A couple is looking for a three-room apartment in an older building, with a tight budget, and comes across an attractive listing. During the visit, the energy performance diagnosis (DPE) shows a class G. The property can no longer be rented out since January 2025, and its resale is expected to be complicated without major renovations. This kind of trap is multiplying, and the property search is no longer just about matching a price and a surface area on a listing portal.
DPE and diagnostics: the filter to apply before any visit
People often start with the neighborhood, the number of rooms, and the budget. The reflex to adopt today is to check the energy performance diagnosis before even going to see the property. Since January 1, 2025, homes rated G are banned from being rented. Class F will follow in 2028, and class E in 2034.
This timeline changes the game for buying. An energy-intensive property loses rental value and resale potential. If one buys an apartment rated F without planning for the cost of energy renovation, one risks a gradual depreciation.
Another point to check is the validity of the DPE itself. Diagnoses carried out between January 1, 2018, and June 30, 2021, are no longer valid since early 2025, even if their initial duration indicated ten years. You can check the date and document number via the official ADEME tool. An expired DPE in a listing is a warning signal about the seriousness of the seller or real estate agency.
Specialized platforms allow filtering listings by energy class. By cross-referencing the available results on the striana.fr real estate site with a careful reading of the DPE, you can avoid visiting properties that would exceed the actual budget once renovations are included.
Real estate purchase budget: separate three envelopes before searching
The listed price of a property represents only a fraction of the total cost. To reliably compare two properties, one must isolate three distinct items: the acquisition price (including notary fees), the renovation budget, and recurring charges (co-ownership, insurance, property tax, maintenance).
Transfer fees: a variable that changes by department
The finance law for 2025 has allowed departments to raise the rate of transfer taxes between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2028. In practical terms, the amount of notary fees now varies from one department to another, sometimes significantly. A purchase in an older building with an equivalent budget can therefore cost more depending on the location.
Before setting a budget, check the applicable rate in the targeted department. This information is available from notaries or on the websites of departmental chambers.
Renovations and charges: costs that the listing does not show
An older apartment listed below market price sometimes hides the need for energy renovation, degraded common areas, or high co-ownership charges. For a property in co-ownership, request the minutes of the last general assemblies and the building maintenance log.
- The amount of current charges over the last twelve months, relative to the surface area, allows for an objective comparison of two similar properties.
- Approved or upcoming renovations (facade work, roof repair, elevator compliance) weigh on the actual acquisition budget.
- The condition of insulation, plumbing, and electrical installation affects the cost of bringing it up to standard, especially for a poorly rated property on the DPE.
Comparing two properties requires reasoning in terms of total cost over five to ten years, not just on the price per square meter displayed in the listing.
Online housing search: organize your monitoring without getting scattered
Real estate listing portals number in the dozens. Opening multiple tabs does not make the search more effective. The successful approach is to focus your monitoring on two or three complementary sources, with alerts set for specific criteria.
Creating alerts with tight filters (minimum surface area, DPE class, price range, geographical perimeter) reduces noise. You receive fewer listings, but they truly correspond to the project.
Local real estate agencies sometimes have exclusive mandates that do not appear on the major portals. In tight markets, directly contacting two or three agencies in the targeted area remains a concrete leverage. You can provide them with a written specifications document (type of property, maximum budget including renovations, non-negotiable criteria) to avoid unnecessary visits.
Visiting a property: what to check beyond the decor
The first visit serves to validate the location and layout. The second, more technical visit, should cover points that the staging of the property does not show.
- The orientation of the main rooms and the natural light at different times of the day.
- The condition of the joinery (windows, shutters), which directly affects thermal and acoustic insulation.
- The water pressure, the condition of the electrical panel, the presence of moisture marks at the bottom of walls or on the ceiling.
- The immediate environment: noise nuisances, ongoing urban planning projects available at the town hall, proximity to transport.
Feedback varies on this point, but many buyers regret not having visited the neighborhood in the evening or on weekends before signing. The quality of life should be tested at different times of the week, not just during the time slot proposed by the agency.
The last check before making a purchase offer: ensure that all mandatory diagnostics are up to date and consistent with what has been observed on site. A discrepancy between the announced DPE and the actual state of insulation justifies a price renegotiation or, failing that, a complete withdrawal.
