French property investment opportunities may be on the mind for a lot of people at the moment.
Buyers and investors who are looking to put their money into France’s real estate industry may find their lavish lifestyle hard to resist compared to Britain’s extremely fast-paced way of life.
However, as reality hits home, property running costs and paying mortgages may affect the entire fantasy. Those living in France and foreigners who invest in a holiday home always tend to take the financial reward of owning a property into account, and rightly so. Investment opportunities seem to be a reoccurring want and need by French citizens and overseas buyers alike.
A spokesperson from agent Leggett said: “With UK interest rates set to remain low, and real estate still one of the best performing types of asset, more people are looking to buy an investment property.
“Our sales team reports an increase of people looking for a property that can earn them an income – both in capital appreciation but especially rental returns.”
Buying a home offers people big investment opportunities and this seems to be a continuously growing trend at the moment. That is why it is important that investors and foreign buyers know what their best options are. They want to know how far their money can go and wish to understand which avenue is best and most suited to their specific needs. Evidently, French property investment is growing to be more popular as time goes on so understanding the different ways of buying a home is handy to know.
There have been known times where British buyers have become a French landlord and have eventually invested in city-centre apartments which pay for themselves and can be sold later down the line.
Lloyd Hughes from International property sales network, Athena Advisors commented: “Most of our clients have a 15-year investment game plan to fund their French property before they retire,
“This is often because Capital Gains Tax is tapered in France, reducing to zero after 22 years, so the longer you own a property, the less tax you pay.” ere are four tips to help those investment opportunities in the French property market:
Here are four exclusive tips to help with those investment opportunities in the French property market:
- Buy an exciting leaseback ski apartment
If you’re one of those people who enjoy the skiing terrain and gliding off to the pistes (but despises paying the high chalet prices), then buy an investment property in the Alps or Pyrenees through a leaseback scheme. A benefit of this scheme is a tax relief of 20% off the price and it guarantees a return income for up to 21 years.
The buyer also has the chance to use the apartment themselves for a certain amount of weeks per year. As long as this restriction isn’t an issue for the investor/buyer, who may like to use their property more than the allocated number of weeks, then there shouldn’t be any issues.
Prices for a one-bedroom leaseback apartment start around €240,000. The management of the apartment will be taken care of and you can expect a regular income of up to €7,000. Not bad, indeed.
- Rent out your holiday home
A lot of houses in the French property market sit empty for many months of the year. Months and months pass by when the buyer of the property could have been earning a decent income. Why not utilise the opportunity of owning your own property in France? For some, the idea of renting out the holiday home is not a good idea. People can become protective over their items and may feel uncomfortable with the idea of others occupying the space. However, significant income can be made.
A Leggett spokesperson says: “A lot of the people I sell to then rent out their properties when they are not using them and it really does work.”
If you want to keep on top of the maintenance, taxes and mortgage payments, then there is no pressure to rent out a holiday home for an extensive period of time. Little and often just may do the trick.
- Get into the Gite area
A gîte is a fully furnished self-catering outbuilding with an owner who lives close by. Such properties are usually a home and a source of income for many people, a very convenient and safe way to invest in buying a home. The French property market is a fantastic spectrum to invest in, providing that a person can keep on top of trending property tips.
People have been known to innovate their properties to whole other levels. For example, a couple in France have bought one and have built treehouses on the outside of their outbuilding. They are making satisfying money from them and have customers from all over the world who show interest and take advantage of their exclusive services. Such a service as this one is pretty much ready-made with a big customer database waiting at the fingertips, but people skills are an utmost requirement.
- Urban city apartment investment
If the beaches and countryside are not a person’s favourable place to invest in, then investing in an urban apartment may be just right. Alternative places and analysing cities that are on the up can prove to be very exciting investment opportunities.
The French property market has many places that are cities and they are on the up, such as Nice and Lyon. These places are luxuriously beautiful and a sheer pleasure to be in. There are usually big attractions there, that are key to reeling people in.
For example, the new fast train service that will connect Bordeaux to Paris will be just a two-hour journey. Normally a journey between the two locations would take nine hours. This big difference is sparking a lot of popularity for people, thus enhancing the French property market to a whole new, prosperous level.
Investment opportunities are soaring and urban city apartments may be surrounded by serious economic resurgences. Do stay mindful of running an urban apartment though, it can be time-consuming and quite often, costly. French property investment as a whole
French property investment as a whole though doesn’t seem like a bad idea.
With so many investment opportunities to choose from, it will be hard to pick one!
Written by Gemma Smith
