No matter how close you are as a family, it’s always worth getting independent legal advice. Using the solicitor who’s doing your conveyancing means the advice you get will look after your best interests and help you avoid any difficult disagreements in the future.

Consider creating a Declaration of Trust or even a Co-Habitation Agreement. This can clearly state how each party will contribute to the bills or ongoing maintenance work, helping avoid any arguments should a big bill suddenly appear.

Make sure you talk through all the different problems and scenarios you could encounter while you own the property. For example, if one one of you should die, it’s important to have thought about what will happen to their share of the property, so the other owners aren’t unexpectedly faced with having to sell their home in order to fulfil inheritance demands. Similarly, if one of the family members is in a relationship, what happens if that relationship breaks down?

3G family living often involves building an annex where the older generation live. If this is your plan, make sure you decide upfront what each person’s contribution to this is going to be and how they will get that money back when you decide to sell. This can all be made clear in a Declaration of Trust.

Consider what happens if in the future one of you wants to move out. Are there options for another owner to buy them out? As part of this you might also want to consider what notice period each owner should be given if one of you decides to sell.