Selling Your House and Living in it till You Die

Beruthiel

a friend of mine asked me this question

is it possible in Ireland to sell your house as an OAP to a bank and then living in it till you die, hence living off the profit and the bank gets your house when you kick the bucket.
where would you go to find out about this?
is this even done in Ireland?

Cal

I'm not too sure if the banks would do such a deal (They are making too much money to be bothered) but there are private investors who get into these type of deals. All fully legal and above board with proper contracts involved.

Cal

Tom Dunne

Beruthiel wrote:

a friend of mine asked me this question

is it possible in Ireland to sell your house as an OAP to a bank and then living in it till you die, hence living off the profit and the bank gets your house when you kick the bucket.
where would you go to find out about this?
is this even done in Ireland?

I remember hearing something about this a while back. I think the likes of AIB and BOI did it. I don't think it is too well publicised because of the negative publicity it generated. There is a perception that it was conning OAP's to sign over thier property, or a portion of it, instead of signing it off to their kids.

I am not sure where you could ask - try your/his/her local bank and see what they say.

JTMan

AIB and BOI do not do it ..
one or two of the smaller banks do it for certain. EBS ???

Our man in Havana

SHIP do it!

Victor

Beruthiel wrote:

is it possible in Ireland to sell your house as an OAP to a bank and then living in it till you die, hence living off the profit and the bank gets your house when you kick the bucket.

As best I know, BOI have or had a product on the market. I think the key words you are looking for are "equity release". I imagine you would need to be over 60 or alternatively terminally ill to avail of it.

Be aware that such an endevour may severely affect means-tested social welfare (pensions, medical card, etc.) and should be undertaken with independent professional advice.

Consider other options, expecially if the property is underused. There are many older people living in properties they can neither maintain nor use fully. The Rent-a-room scheme offers the potential for tax-free income.

Google: http://www.google.ie/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=equity+release&btnG=Google+Search&meta=cr%3DcountryIE

Beruthiel

thanks for that lads
it's a place to start
a

Maximilian

S.H.I.P.

I had some involvement with them last year - they seem quite good & reputable.

Sleipnir

Oh that's what that woman in France did.
Sold her house to her solicitor when she was about 70 on condition that he paid her nursing home fees until she died.
Then she went on to live another 50 years or summat, outliving her solicitor by a long-ways.

I know someone who could do with looking at that alright. Ship eh.....

l3rian

i know a guy who got his parents to do this, to get his inheritance early, hes a bum who never worked a day in his life

its a boi equity release loan named life loan

fintan

I think the loan boi do isnt for the full value of the house, but only for 20% to 30% of its value, as this would protect them from any huge drop in the house market. Plus if the people who inherit the house dont want to sell it they dont have to, just pay off the loan. But the amount of the loan to be paid back could be quiet substanial eg 200k plus 15 years interest (insert above average interest rate), plus interest of however long it takes to pay back.

kmick

Those SHIP guys do it but you have to be over 75. Also Permanent TSB do an Equity release on a mortgage. Its called one plan and you basically get a check book to spend the equity in your house. It has to be agreed before you spend it though.

Sleipnir

Over 75? So you'd be luckly to 'enjoy' it for two or three years then.

I'd rather not give it to the bank but whine at them everyday for those 3 years anyway.

De Rebel

Beruthiel wrote:

a friend of mine asked me this question

is it possible in Ireland to sell your house as an OAP to a bank and then living in it till you die, hence living off the profit and the bank gets your house when you kick the bucket.
where would you go to find out about this?
is this even done in Ireland?

Beruthiel

Big Issue this. Yes it's possible, the products exist. But there is a lot to consider. Some links below, some of these you may have already.

I'd suggest that the older person needs two advisors. One being the financial advisor who selects the best product. The other being more of an independent objective counsellor to go through the process with them and help them decide if its right for them. This

i know a guy who got his parents to do this, to get his inheritance early, hes a bum who never worked a day in his life

is a very obvious risk. And there are other potential pitfalls.

There is no right or wrong answer, but definitly proceed with caution. They used to say that buying your first house is one of life's biggest steps, but frankly selling your last one while still alive is an even bigger undertaking.


BOI Life Loan

SHIP

Might also be worth talking to Age Action Ireland who claim to offer information on equity release products for older people. Not much on their website, see here and here (end of the page) - so you will need to contact them.

An Interesting commentary on the SHIP product here

Beruthiel

thanks for all the replies folks
they have been very helpful
a