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When the family grows… the couple makes their nest. Whether for ” create a cocoon and commit to the future “Like Virginie and Jonathan, parents of Raphaël, 6 months old, or” no longer feel like you’re wasting money on rent »Like Matthieu and Clothilde, parents of Basile, 3 years old, and Isidore, 2 months old, it is most often the two that you become the owner. In France, more than 80% of people who buy real estate for the first time are couples, 58% of whom have a first child.
Which property, for which family?
Projecting a couple with such a sum can be scary, ” especially in this period of health crisis during which our jobs can be unstable », Notes Virginie. ” The hardest part is finding a property close to all the facilities for children, these are of course the most popular! », Matthieu realizes. It is essential to take the time before embarking on the search to make a list of our desires as a couple : house or apartment, number of square meters necessary for our family life, number of bedrooms, size of the balcony or garden, proximity to shops and schools… Your ideal home necessarily exists somewhere!
How to buy a home for two? Help at your disposal
The golden rule so that your first home purchase does not become a nightmare: prepare your project well ! It is therefore essential to define in advance what type of housing you want, but also to think about reselling the property and learn about loans and possible assistance. Among them, the zero rate loan (PTZ) is very interesting because it covers up to 40% of the total value of the property. It is granted based on the couple’s income, but also on the area where the future accommodation is located. Also, if you have saved money on a PEL (housing savings plan) for at least three years, you can obtain a higher loan by adding to your rights those of the ELP of a member of your family.
Check with your bank to see if you can also benefit, for example, from a social home loan or housing action loan, with very low interest rates. Certain cities or regions also offer assistance for a first real estate purchase, as well as certain companies or mutuals.
What personal contribution for a first real estate purchase?
Even if it is possible to get a loan without a contribution, banks are generally less cautious when you already have a personal contribution of 10% on the total price of the loan. ” If the administrative procedures were much simpler than we thought to become owners, it is not given to everyone to be able to constitute a contribution by being tenants and by supporting a couple and two young children! », Emphasizes Matthieu. Let us not forget that with regard to our bank, we are solidarity when two people sign for a loan : our bank can therefore request reimbursement of the loan from only one member of the couple if the other is no longer solvent.
Marriage, PACS, cohabitation: what does that change?
Le matrimonial regime is of great importance in the purchase of real estate. One can also wonder if the procedure will not be more complicated when one is in concubinage, even in PACS, but not married. ” Not at all ! », Reassures Carla Azzopardi, trainee notary accompanying many couples in their approach to housing. ” The stake around buying together is the question of the proportions of each in the acquisition She continues. When one is married under the legal regime known as “community reduced to acquests”, one says that “the property falls in the community”, as if it were therefore a heritage distinct from that of the couple. In practice, this equates in most cases to the property being owned 50-50 by both members of the couple.
How to buy an apartment or a house for two without being married?
If you are married or in a civil partnership under the “separation of property” regime, or if you are in a cohabitation relationship, you just have to define with his notary what is the share of each in the acquisition. Carla Azzopardi indicates that many couples take advantage of the first acquisition in pairs to “rebalance” the contributions of each member of the household: ” they agree and choose for example to give more shares of the property to the woman even if she has less financial contribution in the purchase of the property. It is a way of compensating for his investment in the family by working less on average but by taking more care of the children. “. However, this is only possible under certain conditions, at the risk if one is in cohabitation that it is perceived as a donation which must therefore be taxed at 60%.
Do I have to make a will?
Our notary can also suggest that we make a will if we are not married to provide what will happen to the property in the event of death within the couple. ” This allows to protect the companion by guaranteeing his right to housing, whether it is because he would not have the means to pay alone the irreducible costs relating to the inheritance, or because it is necessary to define the order of inheritance in the event of the presence of children, in particular a other bed », Explains the lawyer. In addition, if there are no rights to pay during the inheritance when one is married or in a civil partnership, these are up to 60% when you are in a cohabitation.
What is a Société Civile Immobilière or SCI?
« The creation of a family SCI (civil real estate company) can promote the transmission of the property in the event of death when a couple buys while being cohabiting, says Carla Azzopardi. Indeed, if we combine real estate civil society with the technique of cross-ownership, we allow the transmission of shares upon the death of one of the members of the couple. without collection of free transfer taxes. This technique consists of the attribution to each of the cohabiting partners of half of the shares, partly in usufruct (right to use and enjoy the property) and the other in bare ownership (right to dispose of the property). On the death of the first partner, his usufruct ceases automatically and full ownership of his partner’s shares is reunited. The heirs of the first will only be entitled to bare ownership of the other shares. This automatic disappearance is fiscally neutral. This technique is not recommended for spouses, because the screen of the legal person comes as an obstacle to several legal mechanisms protecting spouses. ».
Otherwise, a tontine clause can also be offered when buying a property for two to ensure, in the event of death, that the other member of the couple has ownership of the entire property. But this clause is interesting only under certain conditions and it is advisable to check with your notary or insurer.
What tools are at our disposal to buy a good?
Let’s not forget to use all the tools that can be made available to us today, as Virginie points out: “ We try all online credit simulations for example, we do everything to have a concrete project with a financial envelope in line with our income ».
Well prepared, there is therefore no reason to fear this promising project of happiness!