25-08 - Flipbook - Page 76
Mi n i str i es
Francesca and Graeme said they could not have afforded a home in London if they had not bought with friends
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Credit scores
Mr French said it was important to be "really transparent" about that one bad credit score or
it could bring down the mortgage application.
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Other costs
Insurance and stamp duty will need paying. Having a plan and an agreement in place will
help to make sure things go smoothly.
Friends Mirko, 37, and Lorenzo, 30, moved from Italy to London more than 10 years ago to
work in casinos.
After nine years, realising they had spent £160,000 on rent between them, they pooled their
salaries and bought a two-bedroom flat in Woolwich for £450,000 with a deposit of £90,000.
"We thought... why, instead of paying rent, don't we pay a mortgage?," Mirko says. "We've
known each other so long, we trust each other. We can do that."
He says the bank told them it was more likely to give a mortgage to friends because
"couples are more likely to split up".
"The bond you can have with a friend is bigger than a bond you can have in a relationship,"
Mirko says.
Lorenzo adds that "with the money of a two-bedroom flat in London, you can buy a villa
with a swimming pool" in big Italian cities like Rome and Milan, and their parents are proud
of what they have achieved because they know how expensive London is.
Mirko says he would recommend the set-up for "no more than two people" because it is difficult to find friends who think in the same way, but "if you find the right person, I think it's the
right solution".
