Guillaume invested near Luxembourg from Canada
How do you find a bank when you are an expat in Canada and your profile doesn’t appeal? After approaching around fifteen banks, Guillaume financed over 20 years at 3.25% a 60 m² apartment right by a station near Luxembourg, bought for about €100,000. With a 3rd bedroom created for flatsharing, it targets a net yield of about 9%.
Canada
Guillaume tells the story
“The programme gave me tips and methods on how to sell myself. I think without it, I’d never have found a bank, or I’d have lost heart very quickly.”
Guillaume, who lives in Canada
What Guillaume had to overcome from Canada
FinancingSome fifteen banks
Before the programme, several banks had told him that as an expat it would not be easy. His profile was not the most attractive, in a region where people earn well. The first bank he found was not keen on the property: back to square one. Using the programme’s banking approach and his own tricks, he contacted some fifteen banks and signed a 20-year mortgage offer, including a one-year repayment holiday, at 3.25%.
LettingA flat share at the foot of the station
Guillaume was after cash flow first. In this town on the Luxembourg border, he wanted quick access to the station for tenants who commute to work. The 60 m² flat will have three bedrooms, let as a flat share to students, young professionals or interns. He is aiming to let it for the start of the academic year, with a net yield of around 9%.
Remote managementInvesting where he comes from
Guillaume has lived in Montreal for about three years. He is investing in eastern France, where he comes from, in a market he knows. It is a tight market: few properties and strong demand. The one-year repayment holiday gives him time to do the works and find tenants without pressure.
Renovation worksCreating a third bedroom
A site manager by trade, Guillaume plans €25,000 to €30,000 of interior work. The kitchen, currently in a separate room, will move into the living room as an open-plan kitchen, freeing up a third bedroom. The building is also due for a facade renovation: if it goes ahead, the flat should gain in value.
How Guillaume invested near Luxembourg from Canada
Montreal
Investing to work less
Guillaume has lived in Montreal for about three years, where he works as a site manager. He loves his job, but the hours are long and his back sometimes suffers. He is aiming for about €3,000 a month in property income, so he can stop working within ten years or so. Several banks had told him borrowing as an expat would not be easy: he had shelved the idea.
An article in French Morning
“I was very sceptical”
He came across ImmoPourExpat in an article in French Morning, a media outlet for French expats in North America. Wary by nature, he did a lot of research. The energy Frédéric puts into his YouTube channel, then a call with him, won him over: not a miracle cure, but a tool to move faster and better.
A border town
A 60 m² flat at the foot of the station
He searched in eastern France, where he comes from, in a town on the Luxembourg border. A tough market: few properties, high demand. He found a 60 m² flat at the foot of a station, for about €100,000, in a building awaiting renovation. Some owners are selling for fear of major facade works.
Some fifteen banks
Back to square one
Guillaume struggled to find a bank: his profile was not the most attractive. The first bank he found was not keen on the property, and he had to start again. Using the programme’s method for selling himself, plus his own tricks for reaching banks, he approached some fifteen of them.
The mortgage offer
20 years at 3.25%
He finally signed a mortgage offer: 20 years, including a one-year repayment holiday to do the works and find tenants, at 3.25%. The project comes to about €150,000 all in.
The layout
A third bedroom
Guillaume plans €25,000 to €30,000 of interior work. The kitchen will leave its separate room and open onto the living room, creating a third bedroom. Before completion, one formality remains: a change of use.
Today
A flat share ready for the new academic year
After about a year working on this project, Guillaume is “relieved to be nearly at the end of it all”. He is aiming for a flat share from the start of the academic year, for students, young professionals or interns, and a net yield of around 9%. Frédéric estimates that once renovated, the flat could sell for €180,000 to €200,000.
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