Helping our son get on the property ladder

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Mebyon

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I've been trudging through the past posts as I'm sure that this question must have been asked before, but with no luck!

We live in Portugal and own a small house in Basingstoke as well. Currently we get the rent from the UK house to supplement our pensions. There are no mortgages outstanding on either house.

Plan A. Sell the UK house and lend our son the money to buy a house. He could pay us back just like paying the rent that he currently has.

Plan B. Sell the UK house and buy a house near where he wants to live. Same as plan A but we retain ownership of the house.

Plan C. Allow him to use our house as collateral for buying a house off his own bat.

Plan D. Leave him to sort his own life out!

We have absolutely no access to a lawyer out here who can advise us on the best way to move forward. Any views, opinions, advice would be most welcome as would alternative plans E through Z!

Chris
 
I take it you are English living in portugal. This is an Irish site.
All the same I think you should opt for D. Best to give him all the advice possible and leave him at it.
 
Thanks both. Yep, Portugal it is and I hadn't worked out the fact that this is an Irish site until I saw the plea for a nanny in Cork!

However, the best neighbour and the best advice I've ever had came from a gentleman called Jim O'Connor and my mother came from County Kerry so I felt quite at home.

Plan D is a bit tough on the lad. I think it's probably best if we sit down with a UK lawyer on our next trip back. I would have liked to make some sort of start on the project before the autumn but we don't move much in the summer months. (At all!)

Thanks again.

Chris
 
would there be any reasons in the future where you might need to return to the UK ? - a few come to my mind.
1. medical reasons - use of NHS
2. if one of you were to die (sorry but just realistic) - the remaining partner may prefer to return to the UK home if no family in portugal
3. it is not a good time to sell - prices are down
4. unless you plan to blow the money on something, why sell anyway, nice steady bit of income.
 
Can I ask what age bracket is your son in?
What is his situation - single, dating, married?
Is he educated, in college, working or perhaps in some other set up?
Can he afford to buy a place himself with a mortgage?
Why the need to help him out? - is it out of guilt of the fact you have moved abroad and are not around for him in person?
 
I'd say plan D as well .... until I hear the answers you give to niceoneted.

Your property is your pension .... I'd be slow to part with it.

Your son has potential to earn a wage .... your wage is your property.

Will the property to him .... let him do what he wishes with it then.
 
Coo! Lots of replies!

OK the position.

We're a tad old and started our family rather late. Robin, for such is his name, has just finished his Post Graduate Cert of Education and will be starting as a new science teacher in September. Pay-scales for new teachers are abysmal. He's getting married next year. We offered him £20K but that just isn't enough for a mortgage lender and there ain't no more in the bucket so we can't increase our offer. He's paying around £800 a month for his flat but that's just lost money. (Actually we're getting about the same amount for our little house.)

If I could find a way for him to pay me the £800 rent and wind up owning the house/flat then we would both be in exactly the same situation we are in now but he'd be paying towards his own ownership.

Heh. You're right. We couldn't persuade the kids to leave home so, the moment they went off to university, we poked off to Portugal! Actually they knew it was coming as we'd bought our ruin out here about seven years before. The kids helped get the place habitable and now we have a place that they can come out to visit. Seven bedrooms, swimming pool (33ºC today) and right out in the country. As an aside, we are thinking about returning to the expense and dreariness of the UK but I doubt we would want to live in Basingstoke again so that's a different 'problem'.

To answer Mosstown's questions:
1. Medical care out here is better than the UK, (at the moment). I had a heart operation four weeks ago; I waited just ten days between being diagnosed and the operation itself. (And it was free, the cost to my local hospital was over €5,000 I was told.)
2. With my dicky ticker that's likely to be me. My missus has said that she'd sell here and buy a small flat somewhere near the grandchildren. But our plan to help Robin would have no impact on that decision.
3. But it's a good time to buy!
4. Income should be the same?

Phew, that's far too long an answer, Sorry to rattle on.

Chris
 
There is an old saying that you only owe your children 2 things in life;

Good teeth
A good education
 
But they expect so much more;

Free taxi service
Continuous money box
Instant first aid
Hugs
...
 
Personally .... I'd still hold on to the property.

€20k is a generous offer ....

He's getting married next year and it will go a long way to setting him up. Himself and his future good wife need to experience the ups and downs of life together.

They have the potential to bring two salaries.

Don't sell your pension off. You don't have the potential to replace it.
 
PaddyBloggit said:
Personally .... I'd still hold on to the property.

€20k is a generous offer ....

He's getting married next year and it will go a long way to setting him up. Himself and his future good wife need to experience the ups and downs of life together.

They have the potential to bring two salaries.

Don't sell your pension off. You don't have the potential to replace it.
Click to expand...
+1.
Your son has a qualification and a job and he also has the means to rent a place until he has the additional money needed to buy a house of his own. Your 20k is a very generous offer that will really help him along.
 
I would agree with Plan D. Lots of parent help out with the deposit for a house, as you are doing, but I don't think anymore should be expected of you.
 
This.

Your son will be fine. Doing more for him than you are already proposing to will do him no service at all.
 
Mebyon,

You have given your son a great start in life, he has a professional career ahead of him and while his salary may not be wonderful he will be in line for increases in salary as he gains experience at teaching.

A lump sum of 20,000 is a really nice boost towards his saving pot and the fact he will have to save regular to bring this up to the amount he will need for a deposit will demonstrate for the bank his ability to repay a mortgage for when the time comes.

Stand back and let him take over from here, you have done a really good job and should be relaxing and enjoying you own time now.

Best wishes,

Priscilla.
 
Hi there,
He is a very lucky son to have you willing to do this for him! I would agree with all other posters to go with Plan D... Your son is young and stating out in life and will be able to earn money, as he becomes more profficient in his job he will earn more.

You and your partner on the other hand are not getting any younger and well you do need to look after yourselves and make sure you have money. Mr. Bears dad was a tad foolish with money a few years ago and now he stands as an 80 year old and completely broke. It is really hard for him now.. There is nothing worse than being poor when you are old.

Please please hang on to your own property, your son will be at a stage where he can buy his own place in a few years.

My 2 cents...
P..
 
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