Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Flip

Original poster

Fairest way to buy home

21 replies

Dezzy2018 · 14/03/2018 06:57

Hello I need some help with this as I do want to make sure I'm being fair.

I'm planning to buy a flat with my sister (first time purchase for both of us). Without her I would really struggle to get a mortgage as she earns more and is in full time work whilst my work is more precarious.

I would however be putting up almost all of the deposit and hoping to make it quite substantial. I'd be hoping to live there after buying as she currently works and rents abroad. We haven't decided how we are going to split mortgage but if it came to it I'd be happy to pay that all myself every month as it would be cheaper than Renting.

Could someone please advise how best to this? We are close but also can have a volatile relationship. I suppose the other thing is it means a lot forme to buy somewhere as it will give more stability. This is true for her as well although it has always fallen down to me to sort things out.

OP posts:

Changedname3456 · 14/03/2018 08:14

Speak to a solicitor. You can ring fence the deposit in an agreement / contract between the two of you. I’d say you should either split the mortgage 50:50 or agree a lower split of the remaining equity for her (after deposit and fees) if she pays less in per month.

The one thing I would dfinitely NOT do, in your case, is enter into this without a binding agreement, particularly if she can be “volatile.” Is she the only option here - if you can afford the mortgage payments on your own anyway, could your parents not act as a guarantor?

Mary1935 · 14/03/2018 08:18

Hi that would not be fair would it - you putting down all the deposit and paying the mortgage in full - she would get half for doing nothing.
Have you contacted a mortgage advisor - look on the Martin Lewis Money Saving website as he recommends seeing someone that covers all of the market - that is not just a quote from one bank but will look at lots of banks and building societies for this. Off the top of my head there is on called London and County - they give independent advice.
If you can pay a big deposit and pay the mortgage - you may be able to get one by yourself.
If it has to be with your sister - if you put in a large deposit then you must get "a charge" on the property for this monies. This means if you do buy together then if it sells she will not be entitled to take 50% of your deposit. The solicitor when you buy would do this. It will cost a couple of hundred pounds to do this. Good luck.

TheHodgeoftheHedge · 14/03/2018 08:21

For what it's worth, I'm really not sure I would be considering buying anywhere with someone I have a "volatile" relationship with. This is one of the biggest investments you will ever make. Too much potential for trouble if you're not 100% happy/trusting of the person you're getting into it with.

Cricrichan · 14/03/2018 08:25

I don't understand why you need her if you're putting in all the deposit and paying the mortgage?

What does she think is fair?

Brummiecahhh · 14/03/2018 08:28

Speak to a broker. We had difficult circumstances on our mortgage but he managed to find us one.
I work in a precarious industry, he said I had shown over the years that I was able to find work and pay the bills.
Please speak to one, I can PM you the person we used, because it sounds like buying with sister would not be a good thing

Original poster

Dezzy2018 · 14/03/2018 10:49

Thank you so much for your advice. brummie please do PM you your broker I'd be very grateful.

I'm a freelancer and so I've always thought/heard from other colleagues that it's very hard to get a mortgage if you haven't had continuous work for years and years which I Haven't although I've always paid my rent and bills.

Unfortunately my parents can't act as guarantors as they're elderly, don't work and don't own their own home. They live in social Housing and so I feel my sister is my only option. And I do also want to make sure she can get onto the property ladder. But yes I am worried about potential fall outs.

OP posts:

Original poster

Dezzy2018 · 14/03/2018 10:52

If I paid the deposit and mortgage repayments and she effectively lent me her name/salary to help me get the mortgage what would be fair tamping of equity to give her? Or is that just too theoretical to say?

OP posts:

Original poster

Dezzy2018 · 14/03/2018 10:55

Amount not tamping!

OP posts:

somuchsnow · 14/03/2018 11:00

I don't think it's a good idea to buy with your sister. Have you had an appointment with a mortgage broker to see if you can purchase alone? Definitely an option worth exploring first.

Jamboree05 · 14/03/2018 11:00

I'm a freelancer and when I got my mortgage, the mortgage company were more difficult with me but only so far as they wanted to see a certain number of years on the books- if you've got years of accounts showing you have a decent income, you'll be fine.

appleblossomtree · 14/03/2018 11:03

It sounds like a terrible idea to me. Have thou considered getting a full time job for a few months so you can show a regular income?

newmumwithquestions · 14/03/2018 11:11

You might find that you can get a mortgage on your own.

