Property prices are still rising sharply is some parts of the country while mortgage rates are getting ever lower. Is it easier or harder to buy at the moment

A.� It does depend on where you are, obviously, but there is a big paradox in many parts of the country, particularly the so-called property hotspots, which range from London to Newcastle. On the one hand we have estate agents and lenders hammering home the message that it has never been cheaper to get a mortgage while on the other prices are outstripping earnings to such an extent that for many a mortgage is just not an option.

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A.� Traditionally mortgage companies will only lend up to three times a borrower's income. In central London for instance, where house prices are rising by a staggering average of �474 per week, a first time buyer earning �30,000, a perfectly good wage by national standards, would not be able to afford a tiny one-bedroom flat, let alone a house. It is a situation being mirrored all over the country, especially in traditionally low wage areas where house prices are rising sharply.

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A.� Instead of just watching their money going into a landlords pocket, increasingly potential buyers are getting together with friends and family and using their combined incomes to secure a mortgage.

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A.� It provides a way of getting onto the housing ladder without having to wait for the day that the market finally starts going into reverse.

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Buying is always cheaper than renting, so if you can do it is always financially worth it, and by combining with others there is no need to overstretch by borrowing, at higher rates, over and beyond the norm. Combining incomes will often mean the ability to borrow considerably more than against one income, giving a greater choice of affordable properties and areas in which to live, something that is often highly important to families with children of school age.

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There's also the deposit. The bigger the deposit that can be raised, the greater choice of mortgages on offer, allowing the borrowers to hunt around for the best possible deal.

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A.� Apart from the obvious one of not having the property to yourself, there are several potential drawbacks.

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The main risk is that one of the parties either wants to sell up or falls on hard times and can not afford to keep up their side of the payments. The latter can have serious financial repercussions for the other co-owners who are held as jointly responsible for the mortgage as so liable to keep the payments up to date. Failure to do so will affect the future credit rating of all the co-owners, not just the ones unable to pay.

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If the only option is to sell up, the borrower is back to square one. Finally, if the market does finally decide to crash, a co-owner could be stuck in the same property for a very long time before seeing any benefit from their investment.

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