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Original poster

Buying a house for student son to share with friends. Anyone done this?

20 replies

jgbmum · 06/05/2011 14:33

Hi, has anyone done this? Please share your stories with me!

We are looking into what would be involved in buying a house for our son to live in while he's at Uni that he could share with 2/3 friends. The rent from the others, would cover the costs, iyswim.

Are we barking mad?

What sort of things do we need to consider? (Apart from the actual cost of the property Grin )

At the moment it's a bit of a long shot, as he doesn't take his A2s till next month, so we would be looking to get everything in place from summer 2012.

OP posts:
Fimbo · 06/05/2011 14:41

The people who bought our house, sold to someone who bought their house for their student son to live in. It was right across from the Uni so bus fares/fuel alone must have been a substantial saving. Their son didn't know anybody at the Uni so they were going to advertise for students to share it with him. That's all I know about it though. But I could have kissed the boys parents as it reduced our chain and enabled our sale to go ahead!

socka · 06/05/2011 14:46

Maybe not mad 5 years ago, with house prices a bit unknown then I'd not be so keen.
I know that when DD went into year 2 her friends mothers considered the same, girls all seemed quite keen, but then it obviously take time so they ended up renting.
This girl turned out to be a total nightmare, I can guarantee she would have ended up very "You must clean more as it's my house, I shouldn't pay the bills as my mum did us a favour" etc.

Of course your DS is probably lovely but you don't want his friends to feel like they're compromising on say the area they live in, or the numbers they want to share with (what if he finds group of 5 solid friends and doesn't want a 3 bed house) just to keep people happy. Equally if one of the friends dropped out, or didn't pay rent - then your DS would be very caught in the middle. My Kids have never had the same number of people living with them each year as friendship groups change and people go for years out abroad, so you'd need to know you could fill it each year.

Would he go into halls first? That only leaves you with 2 years and then you'll have to get rid of the house, or become proper landlord to other students.
Other things to consider - all the legal implications, gas checks, protecting their deposits, tax, if the house is consider a house of multiple occupency (As many student homes are) then there's some additional work needed I think.

I think it's a nice idea, but could prove tricky and I doubt it'd make you any money.

craftynclothy · 06/05/2011 14:49

The house dh lived in when he was a student was owned by his friend's parents. I believe his friend lived in halls in the first year, then his parents bought it for the following 2-3 years. He ended up renting elsewhere for a year (don't know why) but now lives in it with his wife. I think it worked out very well for them but the house is worth far more than what they paid as they got a real bargain with it (and it was in a nice area that's close to uni but isn't overly full of students iykwim)

Original poster
jgbmum · 06/05/2011 15:14

Thanks for the quick replies! Lots of interesting points to consider.

Ds would be at uni for 4 years, so I was thinking the house would be used for 3 years by him, then we have 2 others at home so they might follow him to the same uni

I suppose I'm trying to find a way to avoid paying £12k+ rent, with nothing to show for it at then end of 4 years. Would hate to do this though and then DS move into a different rented property anyway.

Any more thoughts for me?

OP posts:
onadietcokebreak · 06/05/2011 15:18

I think your ds Definately needs to be on equal footing with other students and you need to view this as an investment.

GrendelsMum · 06/05/2011 23:45

I agree that it can put your DS in an awkward position - at 18, he's suddenly a landlord to a group of 18 year olds on their first time away from home. I think you'd need to take firm steps to put him on an equal footing with the rest, including ensuring they all had deposits down, including your son, that they all paid rent, including your son, that there were landlord's inspections at appropriate timescales, etc.

geraldinetheluckygoat · 06/05/2011 23:48

oh god. have you seen what students, especially boys, can do to houses? Consider buying him a house for when he's finished uni....

MrsCholmondleyWarner · 07/05/2011 15:31

My DH's parents did this for him when he was at Uni. As far as I know, they acted as landlords so DH didn't feel as if he wasn't on an equal footing with his other housemates (i imagine they were all as grubby as each other!) Grin

Mind you, this was in the 80's and they bought it for something ridiculous like £2k and then sold it after 2 years to the lady who used to live next door (and also do the cleaning for the students) for £3k. She then rented it out.

I think for DH's parents, it was a no-brainer as the house prices were so cheap at the time (it was a back to back in a northern city)

Another friends parents also did this for his sister and then him (they both went to the same uni which was very helpful!). They converted the loft to get an extra room, changed the dining room to a 5th bedroom and just made pots of cash as it was rented out for years.

The son they stayed in the city following graduation and lived in it then (after redecorating it and converting the dining room back to a reception room). He rented out the other 2 (sometime 3 bedrooms) for his parents, who eventually gifted the house to him. I got the impression it was just a little goldmine for him in particular, but again, this is going back a few years.

I'd imagine that it you're happy to manage it and be on hand (or could easily get someone in) to do repairs etc, then it could easily make you money. But you'd probably have to actively mange it rather than leave it to your son. And prepare to pay for a deep clean and cheap paint job once a year!!

