Mortgage for Student Son

JuliaMary_2

Hello - would appreciate any advice (sorry in advance for the length of the post and if some details are not relevant but included for context in case).
Our son is off to study medicine in September - A level results permitting. Given the intense competition for places, he's only had 1 offer and it's hundreds of miles away. 
When he applied to Uni in October all was fine health-wise however, since then - over Christmas/New Year - he's been diagnosed with epilepsy.
Unfortunately, his local Uni, where he could've commuted, rejected him.  So, if he wants to study medicine the Uni 4 hours away is his only option.  (We've been advised that you should never give up an offer to study Medicine at any uni as it's unlikely he'll get a specific uni should he reapply - it's simply that competitive).
The epilepsy is nocturnal (during his sleep) but has been full seizures.  It appears now fully controlled by medication but it's early days.  We're also not sure if anxiety/stress is a trigger.
Given leaving home, starting Uni, making new friends and learning to cook, clean and basically look after yourself as well as study an intensive course is a big ask we were thinking of taking out a mortgage for a small flat in the area so I could be on hand to support him as I work mostly remotely/from home. 
The thinking being: son would go into halls but I could stay in the flat 3-5 days of the week and son could stay there whenever required.  So in effect, he has support and a quiet space on hand.  Hopefully, he will settle into halls and have a blast but if not he's got a home-away-from-home and family support on hand. 
My husband and I have paid off the mortgage on our main property/home and have £100K cash in savings so would only be looking for a mortgage of circa £100K as most flats in the area are £180K - £220K. We are looking at interest-only mortgages as we both have final salary pensions and could realise £100K+ in lump sums to pay off capital if required (based on 60% of lump sums from each pension lump sum).  We're both in our early fifties so probably looking at a 12-year mortgage (to take us to 65 years old). We've had an Agreement in Principle from 1 of the big high street banks. 
We don't want to let the property - it would simply be a family support bolt-hole/accommodation should we need to be there for support or our son need it as a 'quiet space'.  
His course is likely to be 5-6 years following which we would sell and hopefully realise the original cost as it's likely he will have to move with his junior doctor posting etc. 
I'm not that financially minded and thought I was done with mortgages after repaying our house so just wanted some advice as to whether this seems a reasonable course of action given the circumstances or if there are better options out there?  The bank, whilst polite, didn't know much about interest-free mortgages or pension lump sums as vehicle repayments - and I only knew as I'd heard someone mention it in passing so I'm not sure if we're approaching this in the best way. 
Thanks in advance for all your advice  

Edi81

One word - broker 
wishing your son all the best in his medical career

ACG

Have you thought about putting the property in your sons name? 
This might be beneficial for CGT/Stamp duty, but could have repercussions when your son decides to buy his own home. 

There are various ways to do this. 

It could be a second home as you are looking at. It could be a sort of student mortgage potentially or you also have "joint borrower, sole proprietor" (which is similar to a guarantor mortgage).

I think as suggested, a broker is probably the way forward as they can discuss the options and pros and cons of each.  

K_S

@juliamary_2 Based on the limited info in your post, you have a number of different ways to do this assuming your current joint income is at least approximately 25-30k+ (most interest-only mortgages will still require you to meet affordability on a capital-repayment basis and the income to be able to support the running of two properties).

One route might be to remortgage your currently unencumbered house and use that along with your cash to buy the flat outright. If you go for an interest-only option you could use the sale of the flat as an exit (more straightforward) or the pension lumpsum you referred to. Lender criteria differs on what is and isn't an acceptable exit-strategy for an interest only mortgage.   

You could also go for a normal residential mortgage on the flat with the sale of the flat as an exit.

theoretica

I wonder if thinking about hiring some place - if needed - might be better?  At least to try the arrangement out, and consider buying if you discover it works and is needed in practice.  Your son has only recently been diagnosed, and if all goes well by the time his course starts may need no more support than other students. 

dimbo61

I am a HMO student Landlord and the first words that crossed by mind was Wow !
You Son is about to undertake the second most intense and long course hundreds of miles from home and your considering buying a flat for him to live in after his first year in halls.
Not sure that's a good idea.
We have had groups of medical students live in our large HMO while your son may feel isolated in his flat.
Do you buy a 1 or 2 bed flat and rent out the second bedroom ?
Maybe he could volunteer to work at his local GP/Hospice or Hospital if he gets on the course !
I think you should support your son to make his own decisions and choose where he wants to live and with his new friends.
If his illness gets worse he may need supported / special accommodation which the University hopefully has.
There are lenders who provide University student mortgages

https://www.thevernon.co.uk/mortgages/buy-for-uni/?utm_campaign=Student+Mortgage+Keywords&utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=how to get a mortgage as a student&utm_content=3415711xCj0KCQjwgMqSBhDCARIsAIIVN1VTUnuMvkaQNIYEwCfXOOC6csOM4Lb5-TSxBleEArlHo26_rK8rASUaAhMpEALw_wcB

dimbo61

https://www.bathbuildingsociety.co.uk/mortgages/browse-mortgages-by-product-type/buy-for-uni/