Parents need not worry about helping children to buy

Posted: 19 Feb 2008 12:16:02 GMT

Parents who want to help their children onto the property ladder need not worry about inheritance tax complications.

Parents who want to help their children onto the property ladder need not worry about inheritance tax complications.

That is according to financial advisor Bestinvest, which said that there should not be any issues so long as the property is solely in the name of the child.

It means that parents can have their names on the mortgage and even have their incomes considered as part of the deal, without problems further down the line.

"The property is in the child's name. They pay the stamp duty," said Peter O'Donovan, mortgage manager at Bestinvest.

"Even when the parent uses their income to assist [with mortgage payments], the mortgage might be in three names but the property will just be in the child's name.

"So there shouldn't be any issues that way," he continued.

Abbey recently revealed that 17 per cent of first-born children receive financial help from their parents when it comes to taking the first step onto the property ladder.

© Houseladder Ltd