I want to help my son buy a house

Kia

I am sorry if this is duplicated - I want to help my son buy a house and would appreciate some advice.

I am 46yrs old own a 3 bed house no mortgage, worth about 190k ish I guess, no debts, employed, good credit rating. Son 24 yrs old employed ok credit rating got a small student loan and a credit card debt which I have transferred to a 0% card and will be clear in 12 months.

My main questions are should I borrow the deposit against my house, go to a broker, geta joint mortgage if so what sort-

Any input much appreciated!!

Thanks in anticipation!

roger196

Make sure your finances remain separate from your son. Unfortunately life can go wrong eg redundancy, gets wrong girlfriend. If son is then unable to meet his mortgage commitments would it drag you down. Same applies if you guarantee his mortgage.
Much better to decide what you can afford to give him ( raised if necessary by a mortgage in your name on your own house). See the thread on lending money to friends or family...tends to go wrong and leads to disappointment. In this way you know the totality of your commitment and can plan accordingly.
It is another issue whether this is the right time to buy.

clutton_2

mortgage lenders these days want ot know where deposit money comes from and will want to see your sons bank statements... if he declares the deposit money is from you - they will want to know if it is a gift or a loan - as this will impoact on his disposable income


surely he could save up for his own deposit and in 2-3 years get a mortgage in his own name. ?

tb1105

my dad wrote a gift letter (you can get a template from google) for me and my husband saying he was gifting us x amount towards house moving costs and this was accepted by halifax

poppysarah

Make him save his deposit. Make him realise how to manage his money.

Unless you want to spoon feed every minute of his life because he has no money management skills, then do NOT lend him any money.

hethmar

We gave our son a gift of his deposit - its really not as manageable to save for a deposit for youngsters now as it was 20 or even 10 years ago with the goal posts forever moving.