Do you think family should help younger generation to get on housing ladder?

[grimeandlime]

A neighbour of mine has a daughter who is 26 and a lawyer in London. She is a lovely girl and hugely hard working, but her mum was telling me that she cannot even dream of affording a flat due to the huge deposit needed.

Her grandparents live in a 6 bedroom detached house worth about £1mil I reckon. According to neighbour they have investments worth at least £500k due to selling off family business and inheritances.

I know it's got nothing at all to do with me, but surely they could chuck each grandchild £100k as a deposit for a flat, and downsize to a bungalow/ retirement village/ nice flat.

Do you think families should try and help the younger generations to get on the housing ladder?

[woollyheart]

While it is nice to help family if you can it is not obligatory.

That money may be their only pension pot. It isn't a huge amount for two people if you don't have another pension.

They may have offered but she is not happy with the terms offered. I have relatives who always moan that nobody helps them with a deposit. Not true! I offered to give them half their deposit as long as they saved the other half themselves. They said no, because they wanted to enjoy themselves while they were young. Fair enough - but unreasonable to moan afterwards.

I also know people who have been helped with properties in London, where the property is shared between them and their parents. Nice and cosy at the time it was set up. But it seems to be difficult for them to find partners because everyone is paranoid that future partners are after the property.