Parents ‘need advice before large financial commitments’

Karen Barrett of unbiased.co.uk commented on findings that 76 per cent of parents who lent money to children to buy homes do not expect to see it repaid.

“Even though our research shows parents are willing to help their children with this significant financial burden, the need for advice when making such a great financial commitment is clear,” Ms Barrett said.

“Parents need to ensure they can afford to make a contribution and consider how is best to raise the money.”

According to his firm’s study, an eighth of parents had loaned at least £20,000 to children in financial support, with four million couples having admitted to helping offspring with money.

However, while the funding for this can come from savings, not everyone has the finances to do this and Ms Barrett urged people to consider debt advice to help manage such loans or donations.