How to advise DD

It's not unreasonable to want your DD to have some financial security of her own or for her to want the same, but that can look like many things, I wouldn't leap into a BTL, especially if she or you have no experience of this as an income stream.

If she is going to be able to reside in a property without any rent/mortgage costs then she should be able to accrue sizeable savings quite quickly, even on a lower end salary. If this is a route she wants to go down in the future, or the both of them want a BTL as a joint investment then they can arrange this themselves using what one can only assume will be a very healthy savings pot if they are still together in 5-10 years time.

At this point I would be advising her to take steps understand all of the implications of the trust itself, such as what happens should they marry, or split up, will she be financially contributing to household bills only or indirectly contributing to the mortgage etc etc. I would then be advising her to place a focus on saving. She is 29 so well able to seek information out for herself how best to invest this money and frankly it would be all the better for her to be encouraged to do so if she is in a position where she is able to save significantly on a monthly basis and accrue personal wealth.

If you can afford it, do it. If you can’t, encourage her to save and invest what she would be paying on rent every month so she has a nest egg if the relationship goes south.

If they get engaged, make sure she doesn’t give up work if they have kids and ensure that her DH pays into her pension if she chooses to be a SAHM at any point due to parent’s family wealth

Well that’s perfect then. Just invest the money in stocks and shares isa, she can contribute her savings from not paying any rent too and then when they get married and prepare the prenup, the ISA can be documented in the prenup alongside anything he wants to ringfence.

Dont buy a btl. More hassle than they’re worth and your DD might be with this man till the day she dies.

i feel like this relationship is already being dictated to by the inlaws! If they must have their own way then invest the money yourself for her. Then it’s out of his reach if they do get married. You can always find a way to gift it to her at a later date.

I would worry about accruing savings and investments in her name too though as they will also be marital assets, whereas, as pp says, his assets will be protected. The FIL is really putting your daughter in a very precarious position here, if she stays in the relationship long term….

OP, there might be more to this situation than the value of the house. Will it be her boyfriend's house that she just lives in? I think an ISA would be a great way to save, but what sort of role would she play in this house? Would she be able to decorate it, invest in a new kitchen etc? Or would it be his house that she was allowed to stay in like a lodger.

I can totally see his Dad wanting to ring fence his money but there is a lack of equity here that is more than financial. Might she be better getting her own little flat, him getting his trust owned house and spending time in each other's places rather than living together? I'm not sure I would want to give up that opportunity for someone who is talking about prenups.

She would almost feel 'better off' financially with a boyfriend with less money but a different attitude, perhaps. I think financial inequality can be really difficult to navigate, especially if one party is very keen to look after their own interests without much consideration for the impact on the other person. It feels like a lack of partnership in this situation that makes me feel she could do better. I am sure the boyfriend is very lovely, by the way, but equally young and not thinking about her long term financial situation. It is very good she has you and your DH to do that.

Something like this happened to a friend of mine. Husband's company owned the house they lived in and when they divorced she had nothing as there were no marital assets. Tricky.

Get good legal advice, particularly if they marry, as any savings or pension she accumulates during the marriage could be a marital asset and subject to splitting whereas 'his' house won't be.

Well she shouldn’t have kids without getting married and making a joint decision about a shared asset.

A more immediate drawback would be having to sell when they split if DP can’t buy her out. He may not want to get into that position.

But equally she may not want to get herself into a position where she’s homeless and equityless if they split.

buying a property is the worts way to invest money at the moment! Depending on location, of course, she will make at most 1 or 2 % return.
by investing in an ISA she can make around 10%
so that’s what i would advise her - invest the money she will be saving on rent. Over 5 years, investing 1000 a month she can make close to 80k

They would have to get married first.

You need 25% deposit to get a btl, so check if your deposit is enough.

I was planning to get one myself, but after taxes, agency fees, insurance, featuring in some month when the flat is going to be empty the return was ~1%. It is lower than cash ISA.

If she is unsure about investing get her to put money regularly on cash ISA and use the upcoming year to educate herself on finances.

Advise her is get legal advice. If she’s married she can register matrimonial home rights on the property she lives in but doesn’t own to avoid her being thrown immediately on street if they split but also need to look at finances side.

I think this sounds like a brilliant plan if you can afford it x

I don’t understand. Can’t she just save the money she’d be otherwise spending on rent/a mortgage, and do it herself?

This.
Make sure she saves but btl can be more hassle than it’s worth. They might get married but they aren’t at the moment (with no definite plans?) so no worries about her savings not being hers

BTL is terrible idea. Better to invest the money in a S&S isa.

But this whole thing seems a bit crazy. Why don’t they buy a house together draw up paperwork that the Dad owns part of the house. He could ring fence his money. If they stay together for 20 years he may decide later down the line to gift it to them.

Then your DD will still own part of the house and her and her boyfriend can take out a mortgage together. Then if they do get married it’s not as complicated as nothing needs to change.

She won’t want to be a landlord, it’s a right pain in the arse and it costs a lot of money.

Imo this would be terrible financial advise. Not least because owning a property and being a LL is a massive pain and tie.
I would be encouraging her to save the money she'd usually be paying in rent each month into a stocks and shares isa if she was my daughter.