Celibin · 08/05/2011 08:53

I suppose you could place it with the Local Uni Accommodation Service:apart from anything else they will give you exhaustive info on all the rules and reg i.e you have to provide e.ga fire blanketGet their info pack even if you do not later get tenants from them as it will be a real eyeopener on all the practicalities. Check out a website called Spareroom as they have a facility for checking average rents for each local area and specialise in rooms Hope this helps

MmeBlueberry · 08/05/2011 08:56

It can be really hard on a student to be his own landlord.

Original poster
jgbmum · 08/05/2011 09:24

Thanks for all the comments. Will show them to DH.

Love the comment re teenage boys Grin

Plenty for us to ponder over. Thank you.

OP posts:
RustyBear · 08/05/2011 09:34

You might want to check the city's regulations about multi occupancy if you are buying a house to convert- some cities with high student populations are bringing in stricter regulations about multiple occupancy houses - DD is at Exeter and the council have identified several areas where they will oppose new multiple occupancy licences - mostly areas near the university. It means that rents for students in these areas are shooting up, and only richer students can afford them - the poorer ones are being driven out to the outskirts.

saltyseadog · 08/05/2011 20:28

I did this as a student. It was actually me that bought the flat, as opposed to my parents, although my DF did act as a guarantor on my (105% eek) mortgage.

The upsides were:

  • The flat increased its value by 50% in 3 years (unlikely to happen in the current market sadly)
  • I felt as though I had a 'home' rather than a student flat
  • Having to be responsible for my home, paying bills, keeping stuff clean and working - I learnt the value of money and how much running a home cost early on

The downsides were:

  • Having to sometimes be tough with my friends over rent - I HAD to get paid rent so that I could cover the mortgage. Whilst my DF was guarantor he is not the 'oh poor you, let me give you a handout to fix that' sort of parent at all.
  • Having to let out the largest room as a twin, which meant that I had to let it to people I didn't know to get it filled (the upside being that I made some life long friends this way :))
  • Having to be responsible for my home, paying bills, keeping stuff clean and working - it was blardy boring sometimes!

Good luck with whatever you decide. FWIW I'm so glad I did it, it gave me a strong advantage on the property ladder post Uni.

DoubleDegreeStudent · 09/05/2011 06:30

I think if you can justify it financially then go for it. I'm not sure I agree with your son effectively acting as landlord - make it clear to him that he is completely neutral : he will not get preferential treatment if he is the one who is drunk and pulls the radiators off the walls, he will be treated like any of his friends. If you think he is the sort of person who will make friends with cannabis farmers then it might put you in an awkward position, but if you trust his judgement and explain to them all then I think it would be helpful having a way of always getting hold of your landlord!

I (a female) lived with four boys for second year at uni : I ended up being the one who always called and reported broken things, or who waited in for handymen to come and fix stuff. In any house share there's often one person who ends up being the go between, it's only different for your son if you make it different

fertooos · 08/07/2020 00:01

The people who bought our house, sold to someone who bought their house for their student son to live in.

boredboredboredboredbored · 08/07/2020 07:03

@fertooos That's lovely but WHY resurrect a 9 year old thread to give us that useless piece of information? Confused

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 08/07/2020 09:13

My reservation is that it’s an awful lot of responsibility for a new student, who will be finding his feet, getting to grips with studies/a new area/making friends, etc.
Students are hardly renowned for being over clean and tidy (memories of dds’ student houses here!) so it could be a problem or a worry for him to keep the place as you’d (presumably) expect, if his sharers were lackadaisical or verging on the slob.

Plus of course as a first year he wouldn’t know the sharers in advance. Could work out well, but equally.....

It will depend to some extent on personality (extrovert or a loner) but personally I’d let him live in hall for the first year, while he gets settled (easier to make friends) and maybe buy a property in the area anyway, to rent to others - he could then move in after his first year if he wanted to - and by then would very likely have friends he’d be happy with as sharers.

BigSpringy · 08/07/2020 12:52

My best friend's parents did this when we weere at uni. As I recall, they made about £60k from doing so and selling a few years later.

It was back at the end of the 90s, though so property prices were on their way up, up, up. It was also a good location in a student town so sold quickly to someone else wishing to do something similar.

Their daughter lived in Halls for the first year, which allowed her the time to make some absolutely fantastic, reliable and good looking friends (ahem - me!!) so we weren't an unknown quantity. None of us defaulted or delayed on rent at any point so they never had that stress.

fertooos · 08/07/2020 21:29

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Dogsandbabies · 08/07/2020 22:26

My father did this for me. The rent from the other students I shared with covered the mortgage. After 4 years we sold the flat. He got his deposit back and he gave me all the equity which I then used as a deposit for my first house.

I am still extremely grateful about how forward thinking and generous he was.

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