Hello,

I am an american living in Paris and I have recently started investing in real estate. I have purchased three apartments in the last two years (in Paris and Marseille) and am looking for more! I have learned a lot from the bigger pockets website and books but most of the discussions are geared towards investments in the US. 

Just wondering if there is anyone in the forums that has real estate in France. I would love to meet people who are also investing here. 

Looking forward to meet anyone who is in my area :)

Best,

Maura

@Maura Covaci do you rent these long term or do short term rentals (like AirBnB)?

My wife and I have been talking about it mainly as a vacation home for us but would like to rent it short term when we are not using it.

Hello Percy,

The one in Paris is rented long term on airbnb. For example this year I am renting it for 4 months from January to may, then for a month in july and for 4 months from September to December. This way I can have it available in August if family from the US wants to come over and use it. 

I have two apartments in the south of France that are rented on long term contracts. The maintenance of these is done by a leasing company and I cannot use these in the summer. 

There are some contracts that you can do in France where you can lease an apartment for 9 months. This is usually done for students, so that they can leave during the summer. This would be perfect for what you are looking for.

@Maura Covaci , are there companies in France that manage the AirBnB (booking, cleaning, etc) for you?

Hi Percy,

I had one apartment that I was doing Airbnb with in Paris but I decided to just rent it out long term this fall. 

There are some companies that manage Airbnb here in Paris but I have not personally used any of them. 

I can ask around and get some recommandations and ill get back to you.

Are you looking to buy something in Paris or elsewhere in France? 

How are the landlord tenant laws in Paris? I've heard it's next to impossible to evict a tenant.

Hi Shawn, 

The laws are pretty tight in France regarding evictions however the loophole is renting a place furnished. If you rent it as a furnished apartment you can get people out in 3 months. Furnished dosent mean everything just the basic things like a bed, sofa, fridge, etc. It dosent even have to have a washing machine for example. If you have any specific questions let me know. 

Hi @Maura Covaci

I am in the process of purchasing my first 3-unit property in Saint-Etienne. I am curious if you have tips on financing as a non-resident (although I understand you are French resident now). I've started talking to Credit Foncier and HSBC but although they do work with foreigners, they are used to British but not Americans. Their criteria such as 30% debt to income ratio or 60% LTV and a 30% income "cut" to justify the risk of income in a different currency make it hard to qualify. Their 1.x% interest on 15 years fixed looks really good though. I am trying to figure out if I have a chance to qualify without having to explain them all details of the US system such as the fact that I can pull money from a 401k for down payment. Do you have any advice/experience?

@Shawn M. Another option to avoid eviction is to get insurance for unpaid rents. It usually costs around 3% of the rent or if the tenant qualifies the government can guaranty rent payment free of charge (called "visale" - fairly new though). It is certainly not perfect but it helps avoiding the eviction path.

I am planning on grabbing up a property if possible in france as well. I live just outside paris at Le Vesinet - look at maybe Vincennes or Rueil mal Maison :) do you speak french? I've been here a year. 

Leaving it furnished would be easy for me because i would want to leave my fridge, washer/dryer, beds, couch, etc. all nice, new ikea stuff too

Hi Federico,

I have experience buying in France if you need any advice. The interest rates are really low right now so if you can get the bank to give you a loan with little money down you should go for it. I have been getting 0% down with interest rate between 1,2% and 1,8% for 15 years for small investments. Definitely go for it because you dont find deals like this in California!

If you are interested in talking more I live in Paris and can always meet for a coffee!