What to do with £16000?

MuffinTops

skintandscared wrote: »

What "options"? The first post clearly says:

"My fiancee and I will be getting married this summer and as a present my parents are very generously giving us £16000 for a deposit for a house."

They are purposefully giving you a huge amount of money to help get you on the property ladder. There are no alternative "options". If I were the parents and handed over that sort of money, and it wasn't spent on what I had specified it should be spent on, I'd be asking for it back!!!

Oh dear. Did I not word that to your liking?

skintandscared_2

MuffinTops wrote: »

Oh dear. Did I not word that to your liking?

sorry ... I was kind-of using your post and the "options" word to make a point to the OP that, morally, he doesn't really have any!! I didn't mean it to come across as disrespectful to your post (which I agree with)

andygb

Colin297 wrote: »

Two things occur to me here:

1) If you aren't in a position to buy a house you shouldn't be getting married. Have these large details sorted out before any marriage imo.

You have obviously never considered that some people - EVEN MARRIED COUPLES:eek: have to live in rented accomodation.

Rhys96

chesky369 wrote: »

I find it particularly disrespectful that you come onto a board to ask a load of strangers their advice, without even having mentioned it to your parents.

I think if you find someone asking people for their opinions on an internet forum (which is the purpose of a forum, is it not?) 'particularly disrespectful' then you're being hypersensitive.

I would never even entertain the idea of using the money for any purpose other than for what it was intended for when it was given to me. This is something that I would obviously discuss with my parents before I except a penny of that money. I was merely using this as an opportunity to obtain an informed opinion on the advantages and disavntages of paying off a loan versus buying a house.

It does surprise me how many people have offered their moral/ethical opinion on a forum on a money saving website though. Whilst I appreciate all contributions, had I wanted a commentary on the morality of actions which I have not yet taken (or indeed have not even shown any intention to take) I would have found a different forum.

On a positive note, thank you to all the people whose contributions I have found useful.

Rhys96

MuffinTops wrote: »

I think that Rhys is just weighing up options at the moment. It doesn't sound to me like he's being particularly disrespectful. He doesn't have the money and is trying to work out the best option before putting a case forward to his parents.

Personally, as the loan isn't specifically yours I wouldn't want to give you the cash to pay off another's loan, no matter how much I liked your partner or how secure I felt your relationship was. I also agree with the people that say that you have been offered money for a specific reason and should use it for that reason or ask your parents to hold the money until you're in a position to buy a property.

I would think that if they didn't mind what you spent the money on, as long as it helped your financial future, that they would have mentioned that in the offering?

Good luck with it all though. What a wonderful gift they're giving you.

Many thanks for your reply, you make some good points which I hadn't considered. The money wasn't offered stricly on the condition that it be used for a deposit, it only came up in conversation because we had to pay for the wedding and they offered to pay but I declined. This is when they told me that they hadalways kept aside £16000 each for my sister and I for a wedding/deposit from the sale of their house.

LovelyLeeds

If your parents are happy that you use the money wisely as opposed to a specific reason then I don't see a problem. It's just whether it's wise to pay off your fiancee's debt with this windfall.

If your fiancee is coping with her debt, then why settle it so early with this fantastic gift your parents have given you. Rest assured, they are giving the money to you for your happiness not your partner's immediate debt repayment!

Good luck with whatever you choose to do with it - a lovely gift.

27col

I would have thought that it made more sense to hang on to the capital sum. It is easier to keep a capital sum intact than to spend it and then have to save it up all over again.

banks4u

Hang on to the capital!! In the long run it will make sense. Just build on that capital because it's becoming increasingly difficult to get a loan for that amount now. That is the mistake I made!!

MuffinTops

skintandscared wrote: »

sorry ... I was kind-of using your post and the "options" word to make a point to the OP that, morally, he doesn't really have any!! I didn't mean it to come across as disrespectful to your post (which I agree with)

Oh, thank you for clearing that up. I didn't take any offence from your post, but I do really appreciate what you wrote.:)