Advice on House Buying

If you are in a position to help her buy a small place outright, then surely that negates the worry over possible loss of income in future?

You don't have to declare medical issues on a mortgage. An independent, whole of market broker is a good place to start- they will want to know salary details, length of employment, expenditure, status of any loans/credit cards etc. It will help if she's on the electoral register. However, even a small mortgage needs to be paid and is a serious commitment.

In my view this boils down to what other use your money could be put to if you didn't chip in. It's always going to be cheaper to buy a house without a mortgage, as there is no interest to pay. But what are the implications for you?

Can you certainly do without the money forever? Does she have other siblings who you might need to consider in terms of making things 'fair?' Are you mortgage free yourself with absolutely no future need for the money? The point is, this sounds like a long term commitment on your part - it's difficult to see into the future. No doubt it's hard to think of what the future might hold for her, but it's also about yourself as well.

If you decide to go ahead there are choices to be made about how it'll work. You could hand over the cash with no strings. That means no strings whatsoever, so if she decides to sell up in 3 years time, cash in and buy a camper van to travel the USA, you'd have no say and no right to the money back. If she meets a partner and they get married, you'd effectively be handing over half of it to him. Who knows what might happen ... You and your daughter could even fall out and you'd have no way of controlling the house or your money.

Alternatively you could be a joint owner of the property, or a charge could be set up, whereby the money would be repayable to you in the event of its sale. Or some sort of trust arrangement could be set up to own the house with you as joint beneficiaries.

Basically what I'm saying is, this would be a huge step which needs proper advice on how best to go about helping your daughter while at the same time protecting yourself and your own future ... And the rest of the family if there is anyone else.

diamond_dave wrote: »

What I really need to know is what is the next steps to take?

1 have a proper think about what type of property is most appropriate to her medical needs

2 look at Rightmove/Zoopla properties in your area to get an idea of average prices/housing stock

3 find an independent mortgage broker and play around with the online calculators of High St banks to get an idea of possible deals

4 read Martin's guide to mortgages and housebuying

It can't be THAT different to buying 30 years ago!

Well the next steps would be to have a think about the budget that's available in cash. Does it buy something suitable for her needs? Check out Rightmove to get an idea what's available at that price level. If it turns out you've got enough between you then that's great.

Register with the local estate agents and hopefully you'll find something and be able to move forward without delay. When you find a place and get an offer accepted you'll need to appoint a solicitor, though you won't need them to start work immediately.

Once the chain is complete (seller has found etc) then you'll instruct them to start work and it'll go from there. You'll need the deposit ready for exchange of contracts. This is normally 10% but can be varied by arrangement. The balance of the funds, stamp duty, and solicitors fees will all be payable on the day of completion.