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Selling half a house

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Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere if it has I can’t find it.
 My wife and I currently own our house and have paid the mortgage off. We will be moving abroad this year and want to help my brother get on the housing ladder. He can’t afford to buy the house for the full price but can get a mortgage to afford half of it. Obviously the mortgage people want the deeds to the house which I don’t mind so much.  The plan is he would sell the house in about 7 years and then we would split the sale price down the middle. He would then pay the mortgage off with his 50% hopefully. 
My question is can I protect myself against this , if for example if my brother and I fall out, when he comes to sell he then refuses to pay me. After all on paper he would own the house and have the mortgage on it.
 Could we draft some sort of letter via our solicitors for example. Thanks for any info

Comments

  • london21
    london21 Posts: 2,142 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper
    Is your wife ok with this arrangement?

    If not mortgaged, more straightforward. Not sure how a lender will be with such arrangements.

    Family and money sometimes get complicated, If there is a possibility of falling out between you and your brother  is it worth it?
  • yeah my wife is fine with it all in fact it was her suggestion.
    At the moment there is no falling out in fact we never have but where money is involved you never know . just wanna do a good deed and help out. 
  • MaryNB
    MaryNB Posts: 2,319 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    The problem is a lender cannot sell half a house. If he defaults on his mortgage the bank will want to sell the property to recoup the loan. You sound like you want to be tenants in common, each with a 50% share but the lender would expect you to be on the mortgage. 

    There have been previous posters on here wanting a sole borrower joint proprietors mortgage and the only option available was HSBC A2 Mortgage Deed for Indirect Securities.

    You're right about having legal protection. Family and money often don't mix well. 
  • MoneyGeoff
    MoneyGeoff Posts: 257 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    If he needs somewhere to live, why not let the house to him instead? If you want to do a good deed then set the rent at a low level.
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