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These are usually aimed at older people – often with the promise of financial freedom.
“Partial sales are advertised as fast, uncomplicated and safe for life. In fact, partial sales do not keep many of the things advertised,” Bafin recently announced in a broadcast.
In a partial sale, owners sell up to 50 percent of their property to a company. At the same time, they authorize the latter to sell the property later – at the latest in the event of death. The property can be lived in or rented out until the entire sale. A special right of use is granted for this, for which the previous owners pay a monthly fee. Some real estate companies also offer the model in Austria.
“Don’t trust blindly”
According to Bafin, many disadvantages only become apparent later, for example when the house or apartment is actually sold as a whole to a third party. “A real estate partial sale is rarely the best solution for house or apartment owners,” says Bafin Executive Director Thorsten Pötzsch. “It’s risky and can get expensive.” From a consumer protection point of view, he could only warn against “blindly trusting the omnipresent advertising promises for partial real estate sales,” says Pötzsch.
In Germany, providers such as Deutsche Teilkauf, Hausanker, Heimkapital or Engel & Völkers advertise part-sale models. It is said that the proceeds – in some cases a six-figure sum – could be used by owners to make their wishes come true. This included long trips, a mobile home, the conversion of the house to suit seniors, necessary renovations or a generally higher standard of living.
The target group for partial real estate sales are generally senior citizens, some of whom have a low pension, and whose old-age provision is in their own property, said Katharina Lawrence, a lawyer at the Hesse consumer advice center. However, the contracts of the models are very complex and difficult to penetrate. “Even for a lawyer it will be difficult.”
From the Bafin point of view, there are many pitfalls with the models: A high partial purchase price sounds tempting, but the monthly usage fee and the minimum revenue and all fees for the overall sale are measured by it. But after a partial sale, the running costs of a property continued to accrue. In addition, the Bafin warns of a high and “sometimes incalculable” monthly usage fee.
Source: Nachrichten
