2021年经济学人 法国的房地产（在线收听）

Property in France

法国的房地产

Terminal value

最终价值

A ghoulish financial product gets a fresh lease of life

一种令人毛骨悚然的金融产品获得了新生

Who has not dreamed of owning a pied-à-terre in Paris, or perhaps overlooking the Mediterranean? How about betting on the timing of a perfect stranger's death? In France you can combine the two. In sales of property en viager a buyer pays upfront for a residence while getting the keys only when the current owner dies. Covid-19 has revived interest in the morbid scheme.

谁没有梦想过在巴黎拥有一套小公寓呢？谁又没有梦想过能够俯瞰地中海呢？赌一个陌生人的死亡时间怎么样？在法国，你可以把这两者结合起来。在(法国的)房产买卖中，买家提前支付房款，但只有在当前的房主去世后才能拿到钥匙。新冠再次引起了人们对该病态项目的兴趣。

The concept of viagers is nearly as old as property; rules laying out its modalities go back over a thousand years. Typically the seller gets cash for around a third of the value of the home at the time of the sale. Monthly payments from the buyer should add up to something nearer the full value of the property—assuming the seller dies at the time suggested by actuarial tables.

“终身房产”的概念几乎和房地产一样古老，制定其模式的规则可以追溯到一千多年前。卖方一般可以以房屋出售时价值的三分之一左右的价格获得现金。买方每月的付款总额应该接近房产的全部价值——假设卖方在精算表推测的时间死亡。

For sellers not afraid of tempting fate, viagers offer the chance to cash in on their homes yet stay in them, with an income to boot. That appealed all the more as covid-19 began to spread, and death rates in retirement homes soared. Specialist brokers reported a surge in enquiries as elderly people sought to remain in their homes for longer.

对于不害怕冒险的卖家来说，终身房产提供了一个机会，他们可以在住在里面的同时将房子变现，获得收入。随着新冠开始蔓延，养老院的死亡率飙升，使得这一产业变得更有吸引力。专业经纪人报告称，因为有越来越多的老年人想要待在家里，所以咨询的人数激增。

Even then, the estimated 5,000 viager deals signed in France every year represent less than 1% of all property sales. But the scheme's long-expected demise never seems to come. Authorities promote it as a tax-efficient way for pensioners to cash in on rising property prices. Viagers also allow buyers to invest in property without a mortgage—the lender is, in effect, the seller-cum-tenant for life. The discount on properties sold for occupation at an unspecified time in the future is also an attraction.

即便如此，估计每年在法国签署的5000份终身房产交易还不到所有房产销售的1%。但该项目预期已久的消亡似乎永远不会到来。当局将其推广为一种节税方式，以便让养老金领取者从上涨的房价中获利。终身房产还允许买家在无需抵押的情况下投资房产——贷方实际上是卖方兼终身承租人。在未来某个不确定的时间出售供居住的房产的折扣也是一个吸引力。

Buyers of viager properties have to guess how long the kindly old grandfather on the other side of the deal has left. Ads for such sales come with descriptions of the place in question—and details of the age of the seller. Canny widows looking to cash out are known to light cigarettes ahead of visits by potential buyers to hint at their unhealthy lifestyles. All parties are aware of the industry's freak event. In 1965 a 47-year-old notary bought a home en viager from a frail 90-year-old lady. He died 30 years later, but his widow kept making annuity payments, as the seller, Jeanne Calment, lived on to the world-beating age of 122.

购买终身房产的人必须猜测交易另一方那位慈祥的老爷爷还能活多久。像这类销售的广告上会附上对相关地点的描述——以及卖家的年龄细节。据悉，精明的寡妇们为了变现，会在潜在买家到访前点烟，以此暗示她们不健康的生活方式。各方都意识到了这一行业的反常事件。1965年，一位47岁的公证人从一位虚弱的90岁老妇人手里买下一套终身房产。30年后他去世了，他的遗孀一直在为他支付年金，而卖家珍妮·卡尔芒却活到了惊人的122岁。

Fans of viagers point out that betting on death is hardly unusual in finance: just look at the life-insurance industry. But the sinister undertones of such arrangements are hard to shake off. Some buyers have been suspected of hurrying nature along. In at least two murders currently in front of courts, authorities allege buyers did away with their tenants to gain possession of viager properties.

终身房产的粉丝们指出，金融业中把赌注押在死亡上在并不罕见：看看人寿保险行业就知道了。但是这样的安排所暗含的险恶意味是难以摆脱的。人们怀疑有些买家在此过程中会耐不住性子。在已在法庭受理的至少两起谋杀案中，当局声称是买家为了获得终身房产而将租户杀害。