News and Answers

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Paris Real Estate Two Innovative Ways to Enhance the City of Paris

Paris real estate is about to change.

This year from January 14 to March 15 the mayor of Paris had available to all Parisian a platform to gather ideas from Parisians on how to impprove their city.

Below are two suggested ideas we liked from the thousands of suggestions:

One
Rain Wild
Install in the drainage system of Paris a system of mini turbines that are moved by the passage of rainwater through the pipes of Paris. The idea is to use this turbine movement to generate electricity to perhaps help light the city. This turbine system is called ‘rain wild’ and was developed by Mexican students. It has already been installed in an area of Mexico city.

According to Meteo France it rains 111 days per year in Paris so there is lots of potential for this idea. This idea has yet to be adapted in Paris.

Two
Green Roofs
Paris does not have many green roofs at this time and green roofs can help reduce the temperature in buildings as has been demonstrated in the big cities in Germany. The city of Paris is now working on encouraging the installation of 100 hectares of green roofs by the year 2020.

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How to Start to Create an Energy Efficient French Home

French Entrance Door

Does the beautiful old French residence you own or want to own contain energy leaks?

To reduce your French property energy bill you need to insulate your piece of French real estate, however, when you are working to insulate a property it is difficult to tell if you are insulating the right parts.

There is a solution: the new less expensive thermal cameras.

Small thermal cameras record infrared radiation and convert it to a visible image so you can see where the energy is leaking from your real estate.

Note: some cameras only work on small areas to diagnose where the energy is leaking around a window. Other more powerful yet hand held versions allow you to view the whole side of a house and see where the house is poorly insulated.

If you are about to renovate a French property or considering buying a French property that needs insulation you may wish to rent or buy a thermal camera so you insulate the weakest parts of the real estate first.

Here are some samples of Thermal Cameras, remember to do your own research before buying.

 

Black & Decker TLD100 Thermal Leak Detector (Amazon UK)

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Black & Decker TLD100-XJ Thermal Leak Detector (Amazon Fr)

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FLIR ONE Thermal Imager for iPhone (Amazon)

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Extech i5 Thermal Imaging Camera (Amazon)

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In French real estate what 9 diagnostic reports are required for a sale?

Belvedere France

Depending on the location and type of French real estate your are selling you will have to provide the following diagnostic reports to the buyer:

One
The Energy Performance Report (DPE)

Two
The Asbestos Report (Amiante)
Depends on the year the property was built.

What year did they stop using Asbestos in France? Click here

Three
The Lead Report (Plomb)
Depends on the year the property was built.

Learn about the presence of lead in French properties and a new European directive here.

Four
Natural Disaster Report (ERNT) Replaced by this new report ESRIS

Five
The Electrical Installation Report

Six
The Gas Installation Report

Seven
The Sanitary Disposal Report

Eight
The Termite Report more details here

Nine
The Mold Report (Merule) more details here

Find out more about what is contained in these reports by speaking with an English speaking French real estate agent. We can help you connect free of charge contact us here. 

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Are the French real estate agencies fees now controlled?

Are the French real estate rental agencies fees now controlled?

According to this article in Explorimmo in French, due to the Loi Alur, since September 2014 the real estate agency fees charged to a renter in France are now controlled.

Before, in general, the new renter paid the agency the equivalent of one or two months rent.

Now the agencies can only bill the renter for 4 services and the total costs are shared 50 / 50 between the landlord and the renter.

These are the following services:

One
La rédaction du bail (the drafting of the contract)

Two
La constitution du dossier (the creation of the file)

Three
L’organisation des visites (the organizing of the visits)

Four
L’état des lieux. (the inventory of the property)

The cost of each of these services is related to the size of the property and its location.

For more information speak with an English speaking French real estate agent in your area of choice. We can help you find one at no charge to you. Contact us here.

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French Notaries Latest Market Report

According to the latest French notaries real estate report available in French here over the last 7 years the buying power of French property buyers has increased 20 percent due to the declining prices and the reduction of mortgage rates.

In this latest report there is evidence of the drop in prices of pre-owned apartments during the last quarter of 2014.

For example,
Nice (-2.4 percent)

Lille (-1.2 percent)

Paris (-2.1 percent)

Price increases have take place in:

For example,

Toulouse (+3.3 percent)

Bordeaux (+1.3 percent)

Lyon (+0.2 percent)

But there have been large price drops in rural areas such as:

For example,

Caen (-13.0 percent)

Reims (-11.1 percent)

Saint Etienne (-10.0 percent)

For details on the price changes on apartments in other areas of France or on French pre-owned houses you can consult the report in French here or to learn more in English we can guide you at no charge to an English speaking French real estate agent. Just contact us here.

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