Is this discrimination?

[littleigloo]

Is this discrimination. My best friend and her husband have obtained a mortgage from a well known building society. It is a retirement plan payable on second death. They have a 32yr. old son who is a severe sufferer of Down's Syndrome he lives at home with them. When they went to sign for their mortgage the solicitor asked their son to sign an affidavit to say that he would not expect to remain in the house after his parent's demise. Sorry to say that the son is very mentally challenged and he didn't understand a word the solicitor was asking of him. It now unfolds that unless the son is able to sign and understand this paper the building society will not release the mortgage. Does that mean to say then that if you are unfortunate enough to have a disabled child who is unable to understand what he is signing for you can not borrow money? I think this is discrimination and the solicitor should have put it to the son in plainer langauge instead of baffling him with legal jargon. While they understand that borrowing money is a privilege and not a right I think it should have been made clear to thembefore this late stage. What do other Abers think?

[Oneeyedvic]

I'm afraid that it is a standard clause that all lenders will want - anyone over the age of 18 will need to sign a similar document.

Whilst I can understand the hassle that your friends are going through, it is hardly the lender's responsibility to check if the people living in the house are 'of sound mind'.

A solicitor cannot easily translate this into plain English as he doesn't want to put himself on the line - he will have to sign a document to the lenders telling them that he gave the son legal advice.


Believe it or not, if you own a property that is rented out - you cannot borrow money on it without permission of your tenants - hardly fair but I'm afraid that that is the law.

[littleigloo]

So what you are saying then is that no one with a mentally disabled child over the age of 18 is allowed a mortgage ? It would seem that the law is saying choose between your son living at home or put him into care and then you will be able to buy a house. A law that wants a coat of looking at if you ask me!

[Ethel]

I think the building society and the solicitor is right. When both parents are dead the building society need to sell the house.

If there is a sitting tenant - the son - it will be extremely difficult. They may have to take him to court to evict him and if his solicitor can show he did not know what he signed, or understand, then the building society would not have a leg to stand on.
With retirement plan mortgages the lender does not get the capital until the house is sold on the 2nd death.
It is not discrimination - it is the law. It is intended to protect the mentally disabled from signing documents they cannot possibly understand that would be to their detriment.

Can you imagine the outcry if the lender is able to evict him when he has just lost his parents, so the house can be sold?

As I said, the building society and solicitor are both in the right in this instance.