Having the in-laws living upstairs might not be everyone’s idea of domestic bliss, but according to Alex Harvey of Sussex estate agents Henry Adams there’s more demand for dual, or multi-generation, family houses than ever before.
And the Horsham based agent reports that there’s a lot to be said for pooling resources and buying a new home with other family members.
Alex Harvey said: “Sharing a large property with other family members not only helps with the baby-sitting but also gives an opportunity for families to pool resources and buy a larger, or more superior property than they would otherwise have been able to, as well as offering a way of sharing costs and sharing responsibilities. In addition the older generation has the reassurance of having loved ones on hand in their later years as well as being able to see their grand-children grow up.
“Families seem to be pulling together more in these difficult economic times. We’ve seen several examples recently where three generations of the same family want to occupy the same property, with the older generation, the grandparents, living in an annexe or integral apartment and their offspring and grand-children living in the main house.
"Now that it’s harder than ever to borrow funds it makes sense for those in their sixties and seventies to release the equity in their homes and buy a family home with other family members.”