It might seem inevitable that your children will need help buying their first home. Real estate prices, rising mortgage rates and the cost of living are making it less affordable than ever for young people in Canada to own property without some financial assistance from their family.1

Too often, a financial decision is made quickly and under pressure. Of course you’d love to help your child win a bidding war for their dream home, but at what cost to your own retirement plans?

“Parents don’t always get to spend enough time considering the different ways they could help,” says Tony Maiorino, vice president and director, head of RBC Family Office Services at RBC Wealth Management in Canada. “A young couple may want to buy a house, are short $50,000 and then ask at the 11th hour, ‘Can you lend it to us?’ A parent can feel pressured and put on the spot.”

“Going through a planning process first is going to set the groundwork for having that conversation,” says Maiorino. “If you have a financial plan and are thinking of giving your kids, say, $50,000 each over 10 years, your advisor can model it to see if you can afford it, and how. If yes, you can walk out knowing, ‘I can do this.'”

Read the full article here