Spanish Homes Are Being Sold At Rock Bottom Prices
...As Long As The Previous Owner Is Allowed To Reside There Until Their Death
Spanish pensioners that are rich in property but low on cash, have latched on to a surprising new trend in the housing industry and are selling their homes while reserving the right to live there until their death.
Elderly persons, such as Carmen Segovia, have improved their personal quality of life by selling a bare ownership to their homes while they still retain the right to reside there until their death. This is called a "usufruct".
"I want to die in my home" states Ms. Segovia to the Spanish online paper El Espanol regarding the plan to sell her flat of 100 square metres for €200,000 (£180,000)
"All of my memories are here so I want to live well until I die".
Investors who are looking for a rock bottom price understand that there is no guarantee of how long they'll have to wait to occupy the property that they've purchased.
Ms. Segovia wasn't ever married nor did she have any children and states that she is in relatively good health at this time.
She just wishes to live out her life in peace and travel the country. "I visited China after a holiday in Egypt in 2016" she states with a smile.
As the Spanish market heats up after the previous economic crisis, prices have begun to fall as much as 20 percent to the 2008 levels. Investors are hopeful that purchasing such reasonable properties and waiting for the owners to pass on will reap their rewards.
This practice is also very popular in France where real estate agents are experiencing the same trend. Steep discounts are allowing investors to pay for the actual value of the property and savings can be as much as 50 percent. Mortgage brokers are weighing up this new idea also.
Many Spaniards consider the trend to be morbid when they comment on the trend of bare ownership property on social media.
"You may end up wishing someone would die so that you can move in quickly and that will affect your sleep and the rest of your quality of life" stated one Twitter user named Troya la Gatika.
Other concerns that some social media users have commented on is the law regsarding the heirs in countries like Spain.
Children are fully entitled to inherit a share of the parent's assets according to the law.
According to one 88-year-old owner, Mariano Munoz, who sold his Madrid home where he resides with his 85-year-old wife, "Our children, three daughters, are all set".
"Our daughters don't need the money so it just made sense to us to sell and enjoy our lives without any concerns."
Whichever way you look at it, the idea is an interesting one and I'll have to ask an agent I know to find out if they've ever heard of any such cases on the island and if it's something that could catch on.
Have you had experience with this concept before and if so, let us know in the comments and share your thoughts.
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