OT but need advice!

[baby_edgar]

i live in australia and while my parents rent a house my hubby and i own a townhouse. the housing market in australia is really bad at the moment. Houses are quite cheap to buy but the intrest rate in quite horrible but at the same time the rental market is so expensive. they reckon soon renters will be paying the same as people with morgages.

ok sorry this is so long but......

the house next door to my parents is for sale. it is two stories, 5 bedrooms, 2 lounge rooms, 2 bathroons, a big backyard with a pool ect. And my husband and i are thinking about buying it. but we cant manage the re-payments buy ourselves. so we were thinking about moving into the up stairs area which has a bathroom lounge room and two of the bed rooms and getting my parents (and my brother and his 4 year old daughter as they live with my parents) to move in down stairs. they would pay us rent to help with the cost of the house and half of the bills.

what do you all think about living with family? i really want to do it because it's a much bigger house, we cant afford it on our own and it means i wont have to worry about my family being kicked out of their rental property or having to pay too much in rent. but at the same time i left home 3 years ago and i dont know how i would go living with other people besides my husband.

any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks and sorry it's so long again.

[baby_edgar]

have you guys actually moved yet?

i think it's a fantastic idea but at the same time i'm worried about me and my husband and the baby when it comes will lose our personal space if you know what i mean.

how much longer do you have to go?

[martikadragoon]

I've decided to move in with my mom and brothers. (my husband and I and the baby when he gets here) We're having a written contract on exactly how much in what bills we'll be paying, and we will be paying half the rent too.

We're really hoping this works out because right now here where I live rent for my 1 bedroom apartment is $780. And they ask $500 deposit for each pet as well as 1st months rent and a move in deposit.

We're wanting a larger place to raise our baby so this was the best solution I found.

[baby_edgar]

thank you all for your advice!

i'm still thinking about it all and we have a financial adviser coming out on thursday to discuss the money part off it.

i get along well with my parents as my mum and i are more like sisters/friends then mother and daughter. i want to do it because i feel like it's a good opertunity(spelling?) but at the same time i havent lived with my family since i was 18 when me and my hubby left home.

but again thank you o everyone for their advice

[Avanaar]

It depends on a lot of factors.  Like connorethansmom said, if something happened and they moved out, could you afford to shoulder the payments and such on your own?  As much as you don't think it will happen, I would prepare for certain situations and make plans for "just in case".

Also, it depends on how well you and your family get along.  If your parents are always telling you what to do with your pregnancy and family life, etc ...then imagine what it will be like when the baby arrives!  If they're helpful but not overbearing ...and you have a wonderful relationship with them, then I say go for it!  Plus, I think it's wonderful to have family there with you when you have your baby.  Lots of helping hands!

Lastly, if you decide to get this house (which, by the way, sounds wonderful!), you and your family should sit down and talk about responsibilities (who's in charge of vacuuming/dusting/dishwashing and on what days) and privacy.  Make sure everything is clear and everyone understands!  

I hope everything works out well with whatever you decide!!

[msgorgeous]

I live with my boyfriend and his mom and dad two sisters and one of the sisters boyfriend and two kids..the age ranges from 3 to 43..9 people in a 3 bedroom house theres no privacy what so ever we all have one bathroom its hard plus your business becomes everyones buisness.it helps out his parents alot soo it helps them out its 50/50 its a hard decison, but the house you want to buy is much bigger. soo it sounds like a good idea from my point of view your helping yourselves plus your family :) do what you feel is best dont do it just because you love the house lol think about all the aspects possibilitys etc.

[therese101]

Hi, i live with my mother - in law, brother in law and grandfather in law. We moved in here when my husbands grandmother was diagnosed with cancer, to help out. We have now been living here for 18 months and have our own part of the house. I can tell you that we have no privacy at all, we have people going through our bedrooms and the only time we get to spend just the two of us is when we go out. Atm we are looking into buying as well because the housing prices are so cheap. I guess all families are different but i miss us time.

[baby_edgar]

thanks for the advice. it's good to hear the pro's and the con's.

i dont think i have to worry about them moving out. they are no way financially able to afford to buy a house of there own and the rental market as way too risky the rental prices in australia are almost getting to the point of morgage prices. my parents are both 57 so to buy a house now would be hard for them.

again thank you.

[connorethansmom]

The big question you need to ask yourself I think is... what if your parents moved out?  Could you afford the place?  Would you be willing to rent to someone else if you couldn't?  Do you know the rental laws there?  

My brother and SIL lived with us for a month.  We bought a condo and then they rented it from us.  Well, they moved out with 6 months left on their lease, because they found a house they wanted and thought we would just let them off the hook.  I really think that if you do this, you need to look at it from a business stand point too.  

Its a tough decision, but if I had to do it all over again, I would still rent to my brother.  We have another couple living in the condo now and we had to learn a lot about renting, but it is worth it.  Also think about the return on your investment (later, maybe much much later, but it will happen) if you were to buy this house.  Good luck!

[baby_edgar]

thanks for the advice i'm just really confused

[sweetangel7]

This is a really tricky scenario...we went through this with Martikadragoon a couple months ago, maybe you can scroll back and see all the posts about it.  Personally, I don't know if I could handle it...I totally get that you want to take advantage of the housing market and that you'd need to live with them in order to afford the payments however there are many things to keep in mind such as the type of agreements that are made about finances, sharing, etc.  Another thing you have to keep in mind is that you have to be prepared to assume the full repayment if for some crazy reason that your family decides that this isn't working for them.  Maybe you can try to buy a duplex/two family home.  That is what my husband and I did because his parents had their house foreclosed and had declared bankruptcy ...his father was deathly ill.  Anyways, having them next door is great but I'm not sure if I would want to live in the same four walls-even if it were a large home.