Tips, strategies and news for successful real estate investments
An unpaid seller does not automatically get the property back, the lump sum may have to be returned, and no official scale governs the price. What a French viager contract does not guarantee.
French law has allowed borrowers to switch mortgage insurance at any time since 2022. Yet the regulator finds the bank's own policy is cheapest in 32% of cases. What the right gives, and what it is actually worth.
Since 5 June 2026 French solar surplus is bought at 1.1 c€/kWh and the self-consumption premium is gone. What the text actually says, why the regulator settled on that figure, and what a 6 kWp array is now worth.
An owner buy-out means selling your property to your own SCI under corporate tax, financed by a bank loan, to cash in the price. Mechanics, real cost of 8% to 10%, depreciation step-up and legal limits.
Multi-unit rental building in France: a 10% to 20% block-purchase discount, pooled vacancy risk and value created by selling unit by unit. Full worked example on six units in a mid-sized city.
Property dealer in France: the real net margin of a buy-to-sell deal. VAT on margin (20/120), registration duties cut to 0.715%, BIC taxation with no allowance — with a fully worked example.
Buy or rent in France in 2026? The average break-even point falls to 12 years and 3 months, but ranges from 2 years in Saint-Étienne to 21 in Paris. Acquisition costs, deposit, property tax, IRL: the full method.
Cold prospecting of private sellers became unlawful on 11 August 2026, Bloctel is gone and a mandate signed after an unsolicited call is void. What it changes when you sell.
Paying off a French mortgage early: the penalty (IRA) is capped at the lower of 6 months' interest or 3% of the outstanding capital. Legal exemptions, a worked example and the repay-or-invest trade-off.
Borrowing €200,000 over 25 years takes about €2,943 in net monthly income in mid-2026. Tables by amount and loan term, the 35% HCSF rule with insurance included, deposit and PTZ: the full salary maths.
French wealth tax (IFI) 2026: €1.3M threshold, rates from €800,000, 30% main residence allowance, relief between €1.3M and €1.4M, deductible debts. The full calculation with a complete worked example.
Article 669 of the French tax code values usufruct in ten-year age brackets. Gifting bare ownership before 71, the 23% fixed-term usufruct and the real economic value of usufruct: the complete 2026 guide.
French SCI: corporate tax (IS) or income tax (IR)? The real gap shows at resale: gains taxed on net book value under IS versus 22/30-year allowances under IR. Full 2026 comparison with a 20-year projection.
Micro-BIC with its 50% allowance or the actual regime with depreciation? Since 15 February 2025, depreciation is clawed back into the taxable capital gain on sale. A worked comparison to decide in 2026.
Buy a discounted thermal sieve, renovate it and rent it out under the Jeanbrun scheme: depreciation, purchase discount, works subsidies. The new investor calculation — and why extending it to older houses remains conditional on the law being voted.
How much does the EPC add to or subtract from your home value? Official 2024 discounts, the Climate Law timetable and a free indicative estimate in euros.
Notary fees 2026: 7% to 8% on resale, 2% to 3% on new-build. Composition, the departmental transfer-duty increase and the first-time-buyer exemption explained.
Rental yield calculation: the formulas for gross, net and net-net returns, the impact of charges and taxation (micro-foncier 30%, micro-BIC 50%), monthly cash flow and a full worked example.
Announced on 23 April 2026, France's Relance logement housing bill would let landlords re-let F or G-rated homes under a 3-to-5-year works commitment. Mechanism, parliamentary timetable, landlord strategies and pitfalls.
Q1 2026 IRL at 146.60 (+0.78%): calculation formula, backdating limited to one year, freeze on F and G rents. Work out the authorised increase on your rent.
How inheritance tax is calculated on a real estate asset in 2026: allowances by family relationship, progressive scale, spouse exemption and life insurance, with a worked example.
How to calculate real estate capital gains in 2026: taxable base, 36.2% rate, holding-period allowances, surtax above €50,000 and the LMNP case, with a worked example.
Property income deficit under the actual-expenses regime: €10,700 imputed against overall income, cap doubled to €21,400 for the energy renovation of a thermal sieve (E/F/G to D). Mechanism, carry-forward, worked example and pitfalls to avoid.
How to calculate a buyout payment in a divorce, joint ownership or inheritance: formula, outstanding loan balance, 1.1% partition duty and notary fees, with a worked example.
Parking space yield: a gross return often higher than a home, an ordinary-law lease outside the 1989 Act, taxation as property income (micro-foncier 30%), the weight of notary fees and a full worked example.
Finance act 2026 (Act no. 2026-103): new private-landlord status with depreciation of 3% to 6.5%, property income deficit at €21,400 for energy renovation, possible rise in DMTO. Mechanism, worked example and pitfalls to avoid.
PTZ 2026: eligible in every zone, new-build houses back in. Financed-share schedule, N-2 income ceilings, repayment deferral and a worked example.
An SCI owning an F or G-rated property faces the same rental bans. What the corporate structure changes — and doesn't change — for EPC obligations and work tax treatment.
An F- or G-rated property in a divorce means a distorted buyout payment, a difficult sale and mandatory renovation costs to share. What the DPE concretely changes in asset division.
