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

davidmcn

MickiBee wrote: »

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)

If title can't be split then the whole idea sounds a nonstarter - I can't see many lenders being interested if their only remedy would be to repossess and market the whole 3.5 houses. And if any of you want to leave then any "incomer" would have to join in the big MickiBee family commune rather than buy their own house - that isn't going to work.

Comms69

what happens in case of divorce for example?

moneyistooshorttomention

davidmcn wrote: »

And if any of you want to leave then any "incomer" would have to join in the big MickiBee family commune rather than buy their own house - that isn't going to work.

That's another way of putting what I'm trying to say. Yep....said "stranger" will want/probably downright expect things to be official/logical/legal/fair/you name it. Some people try and "fit in" - others want "official etc etc".

.....and they are the one that might well change things to being so (as the law/the norm/etc is on their side)...

He's absolutely right - it is most unlikely to "work".

Thrugelmir

MickiBee wrote: »

release some equity and put £200k towards the purchase to secure our share.

A major stumbling block for lenders immediately. As you cannot simply buy a share. Not that simple.

Split the properties into 3 distinct parcels at the outset in order to purchase.

MickiBee

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

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.

We hadn't thought about much further down the line. If there is no restrictive covenant and one of the properties is sold many years down the line then yes, you are right, we would need to think about the points you mention.
Residents Association sounds useful and a good idea to consider how it could be split up and allocated should the need arise.
Thank you

MickiBee

Cakeguts wrote: »

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.

Good points Cakeguts. The location of the property is actually less than half a mile where we live now and where our children grew up (we are on the outskirts of a village and can see the group of properties from our back bedroom) and the buses etc are pretty good. My Son grew up playing and going to school with kids off the local farm so he knows the area very well.
However it is a valid point as it is a trek up a fairly good incline should we not be able to drive when we are older I think if push came to shove like that we would have no option to move to a more central point.
It may be the reason why the previous family group who owned it sold up a few years ago.

MickiBee

:think:Thank you all for your replies. Some good points raised but we really need to get more information when we meet the estate agent who knows the property well.
We are certainly going to be sitting down together to look at all the pros and cons, and unless everyone is 100% we won't go any further.
The main plus over several of the points is that ultimately if any did have to move/divorce etc it is more than likely that our Son would buy out their share.
However at this stage we are trying to find all the possible pitfalls and that includes the feasibility of a mortgage in the circumstances. From a couple of news articles I have read online it seems that doing this is becoming increasingly common so presumably it isn't insurmountable?
Of course we may just look and find it needs way to much work/we don't like it/one of the properties isn't suitable etc. We shall see! :think: