Investing in an apartment in the mountains should not be taken lightly. – IStock / City Presse
The French are great followers of the houses of vacation. In 2016, INSEE listed some 3.3 million, or 10% of all
housing of the national territory. A record in Europe. However, if the second home market has been listless since the
economic crisis of 2008, professionals have recently noticed a renewed interest in the sector.
In this favorable context, real estate programs are flourishing Mountain. Should you be tempted?
A cleverly chosen cozy nest
Like any real estate transaction, Buying an apartment high up should not be taken lightly. Because if this investment is above all fun, it still has a significant cost that you must be able to amortize by renting this pied-à-terre to tourists when you are not using it. Therefore, we put aside the personal favorite and we think strategic.
Although your favorite holiday resort is a little-known and little-visited mountain village, it is better to favor a station linked to a large ski area and which offers a wide choice of activities on site, in winter as in summer. In order to benefit from the longest possible snow cover, it must also be at least 1,500 m above sea level, or even 1,800.
As for the accommodation itself, the more it allows quick access to the ski slopes, the better. Likewise, many residences dating from the 1980s are aging and discourage holidaymakers. Forget the classic “studio cabin” in which we used to sleep six.
A rental in the nails
For simplicity, investors generally turn to new or rehabilitated tourist residences, which offer fully equipped and furnished apartments rented by the day, week or month. Once the property has been purchased, you will need to sign a commercial lease with the management company taking care of the entire building. No need to bother with paperwork, the agency takes care of everything and takes care of welcoming and dealing with your tenants, while ensuring the maintenance of your property.
But beware of the modalities. This lease commits you in effect for at least nine years, with an automatic renewal. Likewise, make sure of the conditions under which you can occupy the premises yourself for your holidays (this must be specified in the contract). And beware of management fees which necessarily reduce the return on your investment.
A high-end market
By setting the bar high, prices inevitably tend to soar. “Prices in Courchevel start at 10,000 euros per m² and can even reach 30,000 euros,” says Charles-Antoine Sialelli, director of the Alps at Athena Advisers, a specialist in the sector, for example. That said, it is possible to find happiness at a less prohibitive budget, as in Champagny-en-Vanois, a small station located 15 minutes by car from its famous neighbor, and which is increasingly popular thanks to a attractive price of € 6,000 per m². Nevertheless, a nice pied-à-terre of around forty square meters will cost you a whopping 240,000 euros in this village.
As you can see, this type of investment is reserved for affluent clients. Especially since most of the new programs launched today concern luxury residences, especially in Alps, in Méribel or Chamonix.
An adapted tax system
A chalet or apartment in the mountains can be rented roughly thirty weeks a year, which is not negligible to amortize its maintenance cost.
Previously, you could organize this rental under the Censi-Bouvard tax system, which allows you to obtain an 11% reduction in taxes for the purchase of new property in a student residence, for seniors or for tourism. . But since 2017, the latter possibility has been removed.
You must therefore turn to non-professional furnished rental (LMNP), in order to declare your rental income under the advantageous tax regime of micro BIC (industrial and commercial profits) or the real regime.
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