Sector terms

The glossary of releasing property wealth

29 technical terms explained in plain language, with examples.

Filter terms

29 terms in total

A

Your own solicitor

A solicitor independent of the platform, trusted by the seller, who reviews the contract on their behalf and explains it before signing. We always recommend that you consult one, and we propose nobody: that way the review is genuinely independent.

C

Certified partner

A local estate agency trained and certified by us, which looks after you in person to our own standards and with the same closeness.

Charges

Limitations or obligations affecting a home, such as an outstanding mortgage or a seizure order. They appear at the Land Registry and are checked with a nota simple before any transaction.

How what is received is taxed

How what is received is taxed depends on each case: age, whether it is the main home and where one is tax resident all play a part. Your tax adviser will explain it to you.

Termination clause

A clause entered in the Land Registry that allows the seller to seek termination of the contract and the return of the property if the buyer fails to pay. It is always included in our transactions with income.

D

Expected duration of the right of use

For how long the right to live in the home will foreseeably be enjoyed, estimated from age and sex using official tables. It is an internal calculation figure —it never appears in the listings— and it is what makes the amount received larger the older the person is.

E

Public deed

A document signed before a notary that attests to the agreement and gives it full legal safeguards. All our transactions are formalised in a public deed, and we go with you in person on signing day.

See also: Notary · Land Registry · Termination clause

Scenario

The indicative, personalised calculation of what you could receive with each of the four options. It is an estimate with no commitment, not a firm offer: the definitive figure is confirmed later, with the official valuation.

F

Proof of life

A document or procedure certifying that a person is alive. In lifetime income arrangements it serves to confirm periodically that the income must continue to be paid.

I

IBI (municipal property tax)

A municipal tax paid every year on the ownership of a property. In the options with a right of use, the law designates the holder of that right as liable by default, although the parties may agree a different split in the deed: it is one of the points put in writing before signing.

ITP (transfer tax)

A tax on the sale of property between private individuals. Its rate varies by autonomous community and, as a general rule, it falls to the buyer to pay. Each transaction must be reviewed with a tax adviser.

L

Releasing property wealth

Turning the value built up in the home into money without having to move: a single payment, a monthly income or a combination of both, through options such as bare ownership, lifetime income, fixed-term income or sale with a lifetime tenancy.

N

Bare ownership (nuda propiedad)

Ownership of a home without the right to use it, because that right (the right of use) is kept by someone else. In the single-payment option, the seller sells the bare ownership, receives one single payment and keeps the lifetime right of use: they carry on living in their home for the rest of their life.

Example: A home valued at €300,000 may mean, for an 85-year-old man (2025 figures), a single payment of €157,397, and the seller carries on living in their home, just as before. (Illustrative, indicative amounts.)

Nota simple (Land Registry extract)

An informative document from the Land Registry summarising who owns a property and what charges affect it. It is one of the first checks in any transaction.

Notary

A public officer who attests to the signing: they check the identity and the capacity of the signatories and make sure they understand what they are signing. No notary authorises a deed if they have reasonable doubts about a signatory's capacity.

See also: Public deed · Your own solicitor

P

Full ownership

Complete ownership of a property: it brings together in one person the bare ownership and the right of use. Whoever has full ownership can use the home, let it or sell it.

Initial payment (bouquet)

A single amount the seller receives on signing, in the options that combine an initial payment with a monthly income. In the sector it is also known by the French word «bouquet».

Example: In the published lifetime-income example, a home worth €200,000 combines, for an 85-year-old man (2025 figures), an initial payment of €20,000 with €1,067 a month for life. (Illustrative, indicative amounts.)

Municipal capital-gains tax

A municipal tax on the increase in the value of urban land when a property is transferred. As a general rule it falls to the seller to pay. Each council administers it and the amount depends on the municipality and on the years of ownership, so it must be reviewed case by case with an adviser.

R

Fixed-term income

An option by which the seller draws a higher monthly income for an agreed fixed term. When the term ends, they carry on living in their home for life without paying anything, because they keep the lifetime right of use.

Example: A home valued at €380,000 may combine, for an 85-year-old man (2025 figures), €38,000 now with €1,856 a month for 10 years. (Illustrative, indicative amounts.)

Land Registry

The official register where ownership and rights over property are recorded. Registering the right of use or the lifetime tenancy protects the seller's right to carry on living in their home against any third party.

Property lifetime income

An option by which the seller receives an initial payment and a monthly income for life, without ceasing to live in their home. If the buyer stops paying, the termination clause gives them the right to claim their home back.

Example: A home valued at €200,000 may combine, for an 85-year-old man (2025 figures), €20,000 now with €1,067 a month for life. (Illustrative, indicative amounts.)

T

Actuarial tables

Official mortality statistics, by age and sex, used to estimate the expected duration of the right of use and, with it, to calculate prices and income. They are the technical basis of the calculation, subject to actuarial validation: until that is completed, all figures are indicative.

IRR (internal rate of return)

A measure of how well an investment performs over a year, taking into account how much is paid and received, and when. It is the figure the investor sees on each published transaction.

Official valuation

A valuation of the home with legal standing. Carried out by an independent appraisal company before signing. Its cost is the owner's and is paid in advance on accepting a proposal. It is different from the indicative valuation, which is free and serves to get an idea from the outset.

See also: Market value · Indicative valuation

U

Holder of the right of use

The person who holds the right of use: whoever keeps the right to live in the home even though the property belongs to someone else. There may be more than one holder in the same transaction.

Lifetime right of use

The legal right to use and enjoy a home throughout the beneficiary's life, even though the property belongs to someone else. In transactions releasing property wealth it is what allows the seller to carry on living in their home after selling it.

Example: María, 78, sells the bare ownership of her flat but keeps the lifetime right of use. She carries on living there to the end of her days, exactly as before.

V

Indicative valuation

A free estimate, with no commitment, of what you could receive for your home with each option, based on your age and a few details. It serves to get an idea from the outset. It is different from the official valuation, which is the valuation with legal standing carried out right before signing.

See also: Official valuation · Scenario

Market value

The price the home would fetch in an open sale. It is the reference on which the offers for the four options are calculated. At the start it is estimated with an indicative valuation; the definitive figure is set by the official valuation, right before signing.

Sale with lifetime tenancy

An option by which the seller sells their home at a price close to the market one and stays living in it as a tenant, with a lifetime rent registered at the Land Registry. In the sector it is also known as «sale & leaseback».

Example: A home valued at €780,000 may mean, for an 85-year-old man (2025 figures), €556,593 now with a monthly rent of €1,950. (Illustrative, indicative amounts.)