachon and Pyla-sur-Mer in the south to Arès and Lège-Cap-Ferret in the north, including the oyster villages of the peninsula. The number of properties under management is deliberately limited to preserve the quality of the monitoring.