Miami-based Graceful Finance markets a life-estate style contract that pays eligible seniors a lump sum and/or fixed-term income while the homeowner keeps lifetime residence; the product targets homeowners 75+ and includes tax, insurance, counseling, and an in-person appraisal.
Eligible homeowners must be 75 or older, can receive lump sum and monthly payments, and Graceful covers taxes and insurance.
Agreement uniquely solves for that." How it's structured As Frankowska noted, the Lifestyle Agreement is modeled on home reversion contracts that have been in use for decades in other countries.
AI Summary Anna Frankowska, the founder and CEO of Miami-based Graceful Finance, says her company is "not reinventing the wheel" with its product that serves a similar purpose as reverse mortgages and home...
Graceful Finance offers a product modeled on home reversion contracts used in other countries. Under the Lifestyle Agreement a homeowner transfers future ownership rights in exchange for money now but retains the right to live in the house for life without mortgage or rent payments. Graceful handles property taxes and homeowners insurance for as long as the homeowner lives in the residence or remains on title.
Graceful operates in Florida and says it is built to scale to any state that recognizes life estate deeds. The company requires homeowners to be at least 75 years old. The firm plans near-term expansion into California and Texas.
Agreement is equity-based rather than debt. It targets older homeowners than the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) minimum age of 62, and it offers a lifetime residential right rather than the finite terms often associated with home equity investments (HEIs). Because it is not structured as a reverse mortgage loan, the product avoids the need for a life-expectancy set-aside (LESA), which can make reverse mortgages harder to obtain when interest rates are high and principal limit factors are low.
Graceful requires independent counseling before a transaction, modeled on U.K. frameworks. Counseling includes a suitability assessment, plain-language disclosures, and an explanation of alternatives such as reverse mortgages or HELOCs. Appraisals are conducted in person rather than through automated valuations. Those steps are intended to document suitability and provide clearer disclosures for both homeowners and institutional buyers.
The company notes that Social Security and Medicare are usually unaffected, but Medicaid can be impacted depending on a homeowner's broader financial situation. Graceful recommends reviewing the agreement with a benefits adviser or an elder-law attorney before signing. The lifetime residency right removes foreclosure or eviction risk tied to mortgage payments, but the homeowner is transferring future ownership value and family inheritance implications should be considered.
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