To help a friend with their house purchase?

[DoNoTakeNo]

He is likely to be divorcing in the next few months & doesn't have the finances available to buy the family home (no kids involved) to which he is really emotionally attached.

I believe he is short by around £100k which DH & I are lucky enough to have.

WIBU to help him out?
And would a straight loan be better than jointly buying the house with him? FWIW he is self employed in a steady business & we've known him for over a decade.
I want to help him, he is genuinely a good man, but I'm not prepared to risk my kids inheritance!

(Sorry I don't know how to enable voting from the app.)

If she has that much money to potentially lose, I doubt that she need reassurance…

No.

Absolutely no chance.

You never ever lend anything you can’t afford to lose.

No, most definitely not. Even if it was a tenth of that amount I wouldn't do it.

Have loaned money before and it hasn't ended well.

What if you suddenly need the money back and it's tied up in his property?

My gut reaction would be no bloody way!

Unless £100k is just pocket money to you...

Do it if you can afford to lose it

Don't do this. Seriously. Don't.

Can't believe you're even considering it, it's family money that you could easily lose!

Personally I would say no but if you do help out, have it drawn up as a % of the property and he buys you out when affordable. I would stipulate in agreement he will be solely responsible for maintaining the property.

You must be bloody joking!!

Only ever lend money that you are willing to lose. Havent you read the threads on here about friend loans that have gone wrong.

You are demonstrating financial lunacy @DoNoTakeNo

Maybe the OP’s friend is a bit nicer than all the men you know then? Bit of a sweeping generalisation…

but, no, you shouldn’t give him £100k, OP

Thats way too much money. What if he suddenly got an injury and couldnt work or similar. Too much money and too risky.

And the decision is............ ??? Hope it's NO!

a friend of mine needed a bridging loan to cover the space between selling her house and buying a new one during the divorce. I’d known her forever + wrote up a basic contract stating what it was - lent her about 80k and had it back in my bank account 12 weeks later.

only you know your friend + your relationship. Be careful - but it’s not necessarily a horrible plan

My dad lent his life long best friend £80k over 30 years ago and they got the deeds to a property as collateral and some legal agreement. Then there was a big fall out and for 30 years they’ve had court cases on and off and his ‘Mate’ paid interest only each year. My dad’s in his 80s now and the whole thing was only resolved and paid off last year.

do not mix business/money and friends or family.

Brave. (Or bonkers!) I would NEVER do this, unless I could afford to lose the money.

^ 100% this ^ Don’t do it, you will definitely regret it.

Absolute madness to even consider this. You are risking an enormous amount of money. None of us has a crystal ball - you have no idea what’s around the corner that might require you to access savings for some eventuality and you could have tied it all up in this property or worse, lost out completely.

Money corrupts and it ruins friendships and lives.

Don't do it. If you could afford to assume you'll never get it back, go for it but otherwise no.

I agree with this completely.

There are so many different things to consider here. Does he know you are considering loaning this to him? I would never allow a good friend to do this for me, and risk the friendship.

What if he doesn’t pay one month? Two? Three? Will you feel comfortable asking for payments if not made on time? Or at all?

Please don’t do this. Keep yours and your children’s future safe (& I say this as someone who doesn’t have a single penny of savings sadly)

He wants to buy the home because he’s emotionally attached not because there are kids that need it.

This is madness. He needs to get a grip and buy within his price range.

Go give yourself a talking to….. this is a stupid reason to give someone £100k! (but you do sound very kind).

Hurrah! Common sense prevails!

No. It might seem generous but you will be giving him an obligation that will weigh you both down and affect your relationship. It's a step too far over the boundary.

WTF

Don't do it.

Don't do it, but if you decide to go ahead make sure you get good legal advice about a contract.

What was your husband saying about giving him the £100k? Glad you decided not to give. It took me a few years to get £3k back