Over the years, Julie St-Laurent has helped many elders sell their properties, including her parents, her aunts and uncles, and the parents of her loyal clientele. Julie’s approach is filled with sensitivity, listening, understanding and, above all, no pressure. Her goal is to complete the transaction with smiles and no regrets.
With advancing age, many people wish to sell their home, either to buy another better suited to their state of health, to generate additional income and improve their daily lives, or because they need to move into a specialized facility for the elderly. Although the procedures for selling a house are the same for both young and old, senior citizens must nevertheless take precautions, firstly to avoid being fooled by a seller acting in bad faith, and secondly to opt for the right form of sale. On the other hand, in certain situations, relatives can put in place specific measures to ensure that the sale goes as smoothly as possible.
There are a number of reasons why a senior citizen may decide to sell his or her home. Firstly, and most often, it’s the question of health that comes into play.
The home may no longer be adapted to the problems that affect the elderly. A slight loss of autonomy, for example, can make it impossible to climb stairs safely in a multi-storey house. Small steps between rooms in a home can also make it difficult to get around when a senior needs a cane or walker, and even more so when he or she has to use a wheelchair.
A house also often becomes too big as one ages, and its upkeep becomes too difficult and restrictive for an elderly person. In this case, they may wish to sell their home and buy another that is better adapted in terms of space, accessibility and safety.
Geographical isolation may also be a reason for selling a home, as an elderly person may wish to move closer to a city center and its public services, shops, healthcare professionals, etc.
Financial issues may force an elderly person to sell his or her home. Unless they have planned well in advance for additional income in retirement, or have built up comfortable savings throughout their lives, for example, the standard of living of older people is often lower than it was when they were working. Selling your home in old age can therefore be a way of recuperating capital, giving you a better financial outlook for the future, as well as avoiding the payment of burdensome expenses.
Finally, a significant loss of autonomy, but also the desire not to remain isolated, can result in seniors selling their home to enter a specialized establishment such as a traditional retirement home or an establishment for dependent elderly people (Ehpad), for example.
Basically, selling your home when you’re elderly isn’t very different from selling it when you’re younger. In particular, the steps involved remain the same: valuing your property, placing advertisements or calling in real estate sales specialists for this purpose, being available to organize visits to your home for potential buyers, etc. The steps to be taken before a notary are also the same. The steps to take before a notary are also similar (signing a compromis de vente and then a acte définitif).
But as you get older, these formalities often become much more onerous. That’s why it’s important to get help when you want to sell your home. The support and backing of children, grandchildren, relatives, etc., can be a great help to an elderly person.
Using the services of a real estate professional is also a good solution for senior citizens wishing to sell their home and free themselves from complicated administrative procedures. It’s also a guarantee that every precaution will be taken to ensure that the sale goes as smoothly as possible, and in compliance with current regulations.
Life annuity sales are often proposed to senior citizens wishing to sell their home. This involves selling your home to a person who pays what is known as a life annuity, which can be monthly, quarterly or annually, to the seller until the latter’s death, rather than the full price of the property at the time of sale.
There are 2 types of life annuity sales: the free life annuity (the purchaser can freely occupy or rent the house acquired) or the occupied life annuity (the seller retains the usufruct, and can continue to live in or rent the house). This is a particularly good solution for elderly people who wish to continue living in their home despite its sale, or for those who want to benefit from a regular income until their death.
Please note, however, that life annuity sales can only be carried out by people who are “legally capable”, i.e. who have the capacity to have rights and obligations and to exercise them themselves. In addition, the death of the elderly person selling his or her home as a life annuity must be “unforeseeable”: the buyer has no right to know whether the seller is suffering from an illness at the time of the sale.
Otherwise, these expenses are either shared between the seller and the buyer, or paid by the elderly person selling, with the exception of major repairs.
Life annuity sales are often proposed to senior citizens wishing to sell their home. This involves selling your home to a person who pays what is known as a life annuity, which can be monthly, quarterly or annually, to the seller until the latter’s death, rather than the full price of the property at the time of sale.
There are 2 types of life annuity sales: the free life annuity (the purchaser can freely occupy or rent the house acquired) or the occupied life annuity (the seller retains the usufruct, and can continue to live in or rent the house). This is a particularly good solution for elderly people who wish to continue living in their home despite its sale, or for those who want to benefit from a regular income until their death.
Please note, however, that life annuity sales can only be carried out by people who are “legally capable”, i.e. who have the capacity to have rights and obligations and to exercise them themselves. In addition, the death of the elderly person selling his or her home as a life annuity must be “unforeseeable”: the buyer has no right to know whether the seller is suffering from an illness at the time of the sale.
Otherwise, these expenses are either shared between the seller and the buyer, or paid by the elderly person selling, with the exception of major repairs.
Source: lemagdusenior.ouest-france.fr
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