Find out how Gransnetters helped their DC get on the property ladder

I helped my daughter with a substantial amount of money after her divorce. This meant that she was able to afford a decent home for herself and young children. I had downsized a few years previously so had the money as savings. She was reluctant at first but accepted that it would come to her in due course so why not now when she needed it. She had her mortgage with a Bank and I was required to sign a document to say that this was a gift. Simples...

I gave my daughter my first house I ever bought as she wanted to live in that area but couldn’t afford to and I moved to the bungalow I bought with my late husband am glad I could help as the house is perfect for her and my grandchildren and it made sense for it to stay in the family

I have considered helping since they started to talk about careers. I've always placed a great deal on being sensible with your money and being happy rather than you driven by money. I hope one day I might be able to help in practical ways if financial means are not a possibility and they are able to go down the buying a property route.

When daughter was a student @uni. we helped her @ then fiance with deposit for first property. When son split from long-term partner suddenly late husband was unwell & just helped out with buying new cooker as he had to start from scratch with hardly nothing

We gave our dd £5000 towards the deposit of her first house 18 months ago, she is single so it would of taken her longer to get her deposit together if married or with a partner. It was a gift. (I remember my father in law giving us money towards furniture when we bought our first place, just as well as I think we would of slept on the floor! ) The money we gave her might not sound a lot but it made a big difference to her.

From the get-go I've encouraged them as soon as they were earning to have a splurge with the first pay packet then save HARD to get themselves something cheap and rent it out to someone. With the mortgage being met, they then concentrate on a larger deposit (to include sale of the rental property in a couple of years when it's accrued more value). It works!

We, after much discussion and research, took the plunge and a sizeable chunk of equity out of our home this summer to enable us to purchase a house for one of our daughters to live in. She has 3 children and is separated from her husband and not particularly happy in the flat we had found for her to rent when the little family moved right across the country to be near us and the offer of help with childcare. As said childcare, schools, place of employment and suitability of accommodation, parking and a garden space all had to be factored in to the equation it took a little while but she was lucky enough to find a place we could ´afford´ in a relatively convenient location.
Once purchased the house was practically ´gutted´ and a great team of tradesmen swarmed all over it to make it habitable. Still not completed (painting is ongoing but it keeps OH occupied if sometimes exhausted) they have been living there for 1/2 a school term now and are quite content.
A new Will has to be written to ensure that, in the event of our demise, she/they become the owners of this house without unduly depriving her siblings of their ´shares´.
This was definitely not on our list of ´to do´s´ but seemed to to be the best option available under the circumstances. The plan is to repay the equity taken under the´lifetime mortgage´ system so in 15 years we may, once more, be mortgage free. Fingers crossed.

We helped two of our children with deposits and are preparing to help a third. One deposit has already been repaid and the second will be repaid within the next two or three years.

We live in the south of England and our children have no hope of buying their own home, as the property is so expensive, unless they have very highly paid jobs or inherit some money. Consequently they have to live at home with their partners trying desperately to save a deposit. It is so sad because if they lived in the north of the country this would not be such a problem.

I too was never in a position to help my son & daughter in law with a home. But son was left a small amount of £ by a grandparent, they used that to rent first home & pay a year in advance. Then son’s Mother-in-law gave them about £25 K towards buying a home. They struggled to get a suitable place, as both disabled since birth, dil a wheelchair user.

I have always been good with money but not had that much.. When my two sons in their twenties decided to buy a house between them we did not give money. What we did was give them most of our household goods ie cooker etc and replaced our own. Also bedding etc. I also picked up the odd bargain for them. They were given a few things from friends. Being good with money certainly rubbed off as they have substantial houses each which were paid off in there forties. They bought their joint house in the late eighties then went separate ways.

when I was younger I brought my mums home with her she was on benefits and not allowed to buy a home. I was a model so was doing ok. She later moved in with my sister so I rented the home out and brought my self a small flat. That meant when I met my 2nd husband I already had two homes so I was able to help my two girls. but things have changed and its not so easy and I certainly couldnt help them now my husband died and I work full time but its a struggle I would love to help my grandkids but i know i never will be able to.

