It is no secret that within the real estate market, the sale of homes is a very profitable operation, since it provides quick profits. The only problem is when you have no alternative where to live, although this condition should not give you back, because the solution is easy and quick: sell the bare property and maintain the usufruct.
Within the concept of real estate we find two aspects, ownership and usufruct of it, which do not have to go hand in hand.
Ownership refers to the ownership of the home, that is, to its official and legal owner, while usufruct refers to the right of use and enjoyment that a person has over that real estate.
The initial buyer of a home has the property and the usufruct of it, but at the moment in which he proceeds to sell it, he has the power to transfer these two powers, or just one, the property.
Thus, the new buyer would become the bare owner, being the owner of the property, but not the resident; and the seller as usufructuary, living in the property but not being the owner.
The demand for this modality is increasingly common, especially in the older population sector, as they see in it a strategy of using real estate assets to generate extra income during retirement in the form of a life annuity. It goes without saying that real estate accounts for approximately 85% of a person’s wealth.
It must be taken into account that the minimum age required to sell a bare property is 65 years, however, the older the age, the more profitable the buyers, both individuals and investors, will see the operation.
Selling a house and continuing to live in it brings more advantages, and that is that the usufructuary will no longer be in charge of the community expenses and any extraordinary works or repairs that may be caused to the home. Of course, the Real Estate Tax (IBI) will continue to fall on the usufructuary, unless otherwise agreed.
The other party involved, the bare owner, is the one who must be responsible for the sales and property taxes. However, he also achieves benefits, since the purchase of the property represents an investment in the future, since the home is purchased for a price much lower than the market price, and which, most likely, will end up increasing over time.
The first and most important step is to inform the buyer of the condition of the operation, and, therefore, find someone to accept it. The next thing is to ask a notary to include a clause in the sale deeds that details and regulates this nature and its conditions.
As for payment, it can be made in two ways, either in a single payment at the time of signing the sale of bare ownership, or by making a first payment at that time and paying the rest in the form of monthly rent.
It should be noted that there are two types of sale and purchase of bare ownership. You can pay the monthly rent until the agreed period of time and until the price of the home is paid in full, or pay a life annuity, which will end at the time of the death of the usufructuary. In this last option, you can either end up paying less than the total price of the home or end up paying more.
The usufructuary is the one who owns the home and has the right to use it and receive all its fruits, an aspect that allows him to carry out the actions he wishes on it, from selling his right of use and enjoyment, to renting the property and receiving the income (fruits). In return.
Despite this, the Civil Code establishes that usufruct implies the obligation to preserve the form and substance of the home, so the usufructuary must assume the costs of the reforms or works that are necessary to cover any damage or deterioration caused.
The circumstance of bare ownership and usufruct may cease for various reasons, both derived from the usufructuary and the bare owner.
The usufruct may end by its prescription, by resignation or death of the usufructuary, or by total loss of the real estate. And for its part, bare ownership can end through the transfer of the home to a third party, the destruction or loss of the property, or its renunciation and/or abandonment.
