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Sashkinson
Posts: 16 Forumite
We are 2 siblings in our late 20s who want to get on the property ladder.
We are both living in London and single, so keen to try and stay as central as possible (ideally not huge commutes) and work fairly long hours/demanding jobs, so again keen not to be too far out.
Salary 1 (sibling 1 - me!): 44k
Salary 2 (sibling 2): 28k
Additional funds: c.500k from savings and inheritance, to be evenly divided (appreciate we are very fortunate to have this!)
Key question is: do we buy property together or apart?
Parents and sibling 2 very focused on us buying together to get more for our money. However the cost of SDLT is prohibitive and given that this is a s/t arrangement, I feel like it would make more sense to buy separately.
Can anyone shed any further light?
Many thanks
We are both living in London and single, so keen to try and stay as central as possible (ideally not huge commutes) and work fairly long hours/demanding jobs, so again keen not to be too far out.
Salary 1 (sibling 1 - me!): 44k
Salary 2 (sibling 2): 28k
Additional funds: c.500k from savings and inheritance, to be evenly divided (appreciate we are very fortunate to have this!)
Key question is: do we buy property together or apart?
Parents and sibling 2 very focused on us buying together to get more for our money. However the cost of SDLT is prohibitive and given that this is a s/t arrangement, I feel like it would make more sense to buy separately.
Can anyone shed any further light?
Many thanks
0
Comments
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You'll be financially tied together. One of you gets a poor credit record, the other suffers it too.
In many ways, joint property purchase is a bigger commitment than marriage, so think carefully!
Make sure you have very clear understandings, in writing, about who owns how much, who is responsible for maintenance/ongoing costs etc.
And critically, what happens if your life-plans change.
* one of you marries, or just wants to move a partner in?
* one of you wants to sell, the other does not?
* one of you loses job/income. What happens?
Consider each and every possible future scenario and agree what you'd do, then include that in a written Deed.
But you are right, assuming relations are good, and you take sensible approach, this can be a way to afford somewhere better than you each could alone.0 -
Tieing yourself to a sibling financially at your age is not something that I’d recommend.
However on your figures sibling 2 would struggle to find a decent property in London. It’s doable but there wouldn’t be a lot of choice.
Sibling 1 is well placed to buy and could afford at least a 2 bed in suburbia - so why not buy and rent a room to sibling 2? That way the financial tie can be broken, sibling 2 gets a chance to get a nice place cheap and save until he/she has a better deposit/higher salary.0 -
Sorry, but I just see the trouble coming down the line in 5 or 10 years when one or both of you wants to disentangle and you find it’s not simple at all.0
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Being dispassionate ( and the mother of a few children) I wouldn't advise the higher earner to buy with the lower earner. It is a recipe for disaster. You buying and renting a room to your sibling would be easier in the long run.0
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Thanks all
Any tips on how to have these conversations?
Parents are very set on buying a house rather than flat (see flat as waste of money/market flooded with flats, and want Siblings 1&2 to buy a house together). As the inheritance mentioned upthread is currently in their possession, I obviously want to manage these conversations well and try and highlight my POV.
My gut instinct is buy separately and to aim for a flat of my own in London - renting at mates' rates to sibling. Sibling gets angry when I approach the "buying separately" idea as sees us buying together as having more for our money... Nightmare! We are close but I think buying together could be a recipe for disaster as mentioned upthread...0 -
If Sibling can't even *discuss* the idea of buying separately without getting angry, you don't want to be buying with Sibling.
There are obviously advantages and disadvantages to all the available options (including the option of not buying anything at all). But if Sibling's response to considering those options is to get angry, they're not somebody you want to be buying with. If you do, you'll have lots to discuss with them in the future - from the colour of your curtains to whether the roof needs replacing to what's going to happen now you want to buy Sibling out and live with your new partner.
I don't see how you're going to get through this without Sibling and your parents getting angry with you at some point. But I think the total anger will be less if you do what you want to do now, than it will be if you go ahead with their plans (against your own instincts, thus adding your own resentment to the mix) and then wait for things to go south.0 -
You seem to be saying that, income aside, you are both Beneficiaries of a will. You are inheritting from the Estate of a deceased (relative?). Correct?
Then you say " the inheritance mentioned upthread is currently in their possession," so that suggests your parents are the Executors of the will. Correct?
The fact they are Executors does give them some control during the period of Probate, but ultimately the money belongs to you and your sibling. They (the Executors) have nochoice but to give you your inherritance once Probate is granted.
It is then up to you and your sibling to decide what to do with your respective shares.
No one here can advise you on your relationship with either your sibling, or your parents, but at the end of the day you should do what you think is best for yourself with your money.
By all means listen to advice, whether from posters here or your family.And if you decide that a joint purchase is best, fine. But if you are not convinced of this, then you should not be swayed by emotional manipulation. You are under no obligation to buy jointly. This is a major life decision that will have long-reaching repercussions, so be dispassionate and objective in reaching your decision.0 -
People buying together is becoming more and more of a norm in many parts of London.If Sibling can't even *discuss* the idea of buying separately without getting angry, you don't want to be buying with Sibling.
There are obviously advantages and disadvantages to all the available options (including the option of not buying anything at all). But if Sibling's response to considering those options is to get angry, they're not somebody you want to be buying with. If you do, you'll have lots to discuss with them in the future - from the colour of your curtains to whether the roof needs replacing to what's going to happen now you want to buy Sibling out and live with your new partner.
You do have to understand it's ultimately a temporary way of owning property and as G_M says, you need to plan and agree formally on as many scenarios as you can think of.
It's extremely likely that life events will come along and disrupt your tenure. You need to be crystal clear about this, and no thinking you'll just muddle along and be able to come to an understanding because you know each other so well.There is no honour to be had in not knowing a thing that can be known - Danny Baker0 -
OP, your potential purchasing power would get you a terrace house in some parts of London, but choice would be limited.
I agree with others if talking it over with sibling leads to anger now, it bodes badly for being joint owners of a property.
GM may be right about the parents holding inheritance as executors, but I am wondering if it is actually their inheritance that they wish to gift to you and your sibling? That might explain the dynamic of wanting to control - or at least heavily impact - the decisions to be made.0 -
OP, your potential purchasing power would get you a terrace house in some parts of London, but choice would be limited.
I agree with others if talking it over with sibling leads to anger now, it bodes badly for being joint owners of a property.
GM may be right about the parents holding inheritance as executors, but I am wondering if it is actually their inheritance that they wish to gift to you and your sibling? That might explain the dynamic of wanting to control - or at least heavily impact - the decisions to be made.
Sorry, yes, I wasn't clear.
Inheritance basically refers to a gift from parents so technically it is their money, hence the understandable desire to control what this goes on / invest it in property that they consider to be a sound investment.0
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