Watching your child climb the first step on the property ladder is a proud moment for a parent. However, given the complexity, cost and potential challenges of the process, it’s undoubtedly a stressful time, too, and you’ll want to ensure your child is investing wisely for the future.
In addition to providing emotional and perhaps financial support, simply being present and involved and sharing your experience and expertise will go a long way to helping your child on the exciting journey to owning their first home. Discover five easy ways you can lend a hand that could make all the difference.
- Explain the purchasing process
Buying a property is complicated, and the process threatens to overwhelm first-time buyers. Take your child through a step-by-step guide to buying a house with rough timelines so they know what to expect and are prepared for every stage. This should cover making an offer, hiring a solicitor, conducting an independent survey and exchanging contracts.
- Organise their finances
Saving for a significant investment can be challenging alongside handling essential expenses. Help your child organise their finances so they can grow their deposit smoothly and sensibly. This might include setting up a bank account designed for saving with good interest returns and advising how much they could safely put aside each month.
Discuss the wider costs involved in buying a house such as solicitor and surveyor charges and stamp duty to ensure they’re not caught short during the process. You should also explain how mortgages work and review options from different lenders to help them negotiate the best deal.
- Search for suitable properties
You can start searching for suitable properties once your child is financially ready to purchase. Advise them on appropriate homes for first-time buyers, such as new houses in secure developments or small flats that are easy to manage and heat, and what to prioritise in their search, such as price, location, age, amenities, and energy efficiency.
Indicate warning signs that a property could be a poor investment to avoid them being landed with a home that’s hard to maintain and could lose value over time. These include the house being on the market for a long time and a very low price for the type of property.
- Go together to viewings
The best way to ensure your child chooses a quality, well-priced property is to accompany them to viewings. You can look for any signs of structural damage such as uneven floors, sagging ceilings and cracked walls, and assess vital elements such as appliances, furnishing and exterior wear-and-tear and the neighbourhood.
Write down key questions to ask the estate agent to verify important aspects of the property. This should include why the owner is selling, the home’s market history including any recent value changes, whether the seller is in a chain and if there are local developments on the horizon. If you’re keen on the home, it’s worth asking about essential aspects of living there like council tax and energy bill costs, water pressure and if the neighbours are noisy.