“It’s no longer possible to plan now”, plague Charlotte (first names have been changed). At 46, this educational manager in a private school saw her dream of purchasing a large house with Bastien, her partner, collapse. After spending several months living in their respective apartments, they decided to take the plunge, but this meant taking into account the sharp rise in interest rates which complicated their ability to borrow from the bank.
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Here is a month since Bastien and Charlotte made an appointment with their bank advisor to obtain a real estate loan, but the interview took a disconcerting turn when the latter refused to give them a loan simulation. “He told us that it was useless, that in any case, in a week, his simulation would no longer be worth much, because the rates would continue to increase”explains Charlotte.
“The most disturbing thing was when our real estate agent told us that he could only offer us very few viewings if he didn’t know what our budget was. But we cannot know it without the loan estimate. It’s the snake that bites its own tail! », she notes in a disillusioned tone. The couple still managed to make a few visits, including one that was Charlotte’s favorite: “The house was spacious, with four bedrooms and a sublime bathroom, she says bitterly. It passed under our noses since we did not know the amount of the loan to be entered on the form. »
A very tense climate
The borrowing difficulties surprise the couple all the more as this is not the first acquisition for Bastien, already the owner of an apartment in the Paris region which he is trying to sell. His property was estimated at 220,000 euros by one real estate agency, 270,000 euros by another. “He knows that the price can drop drastically in a few months, so he tries to sell it quickly, Charlotte explains. In fact, the longer we wait, the more rates increase, which complicates our purchase, and the more Bastien risks selling his property at a lower price than that dictated by the two estimates. »
The result is a very tense climate that the couple finds difficult to bear: “This week I thought about giving up, I was almost in tears. I told myself that we weren’t going to live together after all.laments Charlotte. Not being able to borrow weighs on my morale and on my relationship. We spend our time talking about this, our eyes glued to our real estate and banking applications. Eventually, we will definitely give up on the idea of buying an apartment. »