Would you buy a house for DS and GF to live in?

[DetailMouse]

It's just a thought ATM.

DS's GF has secured a job about 3 hours from here. DS hopes to be able to tf with his current employer.

It's nice place to live, they'll be on national payscales the cost of living there is lower than here. It seems like a good move for them.

They'll need to rent, which I realise is perfectly normal, but does mean saving to buy at a later date will be difficult.

I have some money I need a home for. I'm thinking I could buy a small house for them to live in, they can either pay me a modest rent or I'll charge them full rent and save it for him them without their knowledge. In this new area I could buy outright at a fraction of the price a similar house would cost here.

I've got no intention of buying a house for them, I have another DC still living at home who I'd need to be able to do the same for if needed, among other considerations.

Anyway, great idea they get a good landlord and you should get good tenants

Or, stupid idea and likely only to lead to fraught relationships?

We have done this for my son and his girlfriend. We make sure we leave them to their privacy and they decorate how they wish within reason. We put the rent towardsongoing costs/repairs etc and when we sell it we are going to split the profits equally between our 5 children so it’s fair

@QuebecBagnet

I think it’s a good idea and am considering the same. One thing to think about who chooses which house you buy? What happens when they have enough deposit to buy a house? Will you sell this to them? What if they don’t want it and rent it from you for a couple of years and then leave? Are you ok with being left with a house 3 hours away? Yes, you can sell it but you’ll be liable for capital gains tax.

I'd have final say on the house but it obviously needs to be somewhere they want to live.

Them splitting is a big concern. I could leave it with rented with a managing agent or sell it.

I suppose the sensible thing would be to let them rent privately for a while and then float the idea if the move is a success. Then they might also come to realise what a good landlord I am, if they have experience of others

I think its a good idea that you want to do that for your son a gf. I would draw up a contract with certain rules like no knocking down walls or doors hanging off or holes in walls it just covers you all from fall outs..

@TwinklyBranch

No. Or at least not yet. They should rent at first until they get to know the place, are confident they like their jobs etc, know they don't want to quit and go travelling etc. It does sound a bit like you want to buy them a place because it would be a convenient investment for you. They might want to stand on their own feet and be perfectly happy renting while they save for a deposit especially the girlfriend.

They are going to be renting, just with op as the landlord!

@rach2713

I think its a good idea that you want to do that for your son a gf. I would draw up a contract with certain rules like no knocking down walls or doors hanging off or holes in walls it just covers you all from fall outs..

Yes I think I'd do it properly with proper agreements. I'm not sure I could ever be in a position of enforcing anythig legally against my son, if it came to it though.

@TwinklyBranch

No. Or at least not yet. They should rent at first until they get to know the place, are confident they like their jobs etc, know they don't want to quit and go travelling etc. It does sound a bit like you want to buy them a place because it would be a convenient investment for you. They might want to stand on their own feet and be perfectly happy renting while they save for a deposit especially the girlfriend.

For them there should be no difference to renting from anyone else, except that they avoid the risk of a rogue landlord

I agree I'm not really doing it as a favour for them. More an investment for me with the possibility of any profit benefiting them in the future.

I totally understand as it is your son but doesnt really have to be done by a solicitor. Just you all sit down and come up with a list if agreements that your all happy and all sign it just to cover everyone really anf your all on the same page..

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

They've been together a year and are very serious indeed but they are very young. No, they don't live together

Then I think you are being premature. She hasn't moved yet, he hasn't got a transfer yet, they've never lived together and they are dating a year.

I'd hold fire. Wait.

Yes, as I said it's just a thought atm

Great idea! But do tie up loose ends so things are less likely to go pear shaped. It could work well for all of you.

@DetailMouse

I agree I'm not really doing it as a favour for them. More an investment for me with the possibility of any profit benefiting them in the future.

will they understand that?

I think so godmum.

I'd explain it that I'm thinking of buying an investment property that they might like to live in, which means they won't be at the mercy of other landlords and I should have reliable tenants. No more than that.

So they're teens or v early twenties, only been together a year, never lived together, have they even ever lived away from home? And now they're living three hours from all their friends and support. That's actually quite a lot of pressure on a newish relationship.

And then if he hates it and they break up will he feel like he can't just come home because you brought this house for him to live in. Would you want to be landlord to the woman who broke his heart? Would you be prepared to kick her out? Do you wNt to be a landlord to someone random or to have to sell after less than a year?

@SleepingStandingUp

So they're teens or v early twenties, only been together a year, never lived together, have they even ever lived away from home? And now they're living three hours from all their friends and support. That's actually quite a lot of pressure on a newish relationship.

And then if he hates it and they break up will he feel like he can't just come home because you brought this house for him to live in. Would you want to be landlord to the woman who broke his heart? Would you be prepared to kick her out? Do you wNt to be a landlord to someone random or to have to sell after less than a year?

