Should I buy a house with my 2 adult children?

[OneChicEagle]

We 3 are living in a rented house & sharing the costs. The landlord has sold the property and we are due to leave soon. I have inherited £80k which I can use as a deposit to buy a house. But I 'd need to gift it to my adult children. I wouldn't be on the mortgage because at my age, 63 the mortgage term would be too short and repayments too big, although I'd be sharing paying the mortgage with my children. Is this a good idea?

Very bad idea. How will you ensure you have the right to live there for life? Your two adult children want to live together and with their mum for the next 20 or so years?
what if they get married or want to have children?
is their a massive drip feed like they have special needs and can never live on their own?

Bad idea. Children don’t tend to want to live with their parents past 25. If they own a house with you it would be extremely difficult for them to then buy with a future partner and also miss out on discounts and help for first time buyers. It will set them back hugely in the future and could potentially make the younger siblings homeless if the older wants to sell.

Could you create a partnership where all three of you are on the mortgage (would this extend the mortgage and lessen the repayments). You could draw up a contract with a clause that you get to live in it for the rest of your life while you pay the mortgage repayments. When you eventually die (sorry for being morbid) the property remains in their shared possession. They could either keep it as an investment property or sell it.

@Creamandtan Makes a good point. I didn’t think of that.

If there's a way to do this that protects your deposit then I'd say yes, as all three of you would be much more secure in a property you jointly own than in a private rental.

You need to be confident in your relationship though. Do you think they'd rather live alone soon? You don't want disruption in ten years' time really.

I think it's a good idea. You could sell it in the future and move somewhere cheaper.

She wouldn’t even be on the mortgage so how exactly can she sell it? With her plan she is very insecure, a child might want to marry in 10 years and partner might not want to live with MIL.
I don’t know one example where multigenerational living has worked well (I am from a country where adults often live with parents). It causes friction and resentments.

Look up Over 60s House Buying Scheme

Depends on your DC. I have 2 adult sons, who are both at home, between them they have £200,000, one I would happily live and buy with, but not the other. I think in your case, if you want to buy somewhere together, it could work money wise, your mortgage may even be cheaper than your rent.

You can legally ring fence the deposit and then set the rest up as defined shares. You would want to be on the deeds really though there are ways to grant a lifetime interest. It's possible, but it could also be problematic in the long run. I'd want to see a lawyer who specialises in property law first for some advice then them to help set up for you. Someone who deals with property law, not just conveyancing.