Family syndicate to buy land with 3 residential properties to live in

MickiBee

Hi all
This is my first post, please be gentle! Hopefully I have put it in the right place.
We are considering buying a group of properties which are together in one piece of land in a rural area. This consists of 2 x 3 bedroom houses and one 1 bed barn conversion.
Also a small annex.
Our idea is that hubby and I (early 60's, fit and healthy) can sell our current property which we own outright, release some equity and put £200k towards the purchase to secure our share. We would live in the 1 bed barn conversion.
Our Son is in a well paid job in the services and one of the 3 bed properties would be his home when he is not at sea. He currently lives with us and has a large deposit with a view to buying somewhere..
Our Daughter's partner owns his house and could put £50k down and they would live with their 2 children in the other 3 bed house.
Benefits that we can see:-
We get to downsize and release some equity. We can retain our independence in future years but should we ever need it will have help on hand.
On site babysitters!
Our Son's house is safely looked after when he is at sea.
They are each able to buy a larger property than they could on their own.
We could rent out the small annex to gain some extra income.
Cons:-
Hubby and I would not qualify for a mortgage as we are both early retired (small pension).
The mortgage would be between Son and Daughter/partner. We are not sure how feasible this is but realise not all lenders might want to do this.
We know there may be problems in the event of a divorce/bankruptcy etc.
Should only Hubby or I be left and need to go into a care home selling a single property is unlikely to be feasible (there may be a restrictive covenant) but it is likely that our Son would buy us out.

There is another issue which is that the group of properties are in an area prone to flooding (like many others) and have had flood protection systems put in place. We cannot ascertain whether insurers would cover flood risk at this stage. Might this make the properties unmortgagable?

I laid all our cards on the table to the estate agent today and she didn't blow me out of the water and we are viewing the property this weekend. Its just a start as it will probably sell long before we can pull things together (although our current houses are likely to sell very quickly) but it has planted the seed that we could do this anyway, and everyone involved is pretty keen

I have looked on line and found very little real information. I realise we would need a good solicitor to make sure every one was protected and advise on potential problems in detail.

Are we in cloud cuckoo land, or is this achievable? Constructive comments gratefully received!
Thanks in advance
ShellyBee

gettingtheresometime

Have you thought about what happens if one of the three groups wants to move?

Ms_Chocaholic

Is everyone in agreement that they would all like to live so close by one another. It wasn't explicit in your post.

MickiBee

Thank you for your quick response!
Yes, there is a possibility that my Daughter and her family would move eventually, but they are looking at living there as a long term prospect.
It is likely that my Son would buy their share but nevertheless it is something we have broached.
Right now everyone is looking at it as something which would stay in the family for many, many years (as previous owners have done, I have been advised)

MickiBee

Yes, we have always been a close knit family and all are really keen

MickiBee

I should add that it is quite a large piece of land so we would all have plenty of space - as well as lots of ground upkeep!

G_M

Northants?

moneyistooshorttomention

I'm looking way down the line to when at least one of the parties has definitely moved in one direction or another (be it sideways to another house or upwards to a "better place") - and wondering what would happen when people that are strangers to one another (well at least one of them is....) own one or more of those houses in the future.

So - things like exactly which house would own which part of the land/Rights of Way/etc/etc. You all will be fine, by the sound of it, with various "things being used in common/etc" - but future owners will be strangers to each other and needing things spelt out clearly in writing as to whats what (ie who owns what/who is responsible for what/what access situation is/etc).

It may not be your concern now - but it will be the concern of the future owners there certainly will be "after your time".

I guess I'm thinking along lines too of some sorta "Residents Association" (which - to you - as a close family will just be informal chats over cups of coffee you'll be having anyway) - but that will be able to turn into a more formal type set-up in the future when its people that are strangers to each other owning those houses.

theartfullodger

Chances of someone dying/moving because of job/illness/new-partner/better-schools falling out with family not liking the area/other neighbours in the next 10 years? Gotta be better than 50%....

Cakeguts

I always think that it is a really bad idea to downsize to somewhere rural unless you don't mind having to get a taxi to the doctor, dentist, supermarket, etc. If there are no bus routes and neither of you can drive you will have to use taxis everywhere.

It might be a good idea to think of what could happen if your family members sell up and move to different parts of the country and you are left there in isolation surrounded by non family in a one bed property? At 60 you will still be fairly fit but what will you be like in the future?

I don't think anyone has really thought this through properly especially the family members with children. How do the children get to meet their school friends? Someone has to take them in the car. This is fine when they are little but when they get to be older and they can't drive then what?

I have a family member who bought a house in a rural area with next to nothing in public transport and all journeys had to be made by car. So a teenager going to a friends birthday party has to be taken by car and then picked up by car. No chance of the teenager being able to go out and meet their friends without mum or dad taking them in the car. The children become trapped especially if there are no close families with children. Then older people become trapped if they can no longer drive.

Buying and selling a house is stressful and gets more difficult has you get older. If you buy a rural property in your 60s you will have to consider the possibility that in your late 70s or 80s you will have to move again if neither of you can drive.

teneighty

Sounds great to me, I'm rather jealous.

Probably the hardest thing will be the finance, there are some very clever mortgage brokers who hang out in the mortgages section, go and ask them.

Good Luck