Top tips if you're buying a property with a friend | moneysupermarket.com

Top tips if you're buying a property with a friend | moneysupermarket.com

Increasing numbers of first-time buyers are boosting their purchasing power by clubbing together with a friend or partner - but make sure you think carefully about the pros and cons first.

Steep house prices, tight lending restrictions and the need for a large deposit mean that, for many people, especially if they don't have any financial help from their family, buying a property alone is simply impossible.

According to research by estate agents Right Move, the number of people buying with a partner or friend is higher than ever. It says that the proportion of people buying on their own has fallen from 32.7% in the last three months of 2009, to 25.5% in the first three months of this year, while the number of people buying with a friend, partner or spouse has risen from 62.1% to 72.5% over the same period.

A spokesman for Right Move said: "Mortgage lending and the economic downturn mean that buying alone is becoming less viable. While lenders so far haven't budged in finding solutions for first-time buyers, it is the buyers themselves that are adjusting to market conditions by coupling-up in their pursuit of home ownership."

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