10 years ago, at the dawn of his thirties, Guillaume wanted to invest the nest egg he had built up through savings, in order to make it grow. But in which assets should you invest it? At first, “I ruled out real estate because I was afraid of a bubble bursting and it seemed complicated to find yield»he tells Capital. Reading the Friggit curves, which show the evolution of real estate prices over a long period, on the website of the General Inspectorate of the Environment and Sustainable Development (to each their own vices!), made him change his mind. In 2015, Guillaume, aged 29 and a research engineer at an energy company, with a salary of around 3,000 euros per month, buys his first main residence with his wife, an apartment in the Paris region.
Three years later, he joined forces with his brother to continue investing in real estate, but this time on a rental basis. From 2018 to 2020, taking advantage of very low credit rates, down to 1%, the two brothers bought six apartments in Ile-de-France, from T2 to T4. Goods thatthey pay “between 150,000 and 300 000 euros because, in some apartments, everything had to be redone, from floor to ceiling”specifies Guillaume. They rent these properties furnished because “it’s more tax-wise”he explains.
“Thanks to my rental investment, I pay 3,000 euros less in taxes per year”
Rents not in the low bracket
Another particularity is that these are mainly shared accommodations. The two brothers manage this way around twenty tenantsmainly students and young workers, to whom they rent rooms for between 500 and 600 euros per month, in towns in the Ile-de-France region which are not experimenting with rent control. Amounts that “finance monthly loan repayments and co-ownership charges”underlines Guillaume.
“Rents are not in the low bracket because the accommodation offers quality services and we are very responsive to tenants’ requests”he assures. “If a washing machine breaks down, we immediately send a repairman to the tenant. It costs us more than if we did it ourselves but it saves us from having to travel and keep the tenant waiting”illustrates Guillaume.
“My 20 rental investments bring me €10,000 per month, I moved to Mauritius”
No need for a salary anymore thanks to your rental investments
Especially since the young owner, who is now approaching forty, no longer lives in the Paris region but in the countryside. A change of life decided in 2020, when Guillaume left his job on a permanent contract (permanent contract). “I could do without my salary”explains the one who is “became an annuitant at 34”its rental investments having enabled it to achieve “financial independence”. It must be said that Guillaume’s seven rental investments – the six made with his brother and his first main residence in the Paris region, which he rented out – provide him with 65,000 euros in annual rentfor his own part, his brother earning about the same.
And they do not deplore “no unpaid rent in seven years of investment, while we have seen some tenants come and go!”welcomes the one who “attaches great importance to their selection”. A vigilance that requires “paperwork and organization”he admits, while assuring “dedicate a maximum of two hours per week to rental management, thanks to the automation of many tasks”. Which leaves Guillaume complete freedom to develop his financial coach, launched “because my friends and family were asking me for advice”. The opportunity, too, for him, “to stay active and share (s)his passion: the optimization of heritage situations”.
If you too are a happy rental investor, despite rent controls, energy renovation obligations and other regulatory developments, do not hesitate to give your testimony, anonymously if you wish, by writing to us at [email protected].
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