Family Assistance with Purchases

You may wish to assist a loved one with the purchase of the property be this either a child, grandchild or parent. There are several factors to consider and options available to you should you be in a position to assist a family member with a property purchase.

You may not realise that in order to assist a family member with a purchase you don't have to give your money away as an outright gift. You may wish to make a gift of the deposit or a larger contribution but have you considered other factors, such as ensuring that you treat all family members equally and what would happen if your funds are being used towards purchase by your loved one and their partner?

If you gift a deposit or other sum of money it cannot be recovered if your relationship with the family member changes or their circumstances change.

You may wish to think about providing a loan to that family member rather than gifting funds. A private charge can be secured against the property that your loved one is purchasing subject to the consent of any high street lender they may be obtaining mortgage funds from. 

Loaning part of the funds for a purchase of a property rather than gifting can also offer some flexibility with your own personal estate planning.

There is also an option of being a co-owner of the property with your loved one or using a declaration of trust to record your contribution to the overall purchase price and associated costs, however, this can have an impact on the level of Stamp Duty Land Tax (England) or Land Transaction Tax (Wales) payable.

• We have been ranked as a Top Tier law firm by the Legal 500 for the last seven years. 
• You will have access to more than 30 property experts across the Myerson Property Group, including residential property, property litigation, construction, commercial property, conveyancing and development. 
• You will receive city-quality residential property legal advice at regional prices. 

• We provide a partner-led service to ensure you receive the very best legal advice and commercially minded support. 
• We have a large team which can meet your deadlines. 
• We understand that each transaction is bespoke to your circumstances and that you need support from a conveyancing lawyer who is experienced in dealing with a wide variety of clients and types of work. 
• We are a full-service law firm operating from a one-site office, which means our property teams communicate effectively and efficiently. 
• We use the latest technology to ensure that we are working as efficiently as possible, and that geographical distance is no bar to us from providing excellent client service. 

• Look at the Myerson Promise for further benefits of working with us here.