You may have heard about our new Bank of Mum and Dad (BoMaD) research on the radio, read about it in the news or seen it on BBC Breakfast. To understand how it relates to the advice you give your clients we’ve summarised the key points for you on our Adviser Centre. An extract is below:
‘If your clients are aged 50-plus and have children, then the UK’s strongest “Challenger Bank” is probably headquartered in their living room. If on the other hand, the client sitting opposite you is under forty and trying to buy their first home, their “bank managers” may well include their parents or even grandparents.
Legal & General’s research on the “Bank of Mum and Dad”, published today in conjunction with the Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr), underscores the huge role of families in an over-priced, under-supplied housing market.
A quarter of all homeowners we surveyed called on family or friends when buying their current home. Among the under 35s that number rises to 57%. Advisers need to be highly sensitive to the role of the family unit when it comes to property sales and purchases – we are more and more dependent as a society on the older generation to support our housing dreams, and that has the potential to lead to some tough conversations. The role of the intermediary here can be key, supporting and guiding parents who want to help their kids while also looking at the issues from the ‘borrower’s’ perspective, who have their heart set on that dream home.’
