Find the home of your dreams

You want to live in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and want to quickly find the ideal accommodation to settle down? You are already resident in Luxembourg and wish to rent or buy another property? Here are our tips for successful real estate visits and not turning your search into a long obstacle course.

Prepare your real estate visits well

When an individual is looking for a property to rent or to buy, it is sometimes difficult to think of everything during the visits. Practical and aesthetic aspects, but also economic and energy aspects and of course budgetary aspects are to be taken into account. Changing your home is not something you can improvise. Whether you are buying or renting, it is important to determine beforehand all the elements that will make the right decision or not when you decide to take the plunge.

However, when we are not used to visiting homes, it is sometimes very complicated not to miss anything! Even if you are accompanied by a real estate intermediary, it is therefore necessary to prepare your visits to a property beforehand, so as not to let a potential crush override very important criteria.

Prepare in advance a list of criteria to be respected

The search for a home is a serious matter. To be sure to visit properties that are likely to trigger a purchase or lease agreement, it is advisable to make sure beforehand that they correspond to all your criteria, or at least to those that are very important to you, even non-negotiable. Otherwise, you risk wasting your time on unnecessary visits.

Write down your needs very precisely and assess their degree of importance. Is it negotiable or not? All of these are important things to consider before signing the lease agreement or the sales agreement. However, in the euphoria, we quickly forget about it.

Make sure when you make an appointment to visit a property that you check with your contact whether these criteria are met or not. If they are not, is a visit necessary? Maybe not.

So, in order not to be overwhelmed, think of establishing a checklist beforehand, listing all your criteria, by degree of importance (we are often obliged to make concessions), as well as the different questions to ask about the property visited.

Learn more about the real estate market and asking prices.

Equip yourself when visiting a property

A visit cannot be improvised and it is often necessary to take some useful tools with you.
Without a tape measure, how do you know if your family’s closet will fit in that lovely living room? Without photos of the positive and negative points you noticed during your visit, how can you usefully recall your visit and make an objective decision?
For all these reasons, we advise you to take with you :

• a meter (to take all necessary measurements),
• a camera (or a smartphone) to immortalize the visited property and to think about it at leisure. Before taking pictures, don’t forget to ask permission!
• a compass (on your smartphones) to check the exposure of the main rooms and the terrace,
• to write down. Some information and key figures are quickly forgotten once you get to the front door.

Optimize the visit of an apartment or a house

Find out more about the area

When we move somewhere, we don’t just sign up for a property, we sign up for a neighborhood! If the characteristics of the visited dwelling obviously occupy a great place during the visits, the atmosphere of the district in which it is established is also to be taken into account. The services offered and the atmosphere of the neighborhood are of paramount importance when visiting. If you like a place to live, make sure you also feel comfortable in the area where it is located.

Arrive early and feel free to walk the streets around the property you are visiting. You may want to interview people in the neighborhood. Similarly, coming back several times, at different times of the day, allows you to see the neighborhood evolve during the day, the evening and even at night!

See the different districts of Luxembourg-City

Ask the right questions

Beyond your personal criteria, there are also many elements to check during a real estate visit:

• humidity level, especially in basement rooms,
• brightness of the living rooms and bedrooms. This often goes hand in hand with southern, southwestern or southeastern exposure to the morning sun,
• insulation and type of heating. Don’t forget to ask for the copy of the energy passport (mandatory and valid for 10 years)
• electrical outlets, electrical panel. Remember to check its age and the conformity of the electrical installation,
• the common spaces and the amount of the charges if it is a collective building,
• the date of construction of the building. Is there a ten-year warranty?
• the type of heating. Is the boiler checked regularly?

Also, don’t hesitate to ask why the owners or tenants are leaving the unit.

In the case of a purchase, how long has the owner held the property? This will give you an idea of its added value. This can give you an indication of a negotiation margin.

Make the most of your visit

Debrief with the real estate agent at the end of the visit. What did you like, what did you dislike, what were the main points that prevented you from doing it? … This is important so that the agent understands your approach and can help you in your search.Do not hesitate to confirm your criteria. 

Reassure the real estate agent of your financial capabilities. If you already have a financing plan with a bank, let them know. You will prove your seriousness and encourage him to think of you for other houses or apartments more adapted.

In Luxembourg, beautiful products go very fast. It is not uncommon to have to position yourself immediately after the visit with a proper offer. So that you don’t get scared off by this formality, make sure you have all the answers to your questions.

Need to know more? Find here our complete file on housing in Luxembourg.