He pays $230,000 for a property valued at $350,000, and a notary takes his hat off: “The agreement is unusual because it is not well known”
A little-known real-estate strategy in lets buyers slash prices by giving up part of the property—at least for a while.
When a French buyer secured a $350,000 apartment for only $230,000, even the notary handling the paperwork was impressed. The secret? A rarely used property structure that splits ownership in two—allowing some buyers to get a deep discount up front.
The method, known in France as purchasing the naked ownership, lets someone buy only the structural ownership of a property, while the usufruct—or the right to live in the home or rent it out—is temporarily transferred to a third party.
Notary Frédéric Labour, who works in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois near Paris, says the approach is far from mainstream for one simple reason: “The agreement is unusual because it is not well known.”
How the discount works—and why social housing agencies want these deals
In most cases, the usufruct is handed over for a fixed period to a social-housing agency. That’s the key to the savings. The buyer gets a lower purchase price, and the agency gains access to housing in neighborhoods where it normally couldn’t afford to build or buy.
“The benefit for us is simple,” explains Christophe Bérion, CEO of Orvitis, a public housing office in Burgundy–Franche-Comté. “We can create social housing in high-demand areas where prices would normally shut us out.”
To understand the math, French real-estate outlet Figaro Immobilier highlights the example of a seaside town on the Atlantic coast. There, homes go for almost $6,000 per square meter. A small, bare-ownership apartment just five minutes from the beach costs around $188,000. Buying full ownership would be roughly $294,000. By giving the usufruct to a social-housing provider for 15 years, buyers save around $106,000.
A real buyer’s case: big savings, but not without risks
One of Labour’s clients used the strategy four years ago when she bought a 35-square-meter apartment. She paid 65% of its value—$230,000—and transferred the remaining 35% to a social-housing landlord for 16 years.
When that period ends, she’ll regain full rights to the home. No extra taxes. No additional fees. The discount is locked in.
But the notary warns there’s a catch.
The buyer’s plan is to resell the property as soon as she regains full ownership. If a lot of owners in the same development do the same thing at the same time, Labour says, the sudden surge of identical listings could temporarily push prices down.
Still, he notes that location can make all the difference. “Good properties tend to sell quickly,” he adds, even in these unusual circumstances.
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