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Gave DS a substantial amount of money to buy a house. He then found a girl friend and sold and moved with her (within 6 months). Soon forgot , girlfriend got a good deal

I have only one child and have left everything I have to my child but I am not in position to help at the moment

Over a decade ago I was lucky enough to inherit a quarter share of the proceeds of the sale of my mother’s small house. I had the legacy diverted to my children and it allowed each of them with a little more help from my savings to put down a deposit on a small flat and two of them have gone on to buy a house. The third is letting her flat and living with me to save for a house so I have been fortunate enough to have been able to help them all a great deal.
Our first flat cost £6K and first house 24K so we were the lucky generation. I feel sad for youngsters today.

I gifted the deposit to my dd and her dp for their house, to get her onto the property ladder. I had to sign a letter saying the money was a gift and I would have no claim on their house or expect the money back (or words to that effect).
I also provided the deposit for the house my son lives in, though we bought it as joint owners, so house is legally half mine and half his.
Both deposits were from the inheritance I received when my parents died.

My younger son was doing medicine at uni and was living in the most damp,dirty squalid digs! When my father died we used some of my inheritance to buy him a decent house as we knew that he would be there for some time!
We consulted a solicitor and I stood as guarantor for the mortgage. We helped decorate and furnish the house and he let out 3 rooms to friends so was able to pay the mortgage.
We then gave the same amount of money to our eldest son who later used it towards a house of his own.
I’m so glad that we gave them a good start as now that we are retired and living on a reduced income they are in a position to treat us to holidays etc!

We have been lucky enough to help all three of our children get onto the housing ladder. There was absolutely no way that they could have saved for a deposit as well as paying rent. They all work terribly hard, but the house prices just keep going up and up and we wanted to help them whilst they could still afford a mortgage.
Neither myself or my husband’s parents were ever in a position to help us, so we feel privileged that we could help our own children. We would much rather give them the money now rather than they wait until we die.

We lent our elder daughter & son-in-law the deposit on a flat after they'd rented for many years. They both worked hard & lived frugally but could never save enough. They bought a lovely little period home which they've done up themselves & paid us back every penny within four years, so pleased we did it for them.

We gave our daughter the money for her deposit five years ago. The mortgage is now much less than the comparative rental and the house has increased in value. This was a win win for both parties as when the wedding came around the young couple paid for it themselves and we did not have to get involved. The conversation was always on the agenda and our daughter only had to choose a house.

gave my daughter money towards her first flat.

My daughter became too ill to work or study at 18 and very ill indeed and bedridden at 21. I myself had had to take early retirement four years previously when I too became chronically ill. We lived together with my husband, her father, in our small house in London while he supported us as a teacher. Because of the huge increase in value of homes in London, I was very concerned that on our death she would lose her home because it would be subject to inheritance tax. There is really no recognition of the plight of people in our position. We were able to save money as many of the things people spend it on, holidays, meals out, entertainment, clothes and so on were not things we could do or had need of anyway. However I don’t think we could ever have saved enough money for her to pay inheritance tax without selling the house. She couldn’t even come downstairs, let alone sell and buy a house. My husband eventually retired, my daughter though still ill became well enough to be able to spend some of the day out of bed and occasionally go outdoors. We were able to leave London for Scotland. We were able to buy our daughter a flat here out of our savings as property is cheaper. and she is able to live independently from us with some help as a disabled person. It is such a relief. We sold our house in London and because it had increased so much in value we were able to buy ourselves a place to live here and have money left over. We have been very fortunate in these respects. Above all it has been wonderful to see my daughter get a small amount of life back. My heart goes out to parents of sick sons and daughters who have no hope of improvement and to people who by chance don’t own a house in a place where property values increase or who are not free to move to a cheaper area or are living in rented accommodation with all the difficulties that involves for sick people. I know we are lucky.

Yes we helped our son buy his flat by lending him £22000 which he added to his savings. He pays us back £200 a month and only £7000 to go now. Now we are retired we like the extra £100 a month each to top up our income. We should say let it go now as he has a new baby but that would mean giving the same amount to our daughter. We couldn't afford to give him the money as not that comfortable in our retirement.

I helped my middle son aged 28 buy his first house in 2014. I paid the house purchase legal fees and lent him half the cost of his house. My mother gave the other half in her inheritance planning (as she did to my oldest son and has made provision to do so for my daughter). I used my pension tax-free sum for this. I did not take legal advice but am interested in finance and read a lot around this subject. I initiated the conversation as I was aware that he was looking for somewhere to buy. It has worked well and I would do the same for my daughter if she wanted. My son has an interest free loan and is paying us back regularly.