Buying an apartment in Edinburgh for DS

[EdinburghApartment]

DS will start a graduate role in Edinburgh in September. In the meantime, he is searching for somewhere to live. Rent is quite expensive and suitable rentals are difficult to find. There is a lot more choice of property to purchase than rent.

DH and I inherited £300,000 in recent months. Both of us have savings, with the prospect of good pensions, etc. We are therefore considering buying a property in Edinburgh for DS to live in.

I presume it makes more sense to buy the apartment in DS's name?

We intend leaving the money to DS anyway. Does it make more sense to give him the money now. Or should we give him a sizeable deposit and see if he can take out a mortgage for the rest. We are looking at the tax implications.

Is there a good reason to keep the apartment in our own names.

If second property for you guys then you will have to pay additional LBTT which can be quite a lot. So I think best to put in his name. Shouldn't cost you the whole £300k so you will still have some funds. What would be your worry about putting it in his name? I would buy for my DS if I had the money. I guess he loses first time buyer status on next purchase but still seems like a great deal for him

If second property for you guys then you will have to pay additional LBTT which can be quite a lot. So I think best to put in his name. Shouldn't cost you the whole £300k so you will still have some funds. What would be your worry about putting it in his name? I would buy for my DS if I had the money. I guess he loses first time buyer status on next purchase but still seems like a great deal for him

@Maryamlouise, this is my thinking as well.

DS is very sensible and we don't have any concerns about putting it in his name. It's my inheritance but I would like to pass it on to DS. DH previously ploughed a similar inheritance into our family home.

Losing first time buyer status is one drawback.

Thank you so much for replying.

I’m planning to do this for my kids. If you give your son the money to buy the flat in his name, he’ll have FTB status for that purchase.

My parents did this for me, in Edinburgh also. Only difference is they bought the flat cash in my name, and I paid them back with interest. We agreed a proper loan agreement and interest rate etc.
seeing the spreadsheet calculations showed me how I could pay it off early if I chose to, and I did just that. It taught me how compound interest works and how much extra capital payments help, but I also appreciate that it would have been a lot harder without their help.
Does DS want to buy a flat?

I don't think DS had given any thought to buying. However, he can see that there are more apartments available to buy than to rent and is certainly happier with the wider choice.

I'm delighted to hear that it worked out well for you, @bertieb7.