Alexandra invested in Deauville from the UK

Her family kept telling her you need a 30 to 40% deposit and that banks are tough. The lesson on the bank file taught her to build a costed project, to know which banks to target and how to talk to them. She arrived prepared, dared to set her terms and obtained a 20-year loan at 3.25%. Without the programme, she says, she would “never have dared”.

The duplex is right in the centre of Deauville, on the main square, a highly sought-after address. Alexandra plans to let it as a holiday rental, for a projected net yield of 7.6%. It should pay for itself from the first year, over the year as a whole, then generate cash flow from years 2, 3 and 4. It can also serve as a base for holidays in France.

For Alexandra, investing in France meant moving back or saving for many more years. From London, she followed the lessons at her own pace and joined the weekly sessions, reviewing properties one by one with Frédéric, the other advisers and members, drawing on their real cases. At first she even wondered whether ImmoPourExpat was a scam.

Alexandra is planning €15,000 of works in this small duplex of 26 m² (Carrez), 49 m² of floor space, with a bedroom upstairs. Including works, she puts her investment at around €200,000, for a property with an estimated market value of €234,000. As Frédéric points out, a renovated flat is worth more than an average one, especially in the heart of Deauville.