First purchase in Paris: 14 months of searching, 3 rejected offers, and the perfect 2-bedroom in the 20th for 340,000 euros

A 31-year-old first-time buyer purchased a 45 sqm 2-bedroom apartment in the 20th arrondissement of Paris for 340,000 euros with the help of Marie Esmieu-Fournel, property hunter at Home Select. This mission unblocked a project that had been stalled for 14 months: three rejected offers while searching solo, a budget perceived as insufficient, and a loss of confidence in the Parisian market.

Mission summary

• Property hunter: Marie Esmieu-Fournel
• Area: Paris 20th, Menilmontant / Pere-Lachaise
• Property type: 2-bedroom, 45 sqm, 4th floor without lift
• Initial budget: 360,000 euros including fees
• Listed price: 365,000 euros
• Negotiated price: 340,000 euros (-7%)
• Search duration: 6 weeks (after 14 months of solo searching)
• Buyer profile: First-time buyer, 31 years old, digital project manager

The project

Our client had been searching for her first apartment for over a year. She was viewing properties alone, in the evenings after work and on Saturday mornings, averaging two per week. Three offers had been submitted, in the 11th, 19th and 20th, all rejected in favour of faster or better-positioned buyers.

Discouragement was setting in. With a budget of 360,000 euros (250,000 euros in borrowing + 110,000 euros in savings from a family gift), she felt that Paris was out of reach. The properties within her budget were either too small (25 sqm studios marketed as “2-bedrooms”), in poor condition requiring 40,000 to 60,000 euros in works, or located on streets she did not know.

It was a friend, herself a Home Select client, who directed her to a property hunter.

The search strategy

Marie Esmieu-Fournel began with a no-nonsense assessment: the 360,000 euro budget was sufficient for a 40 to 50 sqm 2-bedroom in eastern Paris, but the three rejected offers revealed a problem of method, not budget.

First adjustment: expanding the perimeter. The client had focused on the 11th arrondissement, the most competitive in eastern Paris. Marie suggested including the 20th (Menilmontant, Pere-Lachaise, Gambetta) and the northern part of the 12th: areas where the same budget gave access to an additional 10 sqm.

Second adjustment: responsiveness. By searching alone in the evenings, the client was viewing properties 3 to 5 days after they were listed, an eternity in the Parisian market. Marie organised viewings within 24 to 48 hours of publication, sometimes the same day.

Third adjustment: the quality of the offer. The three rejected offers had been submitted without justification or a financing file. Marie had a solid bank certificate prepared and structured each offer with a documented price argument: a signal of seriousness that reassures sellers.

Over 6 weeks, 9 properties were viewed. Two offers were submitted: the first, on a 2-bedroom in the 11th, was beaten by a cash buyer. The second, on the chosen property in the 20th, was accepted.

The property found

A 45 sqm 2-bedroom on the 4th floor without lift of a 1930s brick building, Rue de la Bidassoa in Menilmontant. The property offered a 19 sqm living room with a large south-facing window overlooking a green courtyard, a 13 sqm bedroom, a separate 7 sqm kitchen and a shower room with WC.

The original solid oak parquet had been sanded and sealed. The walls were clean, the paint recent. Only the shower room needed a refresh, estimated at 3,000 euros. The energy rating was a D. Co-ownership charges were low: 95 euros/month, the building having neither lift nor concierge.

The location was a major asset: Rue de la Bidassoa, on a hill, offered a village setting with its small houses and artists’ workshops. Menilmontant metro station (line 2) was a 5-minute walk away, Pere-Lachaise 8 minutes.

The negotiation

The listed price was 365,000 euros, or 8,111 euros/sqm. Marie built the offer on three arguments: the absence of a lift on the 4th floor (standard discount of 5% compared to the same property with a lift), the D energy rating implying eventual window works, and the DVF comparison for the neighbourhood (median of 7,500-7,800 euros/sqm for comparable 2-bedrooms on Rue de la Bidassoa and adjacent streets).

The offer of 335,000 euros was countered at 350,000 euros. The final agreement at 340,000 euros (7,556 euros/sqm) was obtained by presenting a complete file: bank certificate, motivation letter from the buyer, and commitment to a fast signing timeline. The seller, a retiree leaving Paris, appreciated the seriousness of the file and preferred it to a competing offer of 345,000 euros without proof of financing.

What this mission illustrates

Method matters as much as budget. This first-time buyer had the means to buy in Paris. Her 14 months of unsuccessful searching were not a price problem but a strategy problem. Responsiveness, perimeter, file quality: three levers that a property hunter activates immediately, as detailed in our first purchase guide for Paris.

The 20th arrondissement is one of the last arrondissements accessible to first-time buyers. At 7,500-8,500 euros/sqm, it offers neighbourhoods with character (Menilmontant, Jourdain, Gambetta) with a real village feel: a compromise that the neighbouring 11th, 15 to 20% more expensive, no longer allows on a tight budget.

The presentation of the purchase offer influences the seller’s decision. Faced with two offers close in price, sellers choose the most solid and reassuring file. A property hunter structures the offer, provides supporting documents and writes an argument that lends credibility to the proposal, as explained in our article on property negotiation in Paris.

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