Dd, boyfriend and flat purchase

As far as I know it does not automatically become a marital asset if it was fully bought in his name before they married. They have to live there for a long time, have childern and so on and even then it's not black and white...

That's ridiculous advice when you're talking about buying your own home.

Laws on this vary depending on where you are (England, Scotland), how long the marriage is and whether there are any children.

but yes, if they get married and it was in his name pre marriage and they live there then in England at least it’s a marital asset.

more generally they are clearly at an early stage of the relationship and buying together can go badly wrong in this sort of situation if they break up quickly

What was her/their plan towards home ownership before this property was purchased out of the blue?

look at it as a test as to whether they are compatible living together at least if it doesn’t work out she hasn’t got the ball ache of selling and splitting everything

When now DH moved in with me I owned my flat, we split bills including my mortgage 50 50, why should I pay for him to live when at that point he was just my boyfriend. He was pleased with the deal as it was significantly cheaper than the private rent and bills he'd been paying, it gave him opportunity to save.

Why? Or at least, why do you think she wouldn't be able to save half of whatever property she could afford to halves on a mortgage on?

Providing the rent she'll pay will be less than her current rent (and bills will not be more) she's getting a preferable situation from the get go and so long as the finite amount of time for paying rent isn't very long, then this sounds like it's good for her. She can invest the money she saves now and when the rent stops, even more. That is presumably going to be more than she would have paid into a mortgage?

Her investments could well grow significantly faster than she'd get through investing in a property. Over the lifetime of a 30 year mortgage you pay back over double. House values are currently expected to double in that time frame so you'd come out with roughly what you put in. Investments should grow above what you put in over that time frame, so you'd come out with more. (Obviously there's always risk with investing - whether that's in the stock market or housing).

I can understand that. She will be contributing to his property, and if they split up, she would have nothing. If they get married, it becomes a martial asset unless they’ve prepared a document to say otherwise.
however, it doesn’t stop her buying her own property, even if she rents it, she will build equity and it will pay for itself.

Why so desperate for her to get on the property ladder? I assume they’re relatively young? As most have said - sounds like a great situation to pay lower rent in London and keep saving! Being on the property ladder isn’t the be all and end all

Did they not buy tougher because they are not sure they are commited yet and they are not married?

I find it strange that he charges her "rent" for a flat that's already been bought. What is he doing with the money? I did not grow up in the UK - is that quite normal here?

Anyway, I would not do that to my future husband and I would not marry someone who asks me for "rent" too. Splitting bills, contributing to a mortgage etc is good but it's not ok when a boyfriend/girlfriend takes money from another without a real need. Maybe it's just me though.

yes agree she should be paying less rent than to a landlord

Not if it’s an asset from before the marriage rather than accrued during.

Landlord would have to pay tax on profit. So if it's paying part of a mortgage then I'd expect it to be less than rent from a private landlord. They aren't taxed or have lots of legal loopholes to jump through.

What kind of ‘man’ expects his partner to pay rent! That’s horrendous
Sounds pretty normal to me, also ghe other way round.
Its called ' rent' in the same way as some parents charge their working adult kids 'rent' it helps cover household expenses. Maybe the flat is leasehold or has annual maintenance fees. Why should a person not contribute if they are living there.

Am I missing something? If he owns a house and they get married, she automatically gets some equity in the house legally, whether she has contributed or not.

Tell her to live in the day. No one knows what’s round the corner. If they’re happy at the moment just enjoy life.

is he having this flat bought outright for him? If so, it’s not great that he’s making her pay rent. I wouldn’t agree to that. Bills yes, but if he doesn’t have a mortgage to pay he’s just taking money from her for nothing. It feels exploitative.

If he’s buying it with a mortgage and a gifted deposit, it doesn’t make much difference if she’s paying rent to him or to a landlord. Ideally she should be paying less rent to him than she would to a landlord as I assume her boyfriend isn’t seeking to profiteer off her.

if they get married, the sensible thing to do would be to get on the mortgage & ownership title as tenants in common. Add her deposit to the mortgage and she will own a portion of it.

I'm not convinced you giving her a deposit on a BTL would be wise to be honest. She'd be better off getting some legal advice and making sensible investments.

I assume they're very young still?

Yes it's a good deal for her at this stage of life.

She should save massively in a stocks and shares ISA. Not a buy to let. An ISA is more robust and flexible than property and will give her more options for the future. If she marries bf, they will both have a flat plus an investment. And if she splits from him, she can use the ISA with all its growth for her deposit.

Why wouldn’t they be in a flat forever? We live in a large mansion flat in zone 1 in London. We bought this 25 years ago and it’s certainly our forever home. Personally, I’d rather live in a large flat than a tiny house.

I know you're trying to not be outing but is the property definitely an asset in the boyfriends name/possession? Had a friend in a similar situation who eventually married but it turned out the marital home was never a marital asset.

If rent is reasonable and allows her to then save adequately then it's not necessarily a poor financial decision, assuming the property would become a marital asset in future.

Discuss the pros and cons with her so she can make an informed decision.

It’s difficult to advise when you give little detail. You say she’s paying rent but it’s not going to the boyfriend. Is she paying it to his parents? Do they part own the flat and she is the ‘tenant’? Sounds a bit complicated.