Ownership Issues in France
Although it’s quite rare, some French houses or apartments have what’s called a viager attached to the title. You may have heard of Jeanne Calment, a native of Arles. She made world headlines a few years back for a couple of reasons…
The first was her incredible longevity. When she died in 1997, she had reached the age of 122. But when she was 90, she had negotiated to sell her apartment “ en viager.” It means “for life,” and this is how the deal worked: Monsieur Raffray, the man who bought Mme. Calment’s apartment, planned to move into it after her death. He also agreed to pay her 2,500 francs per month for as long as she lived. (At the exchange rate of the time, around $500.) He naturally assumed that he wouldn’t be paying the lifer for too long.
But Mme. Calment lived on...and on. In fact, Monsieur Raffray died at the age of 77, without ever occupying the apartment. In total, he had paid out what then equated to $184,000 in handouts to the old lady for a property he never got to live in. And his survivors were legally bound by the agreement. They still had to write Mme. Calment her monthly check.
“In life, one sometimes makes bad deals,” mused the cigarette smoking, foie-gras-eating Mme. Calment.