Brussels, Belgium · Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 0 votes
Hi all Belgium Real Estate Investors!
I arrived in Brussels 6 months ago from Canada and looking to get into flips here in Brussels - Market is hot and demand is overpacing supply. Some of the neighbourhoods I identified as interesting for flips are Schaerbeek, St-Gilles, Anderlecht and Molenbeek (lower property prices, more units in need of renovation, gentrification of the area). Would you agree? If not, why and where would you invest?
Antwerp, Belgium · Member since 2018 · 25 posts · 11 votes
6y
Hi Camille, welcome to BP! Personally i'm not familiar enough with the Brussels area to give you any advice on where to find properties, but in general, you will notice that C neighborhoods tend to produce the most opportunities in Belgium. So sounds like you are right on track. Do make sure you read up on local laws on flipping houses, since the rules are different from the US or CA. One example: the hight costs concerned with buying a new property (about 15% on top of the purchase price, except for first purchase) will need to be recovered from your flipping business, just to break even. You can get some of that money back if you sell within 24 months, but when you do that multiple times, the tax authorities will start to count those profits as "professional income" meaning you will start paying taxes on it. And taxes in BE are ridiculously high, although there are workarounds. For this reason you won't find too many flippers here. It makes it harder to make a decent profit, BUT that means less competition ;)
Good luck and let me know if I can help you out or you want to buy something in the Antwerp area.
Brussels, Belgium · Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 0 votes
6y
Thanks @Thomas L.! In that case I suppose refreshing a property and then offering for rent is a more sound alternative. It seems like demand in the rental market far outpaces supply at the moment so BRRR may be a more interesting alternative... And in this regard, there certainly is space and opportunity in wholesaling! ;)