PTo organize the transfer of your main residence while retaining full powers over it, it may be wise to hold it in a real estate company (SCI).
This mode of ownership makes it possible to consider the transmission of the property to his children by gradually giving them the shares of the SCI under advantageous tax conditions, since donations benefit, every 15 years, from a reduction of 100,000 euros. per child and per parent. You can give the shares in full ownership, or in bare ownership to keep the usufruct.
In drafting the statutes of the SCI, one must be very vigilant about the details of the powers conferred on the manager (s), namely you, the parent (s). They must protect you during your lifetime, and protect the surviving parent – whether spouse, partner in a civil solidarity pact (PACS) or cohabiting partner. And the statutes must clearly mention all the points relating to the management of the property – its maintenance, its possible sale, the re-use of the fruits of the sale, etc.
Expensive operation
However, a calculation is necessary because this operation is expensive: you will generally have to pay the notary about 1% of the value of the property for the contribution of the property to the SCI, plus 1,500 euros (on average) for the drafting of the articles of association and the costs of incorporation.
Other indirect costs may be added, such as the loss of the 30% reduction on the taxable amount of this property in the real estate wealth tax, the IFI. A house held in SCI cannot in fact benefit from the deduction for main residence under the IFI.
Finally, you have to keep “small accounts” and convene the general assembly once a year. But the shareholders being the children and the parents, that shouldn’t really be a constraint.