Go about choosing your property wisely

Have you recently decided to buy a house or apartment but are you afraid of making a bad decision? Indeed, before buying real estate, several criteria must be taken into account: the sale price, the evolution of prices in a city, the location of the house or apartment, the total surface area, the risks natural, etc. \n\nAll these criteria are very important before buying real estate, they can be indicators of the quality of this property and the environment which surrounds it. In this article, we'll give you a little more detail on all these criteria to check before purchasing real estate and we provide you with some additional tips to be sure you make the right choice. \n\nThe information is the same when it is to acquire a property that you will then rent out. From our point of view, it is even more important because in the majority of cases, you do not live in the city where you are investing, so you have less knowledge of the market. \n\nRead also: Bricks.co: the low-cost rental real estate investment platform\r\n

Prepare your purchase: define your criteria

\nBefore starting your research, do not hesitate to clearly define the criteria of the property you want to buy: surface area in m², number of rooms, floor, precise location (city center, suburbs, countryside), orientation, garden or not, whether you want to do work afterwards or not, etc. \n\nThe better you define your search criteria, the quicker and more efficient your selection of houses or apartments will be. You may not find the ideal property and therefore have to make certain concessions. So don’t hesitate to define what your priority criteria are.\n\nRead also: How is the new real estate market doing in Ile-de-France?\r\n

The price of real estate in the city

\nThe first criterion that we take into account before making a real estate purchase is often the price. You must in fact calculate your maximum budget and look for the financial aid you can benefit from and your borrowing capacity, for example. But, in addition to the price of the house or apartment itself, Do not hesitate to carry out a little market research on the city that interests you.\n\nTo do this, compare the prices of the different real estate properties present in this city in question. In particular, you can consult the price per m² for houses and apartments. It is also possible to look at the price of recent sales in the desired city (online or by asking real estate agencies). Also look at the evolution of prices in this city. \n\nIndeed, if prices have fallen drastically, be careful, this can be a bad sign: drop in quality of life, few shops or places of interest nearby, sharply reduced demand, etc. \n\nRead also: Why trust a real estate broker?\r\n

Pay attention to natural hazards

\nIn some areas, prices may also be lower due to natural hazards present in that area. Natural hazards may include: \n

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• Movements and landslides;
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• Earthquakes;
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• The presence of radon gas;
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• Floods;
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• Fires, forest fires;
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• Avalanches;
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• The underground cavities...
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\nThere may also be technological risks such as soil pollution, networks and pipes, classified installations and former industrial sites, etc. To find out if the real estate that interests you may be affected by this type of risk, do not hesitate to consult the Géorisks website. By clicking on “Know the risks near you”, you can then indicate your address, a municipality or a cadastral parcel. \n\nOther specialized sites allow you to have condensed price and risk information, which allows you to have a global vision but which is limited to the level of the amount of information accessible, to take a concrete example, you can access the risk data and real estate prices for each town in Mayenne For example. There are a lot of other sites and platforms providing information, this is also the case for the government platform DVF, a database made available by Etalab. \n\nBy looking carefully, you can find nuggets of information when looking to invest in real estate or acquire property for a primary residence. You will then be able to know what the possible risks are near the targeted housing, as well as the history of past events and whether or not the municipality in question is subject to a Prevention Plan. \n\nRead also: How is new real estate doing in Montpellier in 2021?\n