Maurena invested in Thonon-les-Bains from Switzerland
How do you finance a project in France when you live in Switzerland? Maurena bought a former medical practice of about 107 m² in Thonon-les-Bains, split into two homes: a T1 bis let short term and a T4 let as a student flatshare. With a €390,000 loan at 3.60%, the project targets an 8 to 9% yield and about €500 of monthly cash flow.
Maurena tells the story
“From the start, I said: I don’t want to put in the notary fees, I want the bank to pay them.”
Maurena, who lives in Switzerland
What Maurena had to overcome from Switzerland
FinancingSee the banks before viewing
From the start, Maurena made it clear she did not want to pay the notary fees herself: she wanted the bank to finance them too. People around her thought she was mad: 110% financing “doesn’t exist”. She applied the programme’s method, starting with a rule she did not know: see the banks before viewing properties. She borrowed around €390,000 at 3.60%.
LettingTwo flats, two strategies
The medical practice will be split into two flats. The four-room flat with three bedrooms will be let as a student flatshare: a hotel school is close by. The one-bedroom flat will be a short-term Airbnb let, in a tourist town, near the station. Maurena has run the numbers: an 8 to 9% yield and around €500 of cash flow a month.
Remote managementMoving forward from Geneva, with a structure
As a Swiss resident, Maurena is no longer a French resident. Her real obstacle, she says, was organisation: she wanted to do everything at once and viewed properties without knowing whether they were profitable. A first course, around 2020, had left her alone with videos and Excel sheets. This time she had a clear order to follow, Frédéric on hand and a community where every question gets an answer.
Renovation worksAround €105,000 of works to plan ahead
Creating two flats requires around €105,000 of works. That is what worries her most: property “is not a smooth ride”. She keeps rewatching the programme’s videos on renovation, and Frédéric reminds her that works must be planned ahead. She feels confident: the team will support her throughout.
How Maurena invested in Thonon-les-Bains from Switzerland
Lyon, around 2020
A first course that led nowhere
Back when rates were at 1%, Maurena was already thinking of buying a flat in Lyon. She even took a course, but got lost and her motivation faded. Property is still her passion, though: she looks at listings every day and works out yields. She wants to make it her career.
December 2023
She joins ImmoPourExpat from Geneva
Living in Geneva, she realises she has the means to invest and only lacks motivation and organisation. She wants solid assets in France, her home country, so she knows she owns property there if she ever leaves Geneva. She joins the programme in December 2023.
Before the viewings
The bank first, the property second
She learns that financing must be secured before looking for a property. With the banks, she holds her ground: no notary fees out of her own pocket. She obtains a loan of around €390,000 at 3.60%, secured by a mortgage.
March to July 2024
A medical practice below market price
She starts viewing in March and April and finds the property in July: a former medical practice of around 107 m² in Thonon-les-Bains, selling at around €2,000 per m² when the market is around €3,700. She mentions it at her first workshop with Frédéric, who tells her to make an offer without waiting. After two viewings, she buys it at the asking price, without negotiating: the sellers are private individuals.
The plan
One practice, two flats
Around €105,000 of works are planned to split the practice into a one-bedroom flat and a four-room flat with three bedrooms. Including notary fees, the project comes to around €394,000. Maurena rewatches the programme’s videos on works, and Frédéric insists: plan everything ahead, as early as possible.
The strategy
Student flatshare and short-term letting
The larger flat will house students from the nearby hotel school as a flatshare. The smaller one will be let short term, in a tourist town. She expects an 8 to 9% yield and around €500 of cash flow every month.
Today
A property owner at 29
In November 2024, a little less than a year after joining the programme, Maurena is about to sign the deed at the notary’s office. She is 29. She is already thinking ahead: buying a farmhouse, dividing it and selling the flats.
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