Wednesday, October 17, 2007
One more elderly person for Alex Tabarrok's grandma to think about
Apparently there lives in Coimbatore a certain Malayali gentleman who has a curious proposition to make. Said gentleman is single, has no ‘issue’, of reputedly very sound body, very very sound mind, and is 85 years old. But what makes his case interesting is the fact that he lives in a good part of town and owns what has been described by a reliable acquaintance as a rather neat, large flat.
This flat is said to be worth Rs. X Lakhs. Now, our nice man is ready to sell it for an incredible Rs. X-n Lakhs (n is also negotiable). Alas, to provide Navjot Singh Sidhu, who's conspicuously unemployed these days, some fodder, the octogenarian has an obligatory ‘but’.
"I shall generously chop off a few Lakhs from the contract and you pay me right away, but you can take possession of the house only when I have passed on.", says he.
This immediately struck me as an opening for a potentially absorbing tale. Sordid, maybe excruciatingly dense. Probably darkly comic, or thrilling even.
Briefly forgetting how he could draw up a legally valid contract for such an arrangement, think about this. Would you go in for this deal? If you do go for it, then what would be the terms of your contract? How would the two of you enforce it?
Also, help me here. I'm just incredibly curious as to what the hell a single old man wants to do with the Rs. X-n Lakhs he wants immediately.
Labels: Economics, Other, Storytelling
Comments to One more elderly person for Alex Tabarrok's grandma to think about
The deal sounds similar to reverse mortgage deals in the US. Of course the title changes hand in this story which is not so in a reverse mortgage. But there are apparent similarities in motivation.
maheshc.
posted by 
Reverse mortgages exist in India as well. Hope the below links.. clear up things better.
http://in.rediff.com/money/2007/apr/20perfin.htm
http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/oct/11sbi.htm
posted by 
Bajji
Mahesh & Bajji: Thanks for the info. I also heard about reverse mortgages from a kind friend over email. Only goes to show my level of ignorance when it comes to matters of finance.
Nevertheless, I'm more interested in the drama behind these 'motivations'. What if a parameter changes? How would motivations change?
posted by Anand
if you eliminate going th reverse mortgage route. the simpler way to do it is to buy the house and sign a recurring rental agreement with the man.
It starts with a 3 year lease and then becomes 1 year renewals. You charge rent from him for the first 7 years and whatever remaining time is given rent free (all added to the initial rent contract).
You can co-own the house with a bank (who gives you the loan to pay the old man). Any possession issues are later dealt by the bank.
posted by Hawkeye
An unrelated thing - playingg Prashanth's younger brother - was that the nadir of your career?
posted by
hi ..do let me also know if you find the answer to your question (or rather curiosity)
posted by Itz me!!!
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