Hi
my family and I are moving to riberac next summer and we've been discussing how we can continue our property investment business. A friend of ours mentioned something called viago (I think thats what its called) which is basically an agreement with an older person to purchase their property whilst they remain in it for the rest of their lives.

Can anyone confirm if this is what its actually called for a starter and also is this quite a common practice in france, has anyone actually done it and what did it involve??
many thanks
Tx

Hi, the word is "viager" and IMHO, it's a bit of a risky business. Some one did this in my village and the owner lived to be over a 100. The tenants paid rent for 30 years!
It's a good thing for the owner, they receive a monthly income (the rent) until they die, but the future owner may have to wait a long time to take possession!
It's a complicated procedure even for your average French person, and not all that common here (normally only practised by people with no heirs) and I personally wouldn't recommend it to expats!
This is just my opinion - maybe some one has actually done this and can advise. If your French is up to it, google "viager" for detailed info.
Hope this helps!
P.S. when I say owner and tenant, I mean the vendor and purchaser.

To follow up my above post, the Notaire would advise you on details of payment and would draw up the necessary Agreement. He would also advise whether you could use the address for your business.
And you should get advice from an Expert-Comptable as to the best type of business you would set up here - the "Auto-Entrepreneur" may not suit you and an SÃ rl (limited liability company) involves horrendous Contributions (50% of every one's salaries) and other expenses.
Hope this gives you food for thought!

thank you so much for your speedy response and this info, definitely food for thought. I take all your points on board and realise this is an area that would certainly need a lot further research. I guess i just wanted to find out a little more about it as it was mentioned by a friend.
Thanks again