Help children to buy in London - is this too ambitious?

LL_USS

@Albermarle I'll try to be open minded (and may end up having no choice but getting something further out anyway). As you said before, I will let my son try renting in an area we choose first then confirm/ or not (my son to try renting first though, if we get a flat, I'd put it in the younger one (my daughter)'s name to push my son to work a bit more before I help him buy a place in his name).

PS: Do you still feel your experience in the past living in London worth it, for job opportunities, for life experience etc (and later on when you moved out, you still thought it was worthwhile)? I mean for someone can afford it. It is a little bit of a stretch for me (not too much financially but the effort to plan and carry out this big plan with the kids) but I am quite determined.

silvercar

LL_USS said:

@Albermarle I'll try to be open minded (and may end up having no choice but getting something further out anyway). As you said before, I will let my son try renting in an area we choose first then confirm/ or not (my son to try renting first though, if we get a flat, I'd put it in the younger one (my daughter)'s name to push my son to work a bit more before I help him buy a place in his name).

PS: Do you still feel your experience in the past living in London worth it, for job opportunities, for life experience etc (and later on when you moved out, you still thought it was worthwhile)? I mean for someone can afford it. It is a little bit of a stretch for me (not too much financially but the effort to plan and carry out this big plan with the kids) but I am quite determined.

I would say that’s it’s easier to live in London and then move out, rather than vice versa. The opportunities career, cultural and social wise are greater in London than elsewhere imho. If you are going to try London living the time to do it is as a young adult. 

I came to London as a recent graduate and stayed. My kids can’t imagine living anywhere else. In fact, my DS2 did seriously look at moving to a northern town as his now wife liked the idea of moving back to her home town. He reckoned the career prospects were the deciding factor.

LL_USS

@silvercar indeed it sounds very sensible. I would think of my children spending time in London in their young years then moving back further out or even back up North, too, at family stage.

silvercar

LL_USS said:

@silvercar indeed it sounds very sensible. I would think of my children spending time in London in their young years then moving back further out or even back up North, too, at family stage.

That was our (failed) plan. We came and stayed. DS2 has now bought, with wife and baby and a good career I can't see them moving. Her career would be harder to relocate. He compared his firm's salary for the same grade and it would mean a 25% pay cut plus the ratio of staff in the higher grades mean it promotions would take longer to achieve.

LL_USS

@silvercar I only meant about moving back North as it could be the only way they can afford a bigger family house. Staying down South is great if they could afford. 

Wherever my children decide to live more permanently (at family stage), I would love to move nearby eventually, at least to one of them. I am not too attached to a place - as long as it is suitable in terms of work and closed ones can live there with us.

I look forward to the time when children have settled for work and life, like your case :-).

LL_USS

@eskbanker

Do you mind if I ask you again about how I manage my money please. Apology about the long question.

My situation: currently no mortgage to pay (I panicked, pulled savings back and paid off the mortgage as the rates soared in 2022), no debts except monthly credit cards that are paid automatically as my salary comes in. Marginal 40% income tax band, still receiving child benefit (only for one child from last September, after the older kid started uni). Projected DB with USS okay. Job security okay. Savings in place again after the mortgage.

Goals: For me it's just maxing efficiency with saving + nice to add to pension a bit more for a more comfortable income at retirement (not essential). But my most important goal now is saving and managing money in a way that it allows me to pass on my asset to my children in the next few years (property buying, I suppose, is the best way).

So what I am doing:

- leave some cash saving accounts (including one flexible ISA) as safety net all the time for ME.

- substantial volunteer contribution to DC pot to be tax efficient each month (hope to make enough to take all the DC pot out a tax free lump sum at the start of my retirement, ideally in 15 years time but I may work less but longer).

- for saving each month: max into a few best regular saving accounts then general cash saving accounts as long as total interests in a year does not go over my personal allowance (I have a spreadsheet to add all taxable incomes + interests to make sure this number is under £50,271). Any leftover, I put into an active ISA (for now put in Shawbrook as it seems I can still add more in and still have the long fixed rate).

- at the end of the financial year, chunk all the money outside of ISAs to ISA/LISA up to the allowance. If I am lucky and have any left then put in some LISA/ ISA for the kids.

As I plan to buy in the next 3 years when my younger one reaches 18 and (most certainly) at university. I will sell to finance this purchase and hope will help the older kid to buy a few after that too. This means I will keep money in cash ISAs. Could you help to have a look to see I am handling the savings fine for this purpose? What I leave in my take-home pay is quite modest (as the volunteer contribution is currently very high) so I am still looking for the best way to keep or grow the saving/ purchase power of my savings till helping kids buy. 

Thank you :-) PS: Also I am looking at my spreadsheet almost everyday, is that too much thinking?

eskbanker

LL_USS said:

Marginal 40% income tax band

[...]

I have a spreadsheet to add all taxable incomes + interests to make sure this number is under £50,271

I'm puzzled by the apparent contradiction here, are you a higher rate taxpayer or not?

LL_USS said:

- substantial volunteer contribution to DC pot to be tax efficient each month (hope to make enough to take all the DC pot out a tax free lump sum at the start of my retirement, ideally in 15 years time but I may work less but longer).

You can only take 25% of a DC pot as a tax-free lump sum?

LL_USS said:

at the end of the financial year, chunk all the money outside of ISAs to ISA/LISA up to the allowance. If I am lucky and have any left then put in some LISA/ ISA for the kids

Are you referring to a LISA that's yours or one held by your older child?

LL_USS said:

Also I am looking at my spreadsheet almost everyday, is that too much thinking?

It does seem a bit extreme, but what do you feel you're achieving by doing so?