Apartment Viewing in Paris: The Property Hunter's Checklist

An experienced property hunter spots in 90 seconds what an uninformed buyer will not see in three viewings. This is not a question of talent; it is a question of method. After 1,200+ transactions in Paris and thousands of viewings, our hunters at Home Select have developed a systematic viewing protocol that covers every angle, every corner, every signal. Here it is.

This checklist is organised in chronological viewing order: first the neighbourhood (before even entering the building), then the common areas, then the apartment room by room. Print it, take it with you, tick the points. A structured viewing is infinitely more valuable than an emotional one.

Before the viewing: the desk work

The viewing begins before the viewing. Thirty minutes of preparation saves hours of regret.

Check the per-square-metre price for the neighbourhood on DVF (app.dvf.etalab.gouv.fr) by consulting recent transactions within the same area. A property listed at 20% above comparables deserves a vigilant viewing, or no viewing at all. Check how long the property has been on the market: more than 8 weeks in Paris signals a problem (price, defect, co-ownership), and a negotiation opportunity.

Look at the property on Google Street View to assess the street, immediate surroundings and facade orientation. Check nearby urban planning projects on the Paris Local Urban Plan (PLU): a future 7-storey building opposite your windows radically changes the property’s value.

Prepare your list of questions. The questions you ask during the viewing are as important as what you observe. We return to these below.

The neighbourhood and the street: the first 5 minutes

Arrive 10 minutes early. Walk along the street, go up to the junction, walk down to the next intersection.

What to observe

Noise. This is the number one defect in Parisian apartments and the hardest to fix. A busy road, a bus route, a bar with a terrace, a nursery school 20 metres away: each noise source impacts your daily quality of life. Ideally visit at two different times: 10am on a weekday (for traffic and activity noise) and 9pm on a Friday (for nighttime noise). If you can only do one viewing, choose a weekday in the late afternoon: this is the noisiest time of day.

Orientation. Note the position of the sun relative to the facade. A north-facing apartment in a narrow street will never see a direct ray. A south-west facing apartment will be bright in the afternoon but potentially stifling in summer without air conditioning. Orientation is the only criterion you can never change after purchase.

Shops and services. Bakery, pharmacy, supermarket, doctor, school, metro station: at what distance? A magnificent apartment in a commercial desert loses its appeal in daily life. Conversely, a vibrant neighbourhood with all services on foot compensates for many of the apartment’s own shortcomings.

Transport. Measure the actual walking time to the nearest metro or bus stop, not the time stated in the listing, which is systematically optimistic. Less than 5 minutes is excellent. More than 10 minutes is a handicap for resale.

The common areas: the building’s thermometer

The condition of the common areas is the best indicator of the co-ownership’s health. What you see in the entrance hall, stairwell and corridors tells you almost everything that the general meeting minutes will subsequently confirm.

The common areas checklist

The entrance hall: cleanliness, lighting, paint condition, letterboxes (intact or vandalised), working intercom, keypad or badge access. A well-maintained entrance hall signals a co-ownership that looks after itself.

The stairwell: stair condition (original stone or worn lino), wall paint (recent or peeling), lighting (working timer), banister (solid or wobbly). Walk up even if there is a lift: you will see the intermediate floors that the lift hides from you.

The lift: year of installation (shown in the cabin), last inspection date, general condition (clean or degraded cabin, abnormal noise, slow). A lift over 25 years old means replacement to plan for: 80,000 to 150,000 euros for the building.

The bin store: clean and organised or chaotic and foul-smelling. It is a detail, but a detail that speaks volumes about collective life in the building.

The cellars: if your unit includes a cellar, visit it. Check for damp (sweating walls, musty smell, saltpetre), door soundness, lighting. Parisian cellars are often damp: this is normal in an older building, but active infiltrations are a problem.

Jean Mascla’s advice: When our hunters view a property for a client, they always start with the common areas. If the stairwell is in poor condition, they take photos and send them to the client before even showing the apartment. Because a beautiful apartment in a deteriorated building is a trap: the charges will spiral, resale will be difficult, and daily life will be unpleasant. At Home Select, this pre-selection eliminates approximately 40% of properties before the client even visits. That is why our buyers view on average just 3 properties: we have done the filtering upstream.

The apartment: room by room

You are in the apartment. Resist the instant coup de coeur: the gleaming parquet, the ceiling mouldings, the light streaming in. All of this matters, but only after checking the fundamentals.

The entrance and layout

The circulation within the apartment is the first functional criterion. A long, narrow corridor serving all rooms consumes square metres without contributing anything. An enfilade layout (rooms connecting without corridors) is typical of Haussmann-era buildings and offers generous proportions, but raises privacy issues. Visualise your furniture in each room before being seduced by the empty volumes.

Walls and ceilings

Look for cracks. A hairline crack in the render is cosmetic (5 minutes of filling). A stepped crack running through a load-bearing wall is structural, and potentially very costly. Damp marks on the ceiling: these signal a past (or ongoing) water leak. Ask when it occurred, whether it was declared to the insurance, and whether the cause was addressed. A recurring water leak (old pipework in the flat above) is a predictable nightmare.

Test the load-bearing walls by knocking: a hollow sound signals a lightweight partition (easy to remove for redistribution). A solid sound signals a load-bearing wall (untouchable without structural assessment and co-ownership approval).

