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The Lifetime Mortgage, access to credit for seniors?

A scheme widely used in Anglo-Saxon countries but little known in France, to access financial capital through one's property.
Advice for a life mortgage

A l’heure où l’inflation, globalement absente de la dernière décennie, redevient un sujet d’actualité et se confronte à la baisse relative des retraites en France, trouver les bons leviers pour améliorer sa retraite est plus que jamais un enjeu d’importance.

Il existe une solution de prêt bancaire, garanti par votre bien immobilier dont vous restez propriétaire: le Prêt Viager Hypothécaire.

A concept popular in Anglo-Saxon countries, allowing to remain the owner

Tout d’abord, comment ça marche ? Concrètement, un organisme (banque ou société d’assurance par exemple) vous prête une somme d’argent et prend en garantie votre domicile. Selon votre profil et vos projets, vous payez des intérêts ou au contraire les laissez s’accumuler, et vous rembourserez ce prêt soit en le rachetant à l’organisme prêteur, soit lors de la revente future de votre habitation, de votre vivant ou lors d’une succession.

Les avantages, notamment par rapport à la vente totale de votre bien immobilier (vente simple ou vente en viager) sont multiples:

- You get the amount you really need, so you don't end up with a lot of cash that you don't need right away;

- You remain the owner. As such, you continue to benefit from the appreciation of the property market;

- In some cases, you may not pay the interest and not repay the loan until you leave home or until your estate is settled - in this case the interest will accrue and will be added to the capital to be repaid by your beneficiaries;

- You do not need loan insurance, unlike a conventional mortgage.

The approach of drawing capital from the wealth accumulated in one's real estate assets is not new, and is even common in North America, where many companies offer financing solutions that can be adjusted according to needs. Closer to home, in the UK, insurers offer similar solutions. Although this solution is common abroad (more than 50,000 transactions per year in the UK), it is difficult to find in France.

An offer that is difficult to find in France today

In France, the 2005 law for the modernisation of the economy (Law 2005-842) opened the possibility for credit institutions to distribute life mortgage loans.

However, these loans were not offered by the main French banks, forcing the State to rely on public bodies to make this solution available to the general public.

Thus, this product was only widely distributed by Crédit Foncier, from 2007 to 2019, when Crédit Foncier was reintegrated into BPCE and all its commercial activities ended. Without strong marketing or commercial development, the solution was nevertheless relatively successful, with tens of thousands of loans granted during its decade of existence.

La solution n’était pourtant pas dépourvue de défauts:

- A son lancement, le prêt viager hypothécaire était cher: 4% de frais de dossier, 9% d’intérêts annuels. Les intérêts ont ensuite baissé pour converger vers 4-5%;

- As the interest accumulated over time on the capital loaned (no repayment during the life of the loan was possible), the beneficiaries sometimes found themselves having to repay large sums.

Today, many brokers continue to promote this solution, proof that a demand exists, even if only a few very local banks offer to study applications on a case by case basis.

There is an innovative solution to use your real estate assets to obtain financial capital

What do you do if you want to obtain capital while remaining the owner of your home? This is the question that led Dillan to develop its Reverso Flex offer.

With Reverso Flex, you choose the amount you need (up to 30% of the freehold value of your property). Dillan pays you this amount in exchange for a share in your property, becoming a silent partner in your ownership.

You remain the majority owner of your home and continue to occupy it freely (you can also rent it out if you wish). You simply pay Dillan a fee for this free occupation. You or your heirs can buy back Dillan's share at any time, and if you wish to sell your property, Dillan will arrange to sell it at the best price.

Alors, pour tout besoin de financement, n’hésitez pas à prendre contact avec les équipes Dillan!