Family offices and investors
Acquiring and selling on Lake Geneva, discreetly
Family offices, wealth managers and private investors entrust us with the search, due diligence and sale of prime properties between Geneva and Montreux. A single point of contact, strict confidentiality and access to the market that is never advertised.
In short
Bellerive Properties works with family offices and private investors to buy and sell villas, lakefront estates and exceptional apartments in the cantons of Geneva and Vaud. We run buyer search mandates, including among properties that are never advertised, review every property before an offer (land register, zoning rules, energy, development potential) and coordinate the file with your lawyers, notaries, tax advisers and banks. All exchanges are confidential, in English or French.
What we do
Four services for a family office
Buy
Buyer search mandates
You describe the property, we find it: listed homes, off-market properties and owners we approach directly when nothing on the market fits. You only receive a reasoned shortlist, and viewings are grouped around your schedule.
Off-market
Access to the confidential market
On the shores of Lake Geneva, many of the finest properties change hands without a public listing. Our network of owners, notaries, wealth managers and fellow brokers gives us access to them, presented under a non-disclosure agreement.
Review
Due diligence before the offer
Before any offer, we review the land register extract (easements, charges, notes), the communal zoning rules and the plot's development potential, the energy certificate (CECB) and the condition of the building. You decide on facts, and your advisers receive a structured file.
Sell
Discreet sales
To sell a property held by a family or a holding structure, we offer a sale with no public exposure: detailed valuation, presentation to qualified buyers from our network, screened viewings and documents shared under confidentiality.
How we work
Discretion, coordination, one point of contact
Confidentiality as a rule
Non-disclosure agreement on request, no portal listings, no names shared without your consent. We can deal solely with your family office or your representative, with no direct contact with the family.
Working with your advisers
We work alongside your lawyers, notaries, tax advisers and bankers, or introduce you to ours. We prepare the information they need and keep the timeline on track until the deed is signed.
A boutique agency
Two dedicated brokers cover Lake Geneva, from Geneva to Montreux. Your contact personally knows the properties presented to you and stays the same from the first conversation to the handover of keys, in English or French.
Buying through a structure
What to settle upfront
The Lex Koller law
A company based abroad, or a Swiss company controlled by persons abroad, needs authorisation to buy residential property, and rarely obtains it on Lake Geneva. Premises used for a business activity remain freely accessible. The acquisition structure should therefore be decided with your lawyer before the search starts.
Asset deal or share deal
A property can be bought directly or by acquiring the shares of the company that owns it. Depending on the canton, the transfer of shares in a real estate company may also be subject to transfer tax. The right choice depends on tax, financing and the company's history.
When a family member relocates
When the property is intended for a family member moving to Switzerland, their status (permit, lump-sum taxation) shapes the purchase. We align the acquisition timeline with the relocation.
Process
From a first conversation to signing
A confidential brief
Objective, criteria, budget, acquisition structure and timeline, under NDA if you wish.
Search and shortlist
Listed properties, off-market homes and direct approaches to owners, presented with our analysis.
Review and viewings
Technical and legal file for your advisers, viewings grouped over one or two days.
Negotiation and signing
We negotiate on your behalf and coordinate notary, bank and tax adviser through to the deed.
Where we work
Geneva and the Vaud shore of Lake Geneva
We work exclusively on the Swiss shore of Lake Geneva, where the shoreline has been fixed for decades and rare properties mostly change hands without a listing.
Geneva · Cologny · Terre Sainte · Nyon · Rolle · Lausanne · Lavaux · Montreux · Lake Geneva waterfront homes
A first confidential conversation
By phone, video call or at your office, to understand your mandate and tell you plainly what the market can offer today.
General information as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice. Every acquisition structure is reviewed with your advisers or our partner notaries and tax advisers.
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