Buying a house with parents - what are the options?

snowscreamer

Don't forget the monthly service charge for a flat (my last place in Guildford had a monthly service charge of £120 which is actually quite low compared to other flats in the area) will be taken off your monthly earnings for the affordability calculations.

They do the affordability calculations assuming an interest rate of around 7% (depending on bank) so eg.

£200k mortgage over 30 years: £1,331/month
£215k mortgage over 30 years: £1,430/month

So a flat costing £200k with service charge of £99 is the same monthly payment as a house costing £215k for affordability purposes.
Worth considering.

I was in the same position as you a few years ago by the way, looked at a lot of houses but they were £275k+ whereas flats were under £250k. So I plumped for a flat in the end.

Hedgehog99

"...as the spare room would be taken up by a lodger."

You'd get more rent for the larger of the two rooms, so the spare room would be taken up by you. (think Wallace & Gromit & that pesky chicken!)