Windows and insulation

Open every window. Test the mechanism (airtight closure, solid handle, good seal). Assess the external noise with the window open: this is the real noise you will hear in summer. With the window closed, assess the sound insulation. Single glazing lets through all street noise. Recent double glazing (post-2010) provides good insulation. Check the seals and absence of condensation between panes (sign of failing double glazing).

Window replacement is often the main factor in improving the energy certificate, and a costly one in Paris (1,500 to 3,500 euros per custom timber window to comply with facade requirements).

Electrics and plumbing

Open the electrical panel. A modern panel with individual circuit breakers is reassuring. An old panel with porcelain fuses signals an installation over 30 years old: bringing it up to standard costs 5,000 to 12,000 euros for a 3-bedroom apartment. Test the sockets in each room (bring a phone charger: it is the simplest tester).

Run all the taps simultaneously. Does the pressure drop sharply when two taps are open at once? The plumbing is undersized or the pipes are scaled up. Check the hot water: how long does it take to arrive? A 50-litre hot water tank for a 3-bedroom apartment is insufficient. Look under the sinks: traces of damp, stains, odours: all signals of past or current leaks.

Floors

Period parquet is a major asset in Parisian apartments, but its condition varies considerably. Solid oak chevron parquet can be sanded and refinished 4 to 5 times in its lifetime. If it is already very thin (less than 5mm above the tongue), the next sanding will be the last. Check for creaking (normal in older buildings, but excessive if the parquet “dances” underfoot: a sign of deteriorated battens).

Old tiling in the kitchen or bathroom may contain asbestos in the adhesive. Do not panic: asbestos is dangerous only when it is friable and airborne. But removing asbestos-containing tiles costs 3 to 5 times more than standard removal, because it requires asbestos abatement by a certified company.

Kitchen and bathroom

These are the two most expensive rooms to renovate. A recent, functional fitted kitchen saves you 15,000 to 30,000 euros in works. A refurbished bathroom with sound plumbing saves 10,000 to 20,000 euros. Honestly assess: will you live with this kitchen as-is for 5 years, or will you redo it within 6 months? Factor the true cost into your purchase budget.

Questions to ask during the viewing

The most revealing questions are not about the apartment; they are about the context.

“Why are you selling?” is the most important question. A professional transfer abroad signals a hurried seller (negotiation margin). A divorce in progress signals a very hurried seller (even greater margin). A “we have found somewhere larger” signals a relaxed seller (less margin).

“How long has the property been on the market?” and “Have there been any offers?” are the next two questions. A property with no offers in 8 weeks is one whose price will move, with or without you.

“What works have you carried out and do you have the invoices?” is the protective question. Works without invoices potentially means works without a qualified tradesperson, without decennial insurance, without compliance. It is also an indicator of what the seller has not done, and what you will have to.

“What works have been voted in the co-ownership?” cross-checks what the seller says against what the general meeting minutes reveal. The discrepancies between the two are frequent, and informative.

“What are the monthly charges?” followed by “Including heating?” clarifies the true cost of occupation. A seller who states 200 euros in charges while forgetting to mention the 150 euros of collective heating in winter is not necessarily dishonest, but they are not transparent either.

The second viewing: the game-changer

The first viewing is a discovery. The second viewing is a verification. Between the two, your perspective has shifted: the emotion of first contact has dissipated, and your analytical brain takes over.

Visit at a different time. If the first viewing was in the morning, return in the late afternoon. Natural light changes radically depending on the time and season: an apartment bathed in sunshine at 11am may be plunged into shadow at 5pm if the building opposite blocks the low-angle light. Noise changes too: a quiet street on a Sunday morning can be a dense traffic artery on Tuesday at 6pm.

Bring someone with you. A fresh pair of eyes spots what yours has normalised. A handy friend will notice the electrical condition. A pragmatic parent will observe that the child’s bedroom has no cupboard. A sceptical partner will ask the questions you did not dare ask.

Measure. Bring a tape measure and measure the main rooms. Not to verify the Carrez area (the notary handles that) but to check that your furniture fits. A living room described as “spacious” may prove too narrow for your corner sofa and bookcase. This is the moment to confront the dream with reality, and it is infinitely better to do so before the offer than after the preliminary contract.

Jean Mascla’s advice: The best question is not a question; it is a silence. When you ask “Why are you selling?”, let the seller respond without interrupting. People selling their apartment need to tell their story. Hidden in that story are the pieces of information nobody else will give you: the upstairs neighbour who has been renovating for a year, the recurring water leak on the 4th floor, the loft conversion project that is dividing the co-ownership. Listen: it is the best viewing tool there is.

In summary

An apartment viewing in Paris is not a stroll; it is an investigation. The neighbourhood, the building, the apartment: three levels of analysis, each with its signals, its traps and its opportunities. The difference between a buyer who finds the right property first time and one who searches for 6 months is the quality of the viewing, not the quantity.

At Home Select, our 16 property hunters view each property with this rigour before presenting it to a client. That is why our buyers view an average of just 3 properties, and find theirs in 45 days. If you want someone to do this work for you, with the eye, the experience and the methodology of 1,200+ transactions, tell us about your project.