DP being gifted £300k as FTB

[Raraoh]

In a fairly new relationship (1 year) and DP early 30s is house hunting and wants my input. Just found out his budget - he is a FTB, London-based with a 300k deposit. Genuinely gobsmacked.

(and they keep £100 for themselves, I know 800-400 is not 300...
before anyone jumps in)

You should have said you wanted input in your Op, as it is it just reads like a comment.
Then the confusion is compounded by putting it in AIBU.
There will be lots of people here knowable about house buying I'm sure, assuming that is why you posted.

Well I would buy somewhere for 250 & keep 50

Great news for him with regards property. Means he'll have a small mortgage too I guess?

Took us 7 years to save £13,000 for our house deposit, I'm pretty gobsmacked too

Are you worried it is money laundering? Proceeds of crime?

Is he in the market for a 1 or 2 bed flat in central London that’s 2 million plus? Because then it’s not a huge deposit, is it?

Sad circumstances meaning someone died and house was sold or a life altering accident and this is a payout.

Either way, 300k in London isn’t going to buy you a nice flat outright. So he’s still going to have a mortgage.

300k deposit is great but to be honest you need a lot to buy a place in London. Whereabouts is he planning to look? And do you know how much he can borrow?

I think to be honest you'd get better advice by posting on the Property section and just mentioning overall budget and requirements - the amount of deposit doesn't really affect the advice you're likely to get.

Sorry, not sure what you are asking?

Not sure why you'd need to discuss it irl tbh.

Just go house hunting with him & tell him what you think!

Where I used to live you could buy something outright with that.

I'm guessing not where he is if he's using it as a deposit.

House prices vary from place to place!

Crikey, I'm glad I live where I do. £300k would buy you two houses outright here, and a car and a nice holiday

It wouldn't be usual to have that amount of cash, no, but also, some people do.

I used to flatshare with a woman who had more than that sitting in the bank after her parents had both passed away, she was going to buy in the future but didn't want to at the time we lived together so she rented for a bit with me. Another friend bought a pub near Leicester square when he inherited from his dad. I also had friends with extremely wealthy parents who were given sums in that order to help them buy in nice parts of London. It sounds like a lot when it's cash but once it's spent on a home it's just somewhere to live. If he's savvy he won't go overboard and will use thr opportunity to have a small mortgage.

Personally I scraped together 15k to buy with a 90% mortgage in the Midlands. I'd say that's a bit closer to your average first time buyer experience

What's the amount of his mortgage in principle? The total he can afford changes a few things.

He could also relocate to cheap parts of the country where the market is stagnant and pay for something upright. I wouldn't but it's a possibility

I think I get it. Kind of.

OP has been a bit floored by the fact that she's found out her DP is much wealthier than she thought. She's just letting off a bit of steam in here, because she can't do so IRL, presumably because to do so would be insensitive. Unfortunately, it's also a bit insensitive on here to those who can't afford a £300k house, let alone a £300k deposit. So she's reaping a bit of hell.

I do think most people would be a bit to find out a DP was wealthier than they thought!

I get it OP.

That's a huge sum of money.

You don't feel equal - you can't match that - and wonder how that will impact on your relationship and what kind of person he is. Is he spoilt? Does he take for granted a level of ease and luxury that you can't aspire to?

It is weird.

I would be quite weirded out by that too in a FTB.

Probably pleased, assuming he didn't try to show you up, but I would wonder about the economic gap between us and potential different life experiences/advantages.

“My DP is considerably richer than yooooooooousssse”

Ok. That’s nice.

Not sure if it’s been suggested. There is a section on MN just about property. Very helpful bunch.
Next; loads you can change, assume some repairs will be necessary (and twice your guesstimate)
But you can’t change the location!!
If you’re not use to large sums and expensive purchases do realize there will be stuff you can’t see (burglary threats unsociable behaviour) 1M neighbourhoods have a different tolerance level.

Well both his parents died so that’s how he has the money.

OP - he’s a lucky man but as people have said, it depends where he wants to buy and what he earns as to what you need to look for. 1 beds in London can be 1/2 a mill+ so the £300k will mean this is achievable for him, without him needing to be an absolutely huge earner. Alternatively if he is a huge earner it means he can afford more!

Things to look out for:

• location (location location) - roads/shops/pubs (for noise aspect!) roads, shops, pubs, transport (for social and work aspect), proximity to family, friends, work, if a flat, where it is in the building (ground floor - possible security issues and noise from above, top floor - is the roof space his or shared, middle floors - noise from above and below.
• leasehold or freehold - what is the length of the leasehold (under 80 years causes serious issues and costs)
• parking (if he needs it but also what will guests/deliveries etc do)
• service charge - this can be huge on new flats or managed buildings (££££ a year at some! It may be nice to have a concierge and a gym but you’ll pay through the nose for it!
• within the flat - windows, ceilings, boiler, any signs of damp, kitchen, bathroom - will they need work?

Hope that helps and is useful.

Cross post - he’s lucky to have the money but not for his parents to have died

Really not sure what your point is other than to brag about how rich your boyfriend is or his parents are

That’s nice dear.

with all due respect, someone inheriting 300k from both his parents is hardly wealthy. You won't go very far with that in a nice-ish area in London, especially if you plan long-term and look at the best catchment schools.

I am sure the man would have preferred to have his parents still there than inheriting so early as well.

Why would he need a paper trail for the money?

"Don’t understand the vitriol"

Oh I'm sure you do. Or did I misunderstand your motivation for posting?
What's your AIBU?

£300k is nothing in London he will be in the ghetto being stabbed & murdered in a shoebox.

OP, that's sad. I would not say £300K is a particularly large amount if, say, his parents left a mortgage-free property. In the context of London house prices, it is a drop in the ocean but as other posters say, it depends where you want to buy.