Mum wants to buy a BTL with me but is cheap

[Jillybons]

My mum has suggested buying a buy to let together. My mum is retired and has a chunk of savings (not her pension and owns her house outright) and is considering getting a BTL property. I also have a chunk of savings which she knows about, and collectively has suggested that we buy a property to let out and earn some money rather than let our savings sit in ISAs.

We’d both be legal 100% owners (50/50 each) so that’s not the bit that worries me. The part that worries me is that she is incredibly cheap! We recently had a new kitchen put in and asked my DP what it cost (he willingly told her 🤦‍♀️) and she was absolutely shocked at it. It was about an average big new kitchen cost (12k for the record including new fixtures and fittings, new floor and replaster) but to her we have ‘massively overpaid’ and she could have done it for 5k 😂

Aibu to even consider doing this with her?

5k for a new kitchen? She's stuck in the last millennium

I wasn't sure what to vote. Your mum IBU

Depends on the clientele you will be letting to. Student town - her mentality might work in you advantage. Families or young professionals- might not be impressed with quality and therefore lower rent takings, more complaints etc.

But yes your mum is unreasonable on the cost of your kitchen specifically

Honestly I wouldn’t. Every expense is going to be an issue and I think that would get old really fast!

Yeh she’s quoting prices from the 90s....house renovations when outsourced cost a fortune - just don’t buy a doer upper and agree how to approach works that crop Up and management of the property beforehand

@Jillybons

My mum has suggested buying a buy to let together. My mum is retired and has a chunk of savings (not her pension and owns her house outright) and is considering getting a BTL property. I also have a chunk of savings which she knows about, and collectively has suggested that we buy a property to let out and earn some money rather than let our savings sit in ISAs.

We’d both be legal 100% owners (50/50 each) so that’s not the bit that worries me. The part that worries me is that she is incredibly cheap! We recently had a new kitchen put in and asked my DP what it cost (he willingly told her 🤦‍♀️) and she was absolutely shocked at it. It was about an average big new kitchen cost (12k for the record including new fixtures and fittings, new floor and replaster) but to her we have ‘massively overpaid’ and she could have done it for 5k 😂

Aibu to even consider doing this with her?

There are other investment classes and assets you could own that would help those savings grow. Don't just default to the typical British "property will earn me money!!" schtick.

Sounds like my Mum!

I have spent my whole life buying the cheapest everything (even if it’s not what I want and I can afford better) and still thinking I’m paying too much based on her ideas of what things should cost. She’s stuck renovating a house in 1996!

I wouldn’t do it tbh, it will end up a battleground.

How well do you get on? Can you make decisions in a fairly amicable way, how would you deal with any difference of opinion? You need to go into this with a realistic idea of what kind of a team you would make.

I think it would be very difficult to share this kind of investment with someone, particularly if they don't have similar ideas on maintenance/spending as you do. You're effectively asking if you should be business partners with your mum.

I was thinking if there's something you could do around having a shared account for repairs/decorating etc where a % of the rental income always goes straight in there and then the account is left to (hopefully) build-up. But when it came to using the money to fund repairs would your mum still question how much 'needs' doing? Based on what you've described I think she would.

Probably better to pass on this particular opportunity and maintain the relationship with your mum.

Could she be "in charge" of stuff like that? Once she starts shopping around for prices she might realise she's being unrealistic.

But you might be better off avoiding it altogether!

Run dont walk.

It has disaster written all over it

And a PP is right - there's more that can be done with money other than leaving it in an ISA/buying property. Perhaps you and your mum would benefit from chatting to an IFA for some ideas?

I probably wouldn't go there.

It would be a shame to fall out with your mum over business/ money.

No, don't do it. From what you've said you'd clearly be constantly at loggerheads with her over every £.

Unless either of you have experience of renting out property, don't do it. Really not worth the hassle, even with the nicest tenants. Self assessment, landlord registration, insurance, gas, legionella, fire/smoke - never ending. I'm down to two properties now and would rather have spent the money and enjoyed it.

I read this as a BLT and was wondering why you started a thread about sharing a sandwich.

Clicked on this thread thinking it was going to be about sandwiches 😂.

Sorry no help OP!

Do you get on well other than this? You need to discuss the concerns.
I understand what others are saying that it's a hassle but surely there's nothing as safe as bricks and mortar to invest in (or whatever the saying is!).

Should be fine if you buy a new build or newly renovated property.

The answer is to buy a fairly modern flat in a small block which will have a newish, fully fitted kitchen and bathroom and reasonable decor. Things will go wrong during the tenancy, eg the washing machine, dishwasher, leak, etc, but not all at once, maybe not even one a year! If you let through an estate agent, they will have contractors who deal with such things. They will also thoroughly vet and manage your tenants, all for a small percentage of the rent.

I'd go for it, it's a good investment.

To be honest if you're considering a BTL property it just needs to be clean and comfortable. At the end of each tenancy you will end up replacing a lot of the fixtures and fittings.

I'm a loss adjuster and deal with many tenanted properties where the LL has taken back the property and found it to be in a poor condition. It's better to put easily replaced kitchens and flooring in than to invest too much time in interior design of the property.

Depends on the type of property you're looking at as to what is an appropriate amount to spend on a kitchen and £5k would do a lovely kitchen to a good standard in many properties. Ours is massive and cost about £7k including £2k in appliances, so £5k would be plenty for an average kitchen in a lot of places.

But it sounds like you and DM going into BTL business together is a recipe for arguments because you're going to disagree on a lot of things like this.

You're calling her cheap and she's going to be calling you extravagent. In your own homes you make your own choices, but a BTL is a business with the aim of making money, which necessitates controlling costs and it's possible to fit out a perfectly decent property with supermarket/Ikea/DIY store items.

But if you're going to treat the project as a hobby where you enjoy choosing high end fixtures and fittings, then you're likely to spend a lot of your profits unnecessarily.

Hmm I don't think she sounds cheap re the kitchen cost. She's just being a businesswoman. You would be buying a BTL as a business and all costs have to be as low as possible to meet a standard.

Would it effect your own mortgage?