Our son is 18 and hoping to go to university this year. The income from the property will go to him to help fund this, and would be under the threshold for tax. Our thinking is that we would set up a trust, if possible, at the time of purchase that will detail our interest in the property protecting our deposit and also cover what will happen in the eventual sale of the property. Can we buy a property with a 25% deposit and a buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage in our names (mum and dad) but with my son's name on the deeds?

Arthur Weller replies:
When you mention a trust, I am not sure whether you are talking about an interest in possession trust, or a discretionary trust, or maybe some other kind of trust. But all trusts come 'with baggage', i.e. they have tax consequences, and rules that must be complied with. To answer your question, you can certainly buy a property with a 25% deposit, and a BTL mortgage in your names, but with your son's name on the deeds. However, you would need to convince the mortgage company to agree, which may not be straightforward.