Would this work?

inkie

DD1 will be going to uni in next couple of years. Just looking at housing options considering that she could be paying £70 + per week for a house share. DH and I are mortgage free, ans so are seriously thinking about buying a cheap property (would need mortgage for about 35k) and letting DD live in it whilst at uni. We would expect her to pay something to us, say pay the utilities rather than charge her rent as such, and if we allowed her to have a lodger whom she charged rent then that income would be used to service the mortgage. Could this work, and would we be classed as landlords? Is there any legal things that we need to be aware of. New territory to us, and so all advice gratefully received

Yorkie1

Quite a few things to think about - this topic comes up regularly so it's worth you doing a search.

But, in short, if you buy the property and your daughter pays you anything to you to live there, you become LLs with all the legal duties associated with that:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=41160642&postcount=12

Also, you will need a Buy to let mortgage - and some lenders don't like relatives living in the property.

You will need to put the rent income on your tax return (whether or not you make a profit).

If your daughter receives rent income, she too must declare that (whether or not she is over the tax threshold).

If there are 2 lodgers as well as your daughter, the house may need to be licensed as a House in Multiple Occupation - which has more stringent requirements set down by the local council.

Fire_Fox

It's well worth running an advanced search, there are threads on this very regularly.

Most lenders do not permit letting to family so you may only be able to do this if you can remortgage your family home. You would normally be classed as landlords and have to comply with reams of legislation, definitely if any money changes hands. The extra person could be your tenant or your daughter's lodger depending how you structure things. Tenants have far more rights than lodgers if things don't work out well. Also consider privacy issues: as parents you can visit the property, as landlords you must respect your tenants right to quiet enjoyment. Tenants normally pay all the bills, ultimately they are legally liable.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=41160642&postcount=12

becominganobsessivesaver

If you're going away to uni, you can really miss out on the social aspect of halls if you live in a house in your first year. What if they then don't like uni, drop out, start again (this happens A LOT! I did 18 months at one uni, hated it, so started again 300 miles away. It was hard enough telling my Dad then, goodness knows what I'd have done if he'd bought a house.

If you want a buy to let, my advice would be do it somewhere you are familiar with, so it is easier to manage. Let your daughter enjoy uni without the additional pressure of managing a property.