An Inauguration Day Resolution: Invest in Your Own Pied-à-Terre in Paris

It’s an exciting day for Americans—the day we Americans get to welcome in a new President. Netflix saw its marketing opportunity and is featuring a film from 1995 titled “The American President” with an all-star cast—Michael Douglas as the President, Annette Bening as the lobbyist with whom he falls in love and a host of actors who have gone on to great heights, including Martin Sheen who played the American President in “The West Wing” just a few years later.

What was so interesting is how some (but, not all) parts of the story seem so true to taking a real look inside the White House, especially now that I am learning more about it by reading Barack Obama’s new book, A Promised Land. Obama’s portrayal of his experience as President wasn’t so different from Michael Douglas’ own trials and tribulations in the film—even back then, battling reducing carbon emissions to prevent or improve climate change and controlling the possession of guns in a Crime Bill. Aren’t we still facing the same issues today?

Joe Biden is going to make a fine President (I think and hope), but he has a very tough job of convincing the American people that some of his more “socialist” ideas don’t mean that they will lose their rights or cost them more money, especially the poor and the middle classes. France is a perfect example of how Democratic Socialism works so well to “provide a range of essential services to the public for free or at a significant discount, such as health care and education. Unlike ‘socialists,’ democratic socialists do not believe the government should control all aspects—only help provide basic needs and help so that all of its citizens have an equal chance of success. (Source)

We Americans living in France have come to not only understand the difference, but revel in the benefits of universal health care, quality education and a lot less disparity between the rich and the poor. This is a big reason why Americans living in France are largely politically left and why we’ve been rooting for a leader with a whole lot more compassion for those who are less privileged, including immigrants…much like ourselves.

There are well over 100,000 Americans in France and that number is growing rapidly with the disillusionment spawned by the Trump Administration. A surprising number of Americans are seeking an alternative to a now very polarized nation they had always been proud to call home, but finding it unrecognizable after four years of a President who disenfranchised minorities, immigrants and women.

What I’m offering you today is an opportunity to those of you who wish to broaden their horizons and perhaps not pack all of their belongings and head for greener pastures, but to establish a foothold in another place that sees life very differently—where there is more of a balance between the haves and the have-nots, where privileges are considered rights and where paying taxes actually makes a difference to the quality of their lives: France.

You can do this in the form of an investment that works toward a brighter future—an investment in a property that you can call home, whether it be a second home or where you intend to spend the rest of your life. And where better than in the heart of Paris, the world’s most beautiful and romantic city? We used to joke that the number one American dream was to live in France, and that’s no joke anymore. And from someone who made the move 26 years ago—and never regretted it—I can tell you that you won’t regret it, either.

As you may know, we will only represent a property that we would fully recommend to our clients or that we would live in ourselves. This particular apartment for sale is owned by an American architect who has lived in Paris many years. In fact, she and her husband own the whole building—one of the city’s oldest located dead center in the 1st arrondissement, steps from Le Louvre. As it turns out, one of our American clients has been living very happily in the apartment directly below this one as a rental—she moved in sight-unseen years ago and has been smiling broadly ever since.

The apartment is a spacious 45 square meter (485 sq. ft.) “pied-à-terre” located at the corner of rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau and rue Saint-Honoré. It’s not only steps from Le Louvre, but also the Seine River, the Jardin des Tuileries, and the sumptuous Palais Royal…and just about everything of any importance in immediate walking distance. Step out the door and all of Paris is at your feet. Head south through the courtyard of Le Louvre past the iconic Pyramide to the river, cross the Pont des Arts and beyond to the Institut de France and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Go west down rue de Rivoli to Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe. If you head north, via the Palais Royal, you can brush past the Opéra and beyond to the big department stores. Turn eastward and you’ll pass Châtelet to the Hôtel de Ville and onward to Place de la Bastille. There simply isn’t a more central location in the entire city.

The 1st arrondissement of Paris is as also as dense and dynamic as they get. It offers a plethora of chic shopping, cafés, and restaurants. You will never be for wont of anything with so much at your fingertips and toes. In the months and years ahead, the district will take on an extra shine, thanks to some of the decade’s most significant urban renovations:

•    the new Bourse de Commerce Pinault Collection
•    the new hotel and shopping center at the Poste du Louvre
•    and the regentrification of the legendary Samaritaine

Even more significant are the city’s plans to pedestrianize districts one through four destined to immediately increase quality of life and property values!

The apartment is an easy fourth-floor walk-up (European: 0-1-2-3-4). No one knows more about stairs and walk-ups than me! I have 70 steps to my apartment, having counted them the first time I mounted them. They are easy because the height of the rise of the stairs is low, so going up isn’t much a challenge. One of the things I discovered early on, too, is that the more I do them, the easier it gets—meaning I’m getting great exercise in a very natural way. I never dread going up or down my stairs and actually revel in the energy I get from being physical—which is tough to do when you’re living in a car society like most of the U.S. And I know that because of this natural physical exercise, I’m going to live a whole lot longer than if I were sedentary taking an elevator up and down every day. Mark my word! I see too many 80-year-old Parisians climbing up to their apartments on the sixth floor as if it were nothing…and that’s why! I intend to be one of them!

Of course, this isn’t for everyone and I wouldn’t try to fool you into thinking it is, but you might be surprised how easy it is to live with the stairs. If you have stairs in your two-level home now, then you likely climb them quite a lot without thinking twice. And so is the case with this, but of course, you’re not going in and out as much as you might go up and down inside your own home! In today’s world, groceries can be delivered or purchased in small quantities daily. I’ve learned how to roll my suitcases up and down making it pretty easy to manage just about any weight.

Once you arrive at the fourth floor, you will enter the apartment directly into the spacious living room located on the corner of the building with three windows bathing the room in light and views. It’s impossible to ignore the authentic and centuries-old wood beams both in the ceiling and walls…and as I said earlier, these can be lightened if that’s what you’d like to do!

From the living room, you walk left into a central space from which the other rooms can be accessed: a large bedroom with two windows overlooking rue Saint-Honoré on the right and a bathroom and kitchen on the left. The kitchen is fully equipped with a two-burner stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator and small appliances as well as all the dinnerware, tableware and utensils. The bathroom has a tub with a shower and a towel warmer. The apartment is also equipped with a washer.

The apartment is being sold entirely furnished with appliances, furnishings, drapes, linens, kitchenware and utensils, estimated at 5,000€—something that helps reduce the closing costs by reducing the net price on the deed. But, more importantly, that means it’s move-in ready and there’s not one single thing you need to do but unpack your bags. Property taxes are very low, estimated at €520 a year, co-ownership charges are at about €1,650 a year and electricity is estimated at €1,200 a year…so carrying costs are minimal, too.

Special note: Although the current configuration is entirely functional, there are no supporting walls and therefore should you choose to alter the floor plan, it’s entirely possible. This is rare in most Paris apartments where supporting walls prevent you from improving the configuration of the rooms!

Asking Price: €715,000.00 (includes agency fees and furnishings valued at €5,000)
Property taxes: approximately €520 a year
Co-ownership charges: approximately €1,650 a year
Electricity approximately: €1,200 a year.
Closing costs (Notarial taxes and fees): estimated at about 7.5 percent.

One-Bedroom Steps from Le Louvre
2, rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau
45 m2 (485 sq. ft.), Fourth Floor
Ref. #196

Don’t wait too long before putting your life in a better direction! Contact us now for a personal showing or more information by visiting our page for rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau or contact Carsten Sprotte of the Adrian Leeds Group, or phone him at  +33 6 26 08 12 94.

A la prochaine…