Marco’s Articles

//Marco's Articles

The emphyteutic lease

The emphyteutic lease is a measure of the Ministère des Classes moyennes, du Tourisme et du Logement, which reduces the cost of housing. The buyer of a dwelling will own the home only, not the land. The latter is leasing the land on which the home is built for a maximum of 99 years. becomes the owner of the dwelling but on the other hand he leases the land on which the building is built for a maximum of 99 years. This rent is paid annually. In the event of the sale of the home, the lease continues to run for the remaining years. At the end of the lease agreement, there are two possibilities. Either the lease is extended between the Société Nationale des Habitations at Bon Marché and the owner of the accommodation, or the former redeems the building and pays market value, which is determined by experts, to the owner. If you'd like to read more on this topic, you can download this helpful PDF here.

By | 2017-02-12T14:44:28+00:00 February 19th, 2017|Buyers, Financing, Luxembourg Real Estate, Marco's Articles, Sellers|0 Comments
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3 Tips For Home Buyers

So you’ve saved up some money and can’t wait to buy your new home. Before you line up your home visits though, it’s best to get prepared so you won’t run into trouble along the way. Tip #1: Go have a talk with your banker You will likely waste a lot of time if you start looking for a home, only to find out later that the homes you were looking at don’t fit in your budget. Yes, a banker will not get you a bank loan if you don’t have a purchase contract signed, but they can give you an idea of what budget you can expect. There are even handy online calculators such as this one, which let you figure out how much house you can afford. Knowing whether to sell your home first before looking for a new one, or buying the new one first before ditching the old one is always a popular topic of discussion. Your banker can help here as well. Tip #2: Figure out what you want There are many clients that start looking before they even know what they want. And granted, it’s not always easy to know exactly what you want. But you could start by [...]

By | 2018-02-22T11:58:04+00:00 February 15th, 2017|Buyers, Luxembourg Real Estate, Marco's Articles|0 Comments
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The Energy Pass

In Luxembourg, all residential buildings are given energy ratings. What is an Energy Pass? The Energy Pass is a certificat that provides information on energy consumption and CO2 emissions of a building. The ratings go from A (best) to I (worst). When do you need to get an Energy Pass? As owner of a home, you’ll need to get an Energy Pass done when: when you make substantial transformation to a building there is a change of owners and an Energy Pass has not been done for the building. All public ads of a sale of a building must mention its energy rating as well as its thermal insulation rating. For more information, please visit guichet.lu.

By | 2017-02-12T14:20:25+00:00 February 12th, 2017|Buyers, Luxembourg Real Estate, Marco's Articles, Sellers|0 Comments
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The market is smarter than you – Part 2

In my previous article, I explained how the market is smarter than all of us. Here are two more lessons we can learn about how the market does its thing. Lesson #2: Timing the real estate market is not possible: It’s impossible to time the market as none of us have a crystal ball. Consider this scenario: Waiting to buy until the crash Some buyers think they can postpone their purchase until the market bottoms out. There are a couple of problems with that strategy. Problem #1: How to you know when the market has reached the bottom? You’d only know that the market bottomed out once it actually starts recovering. By then, you’ve missed it. Problem #2: If it was really that easy to time the market, we’d all be millionaires. We’d all have bought stock when it was at the bottom and sold it when it was at an all-time high. Problem #3: While you’re waiting for the market to crash, real estate in Luxembourg would rise. During that time, you’d be paying someone’s rent or mortgage. In Luxembourg, real estate prices have continually risen since 2004 and will do so for the foreseeable future. Recently, at a seminar organized by the BCEE, an [...]

By | 2017-01-15T14:05:14+00:00 December 23rd, 2016|Immobilier Luxembourg, Luxembourg Real Estate, Marco's Articles|0 Comments
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The Real Estate Market May Be Smarter Than You – Part 1

Yes, you heard it - the market is smarter than you. And, for what it’s worth, it’s smarter than me too. At school I learned the following: The Law of Supply and Demand is the relationship between supply, demand and price. More specifically: Increased demand results in increased prices; Decreased demand results in decreased prices; Decreased supply increases prices; Increased supply decreases prices; There are many buyers and sellers who think they know better and that they can beat the market. Here’s an important lesson worth learning about the market: Market Value: The market determines how much a house is worth, not the seller, not the buyer and not the agent either. The point at which a seller and a buyer agree to exchange a house for a certain amount of money, is called market value. Overpriced homes don’t sell - Under priced homes get multiple offers. That’s the market doing its thing. Some scenarios to consider Scenario 1: Multiple Offers A seller sets an asking price of 800.000 Euro 8 offers are made Some of these offers are at, or below the asking price One or two of those buyers really want the home and made an offer above asking price, let’s say one of [...]

By | 2017-01-15T13:52:20+00:00 December 23rd, 2016|Immobilier Luxembourg, Luxembourg Real Estate, Marco's Articles|0 Comments
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Free home evaluations and their benefits

A real estate agent works in the field on a daily basis and thus is well-positioned to evaluate your home based on current market trends. You’ll essentially learn two things - how much your home is worth and what you can do to raise the value of your home. These are essential benefits of free home evaluations. This is essential information to have when you’re preparing to either sell your home now or in the near future. All too often, people put their home on the market without doing their homework. This usually results in the home being listed at a price that’s not going to fit with a healthy strategy to sell the home quickly and at a great price. Furthermore, a seller often has an emotional attachment to the home which can interfere with a rational approach to setting the initial sale price. This can cost you money in the end - a lot of money. This ties in nicely with the article I wrote about how the market does its thing, which you can find here. To do an evaluation properly, an agent should start by measuring your home properly. Yes, you might have the plans of the home, but you’d be [...]

By | 2018-02-22T12:09:34+00:00 December 23rd, 2016|Luxembourg Real Estate, Marco's Articles|0 Comments
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