any advise with Asperger and young adults leaving home

Hello @matthew27

If your son is buying leasehold property my advice would be the same for any person. Go through the lease several times and get help understanding parts you don't understand.

Ground rent - how much is it,  how often does it rise and by how much. Also how old is the lease, if the lease is old the sum on the lease is unlikely to be the ground rent. 

Service charges, not just about what he will be paying for, but with repairs what will his portion be toward communal repairs internal and external, does it just cover the block he is buying into or others attached to the block. Is the property  on an estate, if so what is his portion towards estate repairs.

How often are cyclical works done - ie external decorations which can be expensive. Are there any major works due to be done? This can add several thousands onto his bills, will these need to be paid within a year? Is there a sinking fund to help pay these cost that he would have to contribute to?

If he is buying into a shared ownership, he will have the usual costs plus pay a rent. A common misconception is that as it is shared ownership the free holder pays a share of the costs, he will have the same responsibility as a leaseholder and therefor responsible for the full amount of his share. As a shared owner does not hold the full lease the rent gives him the sole right to the use of the property he buys, nothing else. 

Another misconception is when people buy via a housing association. You are not buying yourself into social housing, but the business side of the housing association. You are buying into a contract, the lease.

One organisation we recommend to all our leaseholders is https://www.lease-advice.org they have a section on buying a flat that I would recommend, and a whole range of advice on owning a flat.

I am not trying to put your son off, owning your own home can be a great investment, but it is one of the biggest your son is likely to make and one that will come with extra costs, if rushed into without understanding what you are doing could quickly turn it into an anchor dragging you down.

Sorry, probably not the advice you were looking for, but if it stops him making an expensive mistake then it is the best I have to offer.