I Need a Dollar

(Aloe Blacc, 2010)



Brussels is a pretty good place to buy property (aside the whopping 15% tax payable on every sale). One big incentive is the fact that the Brussels Region offers generous subsidies for building and renovating property.

Specifically, there are subsidies available for making improvements in energy efficiency (insulation and double-glazing etc), for restoring the façade of the house, for renovation works more generally, and for restoring the ‘petit patrimoine’, which means all the quirky features you see in typical Brussels townhouses, which may not themselves be listed, but which nonetheless characterize Brussels’ rich and varied architectural heritage (Art Nouveau door knobs, Art Deco sgraffiti, stained glass windows and the like).

The amount of the subsidies is craftily tailored to give the right incentive to the right people. So it will be adjusted according to your household revenues, and boosted if the property is in an area designated for local development (an “espace de développement renforcé du logement et de la rénovation” or EDRLR), and if you use ecological materials to carry out the works (FSC labeled wood etc).

Of course, each subsidy involves a different form to fill in, a different assortment of supporting paperwork, different ways of calculating the same items (like the surface area), and different timing. It shouldn’t be too easy after all.

It’s a bit of an ordeal, but there are a number of organization which will guide you through the process for free. In our area, Schaerbeek, we went to see Renovas, who sat with us for hours filling in the form, … Another place to go is the Centre Urbain in St Géry.

It is therefore with a huge sense of satisfaction that we can say that we have now completed all the form-filling, and as now just waiting for the confirmation that we can start the works.

Yes, it’s important to get the approval before you start the works or else you will not be eligible.

In our case, this should not cause any delay to the works. Our 1 August start date is now looking increasingly unlikely, since we are still waiting for a number of contractors to give us quotes. We were hoping to have lined up the contractor before we go away on holiday next week, but that’s looking increasingly unlikely… September is what we’re talking about now, and completion in March 2012, if we’re lucky. Sigh…

Working in a coal mine

(Lee Dorsey, 1966)



Another long June weekend… another few days of hard labour.

This time we were down in the basement, taking out the old blue bathroom, dismantling the staircase, stripping the walls back to the bricks, and filling bags with dust.

Fortunately we had extra supplies of cheerful stamina in the form of Tom and Rob, who kindly took a week out of their four-month university holidays to come and lend us their muscles, and some of their engineering skills. Fuelled with ice-tea and pizza, we managed to clear the basement in no time. Thanks guys!