Banks once again seem to look favorably on rental investment projects: good news for people with a project in this direction. Obtaining credit to buy housing intended for rental had, in fact, become impossible in recent months. High interest rates and the reluctance of banks to lend for housing that is not the borrower’s main residence have greatly reduced the number of people able to invest.
The credit broker Vousfinancer indicates for example that, in 2015, 25% of its clients had a rental project, whereas there are only 8% currently. “Only investors remain who buy cash, which is not done very much”adds Sandrine Allonier, spokesperson for Vousfinancer.
The criteria set by the High Financial Stability Council have not made things easier either. They limit the number of investors who can be financed since debt is set at a maximum of 35% of monthly income. Candidates for buying to rent must therefore have very high income or have repaid the mortgage loan linked to their main residence to benefit from greater debt capacity.
Of course, banks take into account the rents received in the economic calculation, but without integrating the entirety to cover the risks linked to rental vacancy or unpaid rent. In total, the credit broker Cafpi indicates that 70% of rents are taken into account by the bank.
But the situation is changing: “Banks are once again interested in riskier profiles that they previously eliminated outright”, notes Audrey Marigliano, real estate and credit director of Zénith IS, investment advisor. However, the conditions granted by banks vary significantly depending on the region where the project is located.
The rental investment specialist Maslow has just carried out a study (1) showing that it is more interesting to go through a regional bank (Crédit agricole, Caisse d’Epargne, Banque Populaire, Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne and CIC) for a rental investment project by a national bank (LCL, BNP, Société Générale and Banque Postale). “Locally, banks have a certain autonomy in their commercial policy and their strategy of conquering one bank vis-à-vis another”explains Pierre-Emmanuel Jus, general delegate of Maslow.
Taking a tour of the market to carry out your investment project is therefore essential. Maslow’s study shows that it is in Lille that the situation is the most favorable: a single person with an annual income of 40,000 euros who has a purchase project of 130,000 euros, with a contribution of 10%, would obtain a credit rate of 3.82% over twenty years in the capital of Flanders, but it would be 4.11% in Lyon, 4.15% in Metz and Nancy and more than 4.20% in Clermont-Ferrand and Nantes or Montpellier.
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