[Closed] What sort of housing advice do I need?

22! I was piloting a banana boat in Ibiza at your age.
Find an IFA on recommendation.

She can only get benefits as the sole buyer. You may be able to get a mortgage with her salary solo, but I would assume it's unlikely

Joint borrowers sole proprietor is what you need.

Thanks guys!

Yes I have looked at the Joint borrowers, sole proprietor thing but it looks like I wouldn’t be able to live in the house with her

I presume you are to rent out the original property? Personal experience is that landlord'ing and maintaining two properties is both hard work and not as lucrative as others seem to think. I am currently selling up second property.

Have you considered selling first property and investing elsewhere instead?

If it's your primary residence is it not avoidable.

Do you really want/need to keep the second house- have you done the numbers on returns for letting under the current regime (assuming that letting is the intention)? Financially you might be better off cashing in..

If you can't or don't want to do the legwork of setting up a spreadsheet with the tax implications of you owning two properties, versus selling your property (either as part of a chain or sell before you buy as a couple), then you need an accountant. Not a financial advisor, a Chartered Accountant.

From your choice of language I assume you aren't married, either way, it is most sensible to protect both of you to purchase jointly, in the mortgage and on the legal paperwork either as joint tenants or tenants in common. Understand and agree which because it is important in the unfortunate circumstances if one of you dies or one of you wants to leave and sell up.

Just my opinion, but I suspect it will be infinitely better for your mental health and wellbeing, and quite possibly also financially, to sell your current property before purchasing your next (joint) and investing the money somewhere more affordable (tax wise at least - by retaining your current main residence but moving in to the joint property you are paying the second home Stamp Duty Land Tax at an additional rate on the more expensive property, plus when you do come to sell the first property you'll pay Capital Gains Tax - this all assuming England. And if you are willing to put the finances into your new second property you'll pay the banks far less interest through the mortgage, which then allows you to make a greater asset in the long-term, but you need a spreadsheet to work that out!).

Joint borrowers sole proprietor - What happens if you split up?

House prices where we live are crazy right now and this means that we would get charged a second property tax of around £25,000 and it also means she would miss out on any first time buyer benefits.

I don't think you'll find anyone to help you because the law regarding second properties and stamp duty is pretty solid. The reason this tax exists is to stop the housing market being blocked for first-time buyers, so if you want to pull the ladder up behind you then you have to pay the tax incurred.

Sorry if that comes across strongly but you're essentially looking for advice on tax evasion, so if someone does say "I've got a brilliant way to avoid this" I think there's an excellent chance that it'll end in tears.

I was rather fortunate to be able to buy my first house when I was 22 with the original plan to be to sell it on when I found a partner I wanted to buy with.

Congratulations, this was a good plan and you should stick with it. If houses are that expensive where you are (which I can well believe), then the best thing to do in my opinion is to sell it so that someone else can have somewhere to live without renting, and then invest the money somewhere else.

The tax system is obviously geared up for this as well, which is a happy coincidence.

If house prices are high for buying, they're equally high for selling, no?

Isn't there second income tax for letting a house? My terminology is probably wrong but I thought the tax man treats the income from letting a house as second income thus 40%. We looked into it (as am already married couple) and it just wasn't worth the hassle and allows us to have a much nicer house now rather than a slightly bigger one and a slightly supplemented income.

If house prices are high for buying, they’re equally high for selling, no?

Not sure what you're arguing for here, but someone buying a pricey house might indirectly be opening up something more "affordable" (in the loosest sense of the term) 2 or 3 buyers down the chain.

Or they might be a billionaire buying a house for their kid to live in while they're at uni. Who knows?

My terminology is probably wrong but I thought the tax man treats the income from letting a house as second income thus 40%

No.
UK tax limits are
Up to £12,570 0%
Basic rate £12,571 to £50,270 20%
Higher rate £50,271 to £150,000 40%

So if you make lets say 25k from your main job, and you rent a house an make another 10k, then at 35k total you are still under the 40k limit and only pay 20%.
There is a wrinkle with the interest you pay and how its tax deductible, which means you cannot offset at 40%.

https://www.gov.uk/check-additional-income-tax

"Sorry if that comes across strongly but you’re essentially looking for advice on tax evasion"

Not to split hairs but the OP is actually looking for advice on tax avoidance which is legal and not tax evasion which is not. And most of us do that to some extent. I mean, buying a property during the stamp duty holiday was a way of avoiding tax. As is buying a bike under the cycle to work scheme.