Mortgage with stranger is risky, says IFA

Entering into a mortgage with somebody without knowing them well first is a risky business, according to one independent financial advisor.

Some Brits who are near enough strangers, often graduates, acquire mortgages together as a short cut to stepping onto the property ladder.

Bestinvest has advised against this, pointing out that there are a lot of factors which make such a move unwise.

The firm’s mortgage manager Peter O’Donovan commented: "There is always a possibility that people will fall out, or that someone’s circumstances change before the other.

"If you buy a house with someone and you don’t know their credit record, that’s even worse because you are jointly and solely liable for that mortgage.

"If the other person stops paying you have to continue."

Research conducted by Scottish Widows in July 2007 found that 63 per cent of graduates buy a house with a partner.