Son's partners father buying them a house ?

marra2

Hi all
My son and his new girlfriend of 2 months were going to rent a house but her father said he would buy a house for them with a mortgage in his name and they pay him the mortgage payments.
My question is, if say they did this for x amount of years and split up, would my son be entitled to anything from the house ? As I see it they're just renting it off her father !
Any advice would be great
Thanks

SharkMoney

Seek advice from a solicitor. Most likely the father would be in breach of residential mortgage rules as he would not be living in the property. If he is doing a buy to let then basically your son is just renting with no rights.

tom9980

The father would become a Landlord he would be breaking all kinds of tax laws not to mention lots of other legal responsibilities landlords must comply with.

Your son would be entitled to nothing at all in the event they split up.

DCFC79

marra2 wrote: »

Hi all
My son and his new girlfriend of 2 months were going to rent a house but her father said he would buy a house for them with a mortgage in his name and they pay him the mortgage payments.
My question is, if say they did this for x amount of years and split up, would my son be entitled to anything from the house ? As I see it they're just renting it off her father !
Any advice would be great
Thanks

2 months is a bit soon to be moving in.


The father would need to do everything above board but it appears from the post he wont.

SharkMoney

Really don’t like the sound of this father!!

HampshireH

It's weird and whilst could be seen as a nice thing to do. Could also be seen as controlling.

It sounds controlling. Doesnt sound like he wants to be a real landlord and your son would be vulnerable to the threat of homelessness everytime she goes to daddy with a moan.

Suggest if he wants to rush into moving in, the do it independently.

steampowered

Personally I would just rent. Much less complicated, and doesn't put unfair pressure on the son and daughter.

There are a few things to think through:
- The father would have to get a BTL mortgage, which has a higher interest rate and higher deposit than a residential mortgage.
- Assuming the father already owns a property, he will have to pay higher rate stamp duty.
- The father would have the legal responsibility of being a landlord.
- There is a risk of the son or the girlfriend claiming a legal interest in the property given that they are effectively contributing to the mortgage.
- The father would need to file a tax return each year and pay income tax on what he receives from the son/daughter.
- The son and daughter should feel free to move out at any time to a property which better suits their needs without feeling pressure from the dad.

If I was the father I would get something in writing confirming the son/daughter don't have an interest in the property, and consider having a tenancy agreement.

Socajam

Have you heard the saying: blood is thicker than water?
Bad idea to do this, it could return and bite him in the butt

marra2

Thanks for the replies I'll let him know as I thought myself it's a bad idea !

Nebulous2

Aside from the family issue complicating things, if everything is done properly with a buy-to-let mortgage, gas certificate, tenancy agreement etc, he isn’t any worse off than renting from someone else.

If they get a decent deal on the rent and the father is proactive at maintenance they might be better off than they would be with most landlords.

The downside is if the relationship struggles the father is going to take his daughter’s side.

silvercar

Generous father, no doubt that would put his daughter in a much better property than she could otherwise afford. If he is prepared to do this for his daughter then he will probably look after her (and by association your son) in other ways. Your son could be on to a winner.

My only reservation is that the relationship is very new.