Fixer upper flat
Buying an apartment to renovate
Whether you want just to change the wallpaper, sand the floors or update the bathrooms, an apartment for renovation might be just the investment you’re looking for… A fabulous opportunity for DIYers!
A 3-room apartment for renovation on the 4th floor of a small period building in central Marseille. A 49m2 2-room ground floor apartment for renovation on the slopes of Croix-Rousse in Lyon. A 152.3 m² upper floor apartment ripe for refreshment in central Paris. Apartments for renovation are regularly listed on property websites, and can often save you money. It is widely agreed that a new apartment will cost you around 20% more than one for renovation. In many cases, they provide the opportunity to create interesting homes at keen prices. And it may give you the opportunity to move into a district or neighbourhood where the price per m2 would be prohibitive if the property were brand new. Lastly, the amount of work to be done is often an excellent starting point for negotiating the price.
So why choose to buy an apartment for renovation ? What are the benefits ?
If you’re not afraid of building work, enjoy getting your hands dirty and are handy with a hammer and a paint roller, buying an apartment for renovation can be a good deal. If you’re buying to let, a freshly renovated apartment will be easier to let, and you’ll be able to charge a higher rent. You can also look forward to making a capital gain on resale, and benefit from generous tax allowances if you uprate the energy performance of your apartment. So replacing an old boiler could get you a Ministry of Housing grant via the MaPrimeRénov scheme.
Over and above the financial aspects, there are – of course – huge advantages to doing the renovation work yourself, or with the help of an architect and/or builder. That’s because you can tailor it precisely to your needs and preferences by removing partition walls to live in the loft space of your dreams, installing a bath in your bedroom, or perhaps a glazed screen between the kitchen and living room… Almost anything is possible!
