Buying with a friend

Barbarajaharrison

A friend of mine who currently rents is thinking of buying a house. They are in their mid 50s and have not owned a house for many years since their divorce. Would this qualify them as a first time buyer? This would be there home although they travel a lot so they may also have a
rented space somewhere asa crash pad

I was thinking of helping them with some cash for a deposit (with solicitors etc for security).

Apart from the 'falling out with a friend' risk - can anyone envisage any financial pitfalls

csgohan4

If you fell out with this friend, do you think they would pay you back? If you say yes, your kidding yourself

Whether the money is for solicitors or the deposit itself would not provide you with any security assuming you declare the money as a gift and therefore no come back when it comes to getting it back

If your friend doesn't have enough money for a full deposit (At least 5%) and fees, he cannot afford a house. However get your friend to have a play around with the mortgage calculators freely available here and via banks to see what yor friend can lend.

In regards to the help to buy, it may depend on the scheme itself and what their definition of a FTB

MobileSaver

Barbarajaharrison wrote: »

Would this qualify them as a first time buyer?

There are numerous definitions of a "First Time buyer" and it depends on the definition of the scheme/mortgage they are applying for.

Barbarajaharrison wrote: »

I was thinking of helping them with some cash for a deposit - can anyone envisage any financial pitfalls

Is the cash a gift or a loan? If the latter then your friend will need to declare this to the mortgage company which won't go down well. Similarly if a loan can you afford for it never to be paid back?

lee111s

Don't do it.

Grenage

For the love of your future sanity, do not entertain the notion.

Cakeguts

If they can't afford the deposit expect them to be repossessed. Then how are you going to get your money back? Can you afford to lose it? Saving for the deposit is a way of making sure that someone can save enough to cover the mortgage if they are out of work.

Let the friend do their own buying and saving.