Become an owner with the help of your employer? This is the original solution proposed by Sofiap, a subsidiary of La Banque Postale and SNCF. This offers companies a package that allows them to finance part of their employees’ real estate credit. Some 600,000 employees from around forty companies are now concerned, including those of the two partners, but also of EDF, Enedis and several SMEs. For the employer, this boost is a way of retaining their troops by helping them to buy close to their workplace. The company then covers between 25% and 75% of the interest on the loan, on an envelope ranging from 50,000 euros to 150,000 euros depending on the agreements.
This subsidized loan constitutes part of the financing, in addition to subsidized loans (zero-interest loan, housing action loan, etc.) for eligible employees, and a traditional loan also financed by Sofiap, at market conditions. The entity, which is a bank in its own right, currently displays rates of between 3.40% and 3.60% – excluding company subsidies -, depending on the duration of the credit. A level in line with the competition, the average rate of real estate loans standing at 3.54% in September 2024, all durations combined, according to the Observatoire Crédit Logement/CSA.
A substantial saving
The involvement of the employer makes it possible to lower the total cost of credit. Quantified demonstration for an apartment of 220,000 euros, costs included, financed by a contribution of 20,000 euros, a loan subsidized by the company of 100,000 euros at 2.55% over twenty-five years and a traditional loan of 100,000 euros at 3.50%. The employer’s assistance here represents a gain of 13,666 euros on the total cost of the credit, which goes from 116,552 euros to 102,886 euros, insurance included. “In certain cases, the existence of the subsidized loan simply allows the employee to remain below the debt rate of 35% required by the High Financial Stability Council: he would not have been able to borrow without this system,” indicates Mickaël Le Nezet, chairman of the management board of Sofiap.
The counterpart? If the employee leaves the company, the company no longer takes care of his share of the interests. “The monthly payment then increases, since the credit returns to its classic unsubsidized rate for the capital remaining due,” adds Mickaël Le Nezet. A thread that you need to be aware of before committing.