Should You Finance Your Child’s Mortgage?
Although the housing market has recently shown signs of a slight improvement, the overall landscape remains as stagnant and as dismal as it’s been for the past few years. There are far more sellers than buyers. Foreclosures are commonplace. Home values continue to fluctuate, especially in areas that were once at the forefront of the boom.
In response to the housing crisis, lenders have corrected their mistakes of the last decade by making it increasingly difficult to qualify for a mortgage at an appealing rate, as anyone trying to learn about current mortgage interest rates is probably aware. People with poor credit ratings and no history of home ownership, once able to get competitive mortgages, are now being saddled with rates far above the low values that many homeowners are enjoying. While this practice is understandable, it puts incredible strain on one innocent party: the 30-year-old first-time home buyer, a demographic that is needed for the housing market to revitalize.
Many first-time buyers in this situation turn to their parents for help. Instead of paying off their mortgage at a rate of 5 percent, they figure, they can have their parents take out a mortgage at a lower rate, and then pay them back at 4.5 percent. It seems as though many parents are on board with this plan: according to the National Association of Realtors, 9 percent of first-time buyers received a loan from a family member in 2010 and 27 percent received a gift. These numbers are both up considerably from previous years.
So what should you do if your grown child comes to you, asking for help with the mortgage? Here are a few considerations:
Can It Make For A Good Investment?
If you’re wary of the stock market and are dismissive of the low rates paid by CDs, financing a family member’s mortgage can be a much more profitable investment – even if you do it purely as a favor. On the other hand, though, you may not want to tie up all your investments into one house. If your savings are more moderate, a diversified investment approach may make for a smarter one.
How Much Will It Matter?
Since your primary objective would be to help your child, not to make money, it’s probably a good idea to consider exactly how essential your assistance is in the first place. Is your child merely looking for a better deal, or is your involvement going to make or break the home-buying process? Does your son or daughter have a family and a need for immediate space, or are they perfectly capable of renting for the time being? These individual considerations should definitely help you determine how much your assistance matters – and, consequently, whether you should feel compelled to help out.
Is There A Chance Your Child Defaults?
If there is any chance at all that your child will default, you should probably avoid financing his mortgage. Not only would a default stand to create difficult familial tensions, but unlike a bank, you likely do not have the ability to absorb the loss that a default entails. Therefore, you should only enter into this agreement if you are completely positive that this situation will not arise.
Hopefully these questions can help you decide whether to finance your child’s mortgage, if you find yourself in a position to do so. For many young adults, such assistance can be incredibly beneficial in an adverse housing market; but, as always, you should not provide this help without carefully considering its reasons and ramifications.