Moving in with friend - Rent or buy

$nake_eye$

Hi,

Im looking to find a property in Leeds that is suitable for me and a friend to move into. This should be around August time. Main question is what are my options? I know renting is the easiest option because of the flexibilty, but i really dont want to spent £300/£400 a month and it not be an investment. My friend has a house in Newcastle that he is looking to sell and would make more sense if we looked at buying somewhere, so just wanted to guage some opinions on what would be best? If we dont rent, and wanted to purchase, what are the options? Does anyone else live with a friend but doesnt rent? have you had documents drawn up by a solicitor? any help and guidance would be apeciated.

Thanks

Feel free to ask any questions about this situation.

lynzpower

what is your combined income? Can you actually afford to buy

have you lived with this person before - if you have and its all been cool then fine, but Id never never never buy a prperty with someone I hadnt lived with before. Ive had some shocking flatmates in my time and I ma jaded but believe me it is hard and a slog to get out of a property you have bought tgether than renting.

if oyu are only looking to spend 800pcm, Id doubt you can get properties in leeds for tat much to buy- or can you???

lynzpower

actually, Ive looked on RM and there are properties from 69k. Could you not buy and have your mate rent a room off you as a lodger. i did this.

Melissa177

lynzpower wrote: »

if oyu are only looking to spend 800pcm, Id doubt you can get properties in leeds for tat much to buy- or can you???

Definitely - I've bought in London and I pay less than that in mortgage repayments (that said, their does seem to be a "healthy" trade in crack cocaine going on around the corner...

I have some friends who recently bought a place together - they seem to be quite happy, and it does split the cost of buying. I would recommend buying with someone that you've lived with before, and also having a contract drawn up which covers eventualities such as one of you moving, one dying, how to split the proceeds of the sale at the end, etc etc. I believe HSBC & Brittannia both do mortgage deals for people buying together.

Good luck whatever you decide!

MortgageMamma

As has been said before a lot depends upon your relationship with your friend - why dont you move into temporary rented accomodation together first and see how it goes and then consider buying? or alternatively buy by yourself if possible and let friend rent a room...

Curly_Girly_2

As Melissa said, definately get an agreement set up regarding how proceeds will be split when you come to sell. Also, can either party force a sale, will the property be kept for a certain length of time before this can happen, will you be equally responsible for upkeep, maintenance, improvements? What happens if one person moves out but doesn't want to sell - are they responsible for continuing to pay the mortgage, finding a lodger, still responsible for maintenance?

$nake_eye$

We lived together with 3 others at uni, and there was no problem, although he ate my alpen one weekend, but apart from that. Agree that a contract sounds wise. Looks like a more complex situation, but i cant bear thinking my money is just lining the pockets of some landlord. Any guidance on how much such a contract might cost?

Melissa177

My friends did a DIY one, I think.

Things to consider:

- what if one of the parties gets married (specifically, what happens if they get divorced)
- what if one moves out but doesn't want to sell - liability for maintenance etc
- what if one wants to sell but the other doesn't
- what if one party dies (not nice to think about, but it does happen. Who gets the money? Does the house have to be sold in order to pay out the estate? I think there is something in law that can stop the surviving party from having to sell their flat)
- what if one party steals the other party's Alpen? (only kidding)


Hmm, maybe you would need a solicitor! Perhaps some solicitors on the board could advise about cost.