She's been livng away since Christmas. He hasn't lived away from home.

I was married with a mortgage at 22 and had never lived away. We lasted 30 years, until he died

I would charge them a smaller rent and let them save themselves. If you are saving for them on their behalf and they split up, you've essentially taken money from his ex and given it to your son to improve his life. That's not fair. Not unless you plan on giving her her half back if they split. They are young, you cannot guarantee they will stay together.

Although it sounds like a fabulous idea you have to realise that it isn't just your son that would be living there which does put a different light on it. Say your son and his GF fall out. You then need to get her out of the house. If it's a particularly bad fall out if you haven't done everything you need to do fully and above board (eg register as a landlord, have your legionalla risk assessment in place, all fire, gas, electric certification up to date, pay tax on the income via self assessment etc) you could find yourself in a whole lot of trouble. I do rent to a single relative and I am a fully registered landlord so I have no worries that way. Another relative wanted to rent with me however knowing them there was no way I would have them as a tenant which didn't go down well. When it's family, it can be difficult.

@MushroomCow99

You'd need to register as a landlord if you take rent off them, if you don't it'll be fraud. You'd also be responsible for gas safety checks, electrical checks, etc. you'd need insurance too obviously.

It's not as easy as you think.

This is not correct. Registration is only required with a fee local authorities but not the majority. She would need to check for that particular area.

The rest is actually straightforward.

Could you really act like a proper landlord so treat it as purely a business arrangement as if they were any other tenants? So not make judgements about how they are living in “your house” if their cleaning wasn’t up to your standard, if they had parties or what they chose to spend their money on so not saving what you think they should be saving. Would you feel free just to walk into “ your house” if they were living there rather than “ proper tenants”? Could they treat you as a real landlord so not take the piss with late rent payments or be careless with the house/ contents or paint a room jet black “ cause mum won’t throw us out” is your DS gonna treat it as just like being at home? If they are very young I would suggest that they practice being tenants with an experienced landlord who is not a family member. Also it would be your DS’s mum’s house so it’s always going to be more “ his” house than his GF’s, is she going to be happy with that? Your DS will benefit from getting some rent back in the future but what’s the benefit for her renting from you rather than another landlord? If she and your DS break up she’s out on the street.

@AllOfUsAreDead

I would charge them a smaller rent and let them save themselves. If you are saving for them on their behalf and they split up, you've essentially taken money from his ex and given it to your son to improve his life. That's not fair. Not unless you plan on giving her her half back if they split. They are young, you cannot guarantee they will stay together.

No his "ex" will have paid me the same, or slightly less, rent than she'd have paid to rent anywhere else. That landlord could equally well have given it to his sons.

Yes, I do have some concerns about how good they would actually be as tenants, how I would react if they fell short and how that would affect our relationships.

Wherever they rent there's the possibility of GF (the both) being "out on the street" if the landlord want the house back.

Quote:
"I was married with a mortgage at 22 and had never lived away."

There is a danger that you are taking away the chance for your child and their partner to strive and achieve together. Something that you are obviously proud of achieving yourself.

I would let them move and establish themselves as living together in partnership. If all looks good and stable in a year or two and they are talking about saving for a deposit you could give them an amount that you can afford to lose and can afford to repeat for your younger child. I imagine you could afford to gift them 10k from what you have said. This would perhaps allow them a 95% mortgage or if they saved and matched it a 90% mortgage and help them to build a life and future together.

Tread carefully. You mean well but no good deed goes unpunished and you could easily cause many problems in your relationship with your child and their relationship with their partner.

I think we may be near the top of the market for house prices at the moment so I wouldn’t buy as an investment now.

To get insurance, when you don’t live there, you need to have landlord insurance. Therefore they need to sign a proper tenancy agreement (no big deal, can get them online), and need to do the required gas and electric checks.

But it has the potential to be win-win - they pay less than market rent and get to decorate / treat it as their home. You get more return than it sitting in the bank, and a better return than if you let normally and paid a managing agent.

Issue is if you need access to the money. And if you need it to support your other DC.

@MushroomCow99

You'd need to register as a landlord if you take rent off them, if you don't it'll be fraud. You'd also be responsible for gas safety checks, electrical checks, etc. you'd need insurance too obviously.

It's not as easy as you think.

What do you mean by ‘register as a landlord’? There are plenty of areas where there is no such registration scheme, including the London borough where we have a rental property. (Whether they ought to be one is another matter - personally I think there certainly should.).

What you do need to do, however, is register the deposit (if there is one) with one of the official schemes, carry out all required safety checks, provide smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, etc., - and declare the income via HMRC’s self assessment.