If you’re putting in a big deposit then it’s not much risk for the mortgage lender. But a mainstream lender may not offer you a mortgage (and it could be at a higher interest rate).
You will still have to pass affordability criteria but if you’ve been freelancing for a while then the peaks and troughs of a business account should balance out.

Even if you decide to buy with your sister then I’d go down the route of looking at what options are open to you as a sole purchaser. That should help you decide what she should get out of it for giving you her ‘name/salary’ for the mortgage application. At the moment it sounds like you could do this on your own.

nauticant · 14/03/2018 11:54

Buying with you sister with her volatile nature sounds like a terrible idea.

Your plan looks like you paying for everything with your sister simply contributing her signature. But even then, what happens if she views the flat as half hers? What happens if she moves back from abroad and expects it to be her full-time home? Although it's useful to have something written up by a solicitor, it doesn't actually solve the problem of you opening the door to find her standing there with with overstuffed suitcases and overflowing entitlement.

I think you should contact as many mortgage companies and brokers as you can to make absolutely sure that getting a mortgage to buy something suitable solely for yourself in your name is not possible.

Do you think your sister would go along with this so that she has a property interest in her home country? If so, this is the wrong way to go about it.

Cricrichan · 14/03/2018 11:57

She could always have a buy to let property and that way you'd end up with a props each.

Original poster

Dezzy2018 · 14/03/2018 12:29

Yes, I do see what you're all saying. I just also worry about her and if she doesn't get anything. I feel like I will have to help her too. the plan would be to get one place now that I could live in and I think I would then look to get another that she could have to rent out whilst she's away and move back into when she's here. She has always helped me out in the past and is good hearted so I don't want to leave her high and dry, and also I feel like I might/do need her help - but it's just that I want to mitigate any future problems and also make sure I'm being fair.

OP posts:

nauticant · 14/03/2018 14:06

Ideally you would sort yourself out and she would sort herself out. Assuming that you can get a mortgage for yourself (and please think in terms of getting a place that would be suitable for you and not something that also needs to be suitable for her) what's to stop her doing the same for herself? Obviously distance is a factor but how many people get to move abroad and have someone back in the home country effectively setting up and running a parallel life for them?

I'm getting the impression that the dynamic is for you to organise the nuisance non-job, non-fun parts of her life. If this is right, is there any reason for this dynamic?

ChickenMom · 14/03/2018 14:21

Why do you feel that you need to organise a property for her? I’ve got a sister and I wouldn’t do that. If she’s working and earning then she’s quite capable of sorting herself out. She may never ever move back. Also, if you go ahead you need to have an agreement what happens if either of you meet someone? What happens if you decide you want to live with a partner? If it was me, I’d look at getting somewhere on my own first before considering going in with her

Original poster

Dezzy2018 · 14/03/2018 14:47

Ok I will have a look at doing it alone. If it turns out I can't get a mortgage - trying to buy in London and whilst my deposit is good prices are stupidly high - and I do need her to get a mortgage what do you advise is the fairest way to split it?

OP posts:

nauticant · 14/03/2018 15:00

If you exhaust the possibilities of getting a mortgage yourself, and are committed to buying a flat with your sister, then take legal advice. It could save you a fortune and no end of hassle in the future.

You'll need to ring-fence your deposit as equity, work out whether there's a way in which she can build up equity herself by repayments of the capital (but in an intelligent way, none of this your payments meet the interest repayments while hers pays off the capital), and have an agreement in place about how ownership of the flat depends on the proportions of equity held. You'll need to work out any rights of abode she might have. Also, as a co-owner, what happens if your circumstances were to change and that didn't suit her and she said she wouldn't permit it?

nauticant · 14/03/2018 15:02

Also, as a co-owner, what happens if your circumstances were to change and you decided to sell but that didn't suit her and she said she wouldn't permit it?

lostlemon · 14/03/2018 15:05

Agree with other people re thinking about circumstances changing. A long time ago I purchased a house with my sister, she then met someone and wanted to move out however we were in negative equity so couldn't sell. I was basically left paying the mortgage and had to get a lodger.

Another thing to consider is that currently you will get first time buyers relief but obviously you only get this once. I would try and buy on your own if you can.

Flip