Alexandre invested in Mandelieu-la-Napoule from Belgium
How do you bounce back from a bank refusal when you live in Belgium? After a first project was turned down, Alexandre presented a professional application and bought a 19 m² seafront studio in Mandelieu-la-Napoule, listed at €135,000 and secured for €110,000. Financed over 25 years, it yields 8% net in short-term letting.
Belgium
Alexandre tells the story
“After negotiating with the bank, applying what I learned in the programme, I managed to bring my deposit down to 10% plus notary fees.”
Alexandre, who lives in Belgium
What Alexandre had to overcome from Belgium
FinancingA first project turned down by the banks
For his first project, his bank file was a zip folder sent to the banker. His broker strung him along, and the banks either refused to lend to an expat or asked for a 35% deposit excluding notary fees. With the programme, he presents a professional file, with a business plan and market study, and picks the right bank and the right contact. This time, the bank backs him.
LettingRunning short-term lets himself
Alexandre lets his studio short-term and estimates rent at around €1,000 a month on average, for a monthly repayment of around €500. Rather than a concierge service, he uses a channel manager, the same software concierge firms use, to list the studio on Airbnb, Booking, VRBO and Google. He keeps control and can block the flat whenever he goes back down south.
Remote managementA cleaner he can trust
From Belgium, his eyes on the ground belong to a trusted cleaner. She does more than clean: she checks the flat’s condition, reports problems and can buy whatever is missing. Even on his first project, he had looked for trusted people locally, such as a friend’s father who works in construction.
Finding the propertyThe right property at the right price
The programme teaches him what drives a property’s price and which levers make it profitable, and how to match the letting strategy to the property, its location and its size. For him, a good deal is partly made when you buy. His 19 m² seafront studio, listed at €135,000, he buys for €110,000 after negotiating.
How Alexandre invested in Mandelieu-la-Napoule from Belgium
Grasse, then Belgium
A small salary and big ambitions
Alexandre comes from Grasse and has lived in Belgium for two years. He has been interested in property since he was 20 or 21, but on a salary barely above the minimum wage, banks offered him €50,000 to €60,000, and he didn’t dare. In Belgium, he earns €2,800 net and starts taking action.
Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey
A first sale agreement
With a friend who is an estate agent, he finds a flat above Grasse, negotiated to €85,000, with around €30,000 of works and an energy rating of G. He signs a sale agreement with only two months to get his loan, not knowing he could have had three.
The refusals
“We don’t lend to expats”
A first bank almost hangs up on him. The others refuse or ask for a 35% deposit excluding notary fees. The project falls through, but the refusals let him cancel the sale agreement without paying the 10% penalty. Searching for why banks look down on expats, he discovers ImmoPourExpat.
April
He joins ImmoPourExpat
He chooses a programme specialised in expats, with a mutual support group. His goal: sign a sale agreement within two months. It takes him four, between his job and the time spent understanding the mistakes of his first project.
Mid-July
Listed at €135,000, bought for €110,000
He finds a 19 m² seafront studio in Mandelieu-la-Napoule, next to Cannes. He makes his offer around 15 July, accepted at the end of July. Including fees, the property costs him €121,000.
August
A loan secured despite furlough
Just after his offer is accepted, his employer puts all staff on furlough. He has to get everything done in August with his July payslips. An efficient adviser at his new bank closes the file in a month: 25 years, a 3.57% rate and an APR of 4.1%. The completion date is even brought forward.
Today
An 8% net yield
He lets short-term with a channel manager and a trusted cleaner. He estimates rent at around €1,000 a month for a repayment of around €500: 8% net, 11 to 12% gross. The studio pays for itself, and he can block it to stay there. At 24, Alexandre is planning a bigger next project, with works.
Launch your investment from abroad
A 45-minute conversation to answer your questions, assess your situation, and see how we can support you.
Lives in Dubai
Lives in Switzerland
Lives in the United States
Investing from abroad has never been so simple
ImmoPourExpat supports expats and non-residents from A to Z who want to invest in property in France: financing, property search, renovation works, taxation and remote management.
TrustpilotTrustScore 4,8 | 276 reviewsSubscribe to our newsletter, the latest in property investment for expats and non-residents
By subscribing, you accept our privacy policy
Which banks lend to non-residents?
Get our bank ranking for expats and non-residents, updated for 2026, and find out which banks to submit your application to.
Thank you! Your ranking is ready.
Download the PDF ↓