Buyer advice: Is buying from your parents a good idea?

As the trend towards multigenerational living gains ground, young adults are now not only moving back in with their parents but increasingly, buying the homes they grew up in from their parents’, with the intention of also raising their own families there.

This is consistent with the fact that many first-time buyers are now in their mid-30s and seeing their parents get close to retirement just as they prepare to settle down.
However, buying your childhood home is not a decision that should be taken for emotional or sentimental reasons, or executed hastily. You need to think about it very carefully, decide if it is really the home you want, and seek professional advice from an experienced estate agent, a reputable mortgage originator and your accountant or tax attorney before you sign an offer to purchase.

For example, you need to consider the location, just as you would when looking at any other property. Is it close enough to work and does it offer reliable public transport? Does it have all the shops, schools and other amenities that you need? Is it safe, or would it perhaps be better if you all moved to another home in a more secure area or development?”

In addition, you need to evaluate the condition of the property itself. The fact that your parents are senior citizens may mean that there are some “deferred maintenance” issues, and in order to avoid the possibility of family disputes later, you will need to identify these and reach agreement about who will do the work and who will pay for any repairs that may be needed - before you buy.
Also just as with any other property you might consider buying, you will need to keep the potential resale value in mind. For example, if updates or alterations are needed to make the house work for your extended family, you will need to be careful not to overcapitalise and not to limit the appeal of the property for future buyers.

You will of course also need to comply with local building by-laws and, if the house is in a security estate, you might also need to get the approval of the Home Owners’ Association before you can make any changes.

At the same time, you will have to establish whether you can afford the property and how you will finance the purchase. The biggest obstacle for most first-time buyers is the deposit, and your parents may be willing to help you with that, but then you must agree on how you are going to pay it back – especially if the loan came out of their retirement funds.

Similarly, you will need to agree on a fair purchase price, bearing in mind that if your parents set price that is too far below market value in an attempt to help you qualify for a loan, the SA Revenue Service could view the transaction as an attempt to avoid paying transfer duty.

You will also need to qualify for a home loan in the usual way, as the banks can’t make any allowances for the fact that it’s your parents’ home you are buying. In other words, you will need a good credit record, steady employment and enough discretionary income to afford the monthly bond repayments.

Then finally – and perhaps most importantly – you should think carefully about whether everyone in the extended family you are creating will get along, find out how any other members of your family who live elsewhere feel about the arrangement and try to plan ahead for any change in your circumstances.

An ageing parent may reach a stage where they need more intensive healthcare than you can provide at home, for example, or someone who is contributing to the bond instalment may lose a job, and it would certainly be helpful at that stage to have a written agreement in place that spells out what will happen in such cases.