As the credit squeeze tightens further and the reality of the high deposit required to be able to buy your first home hits hard a new trend is emerging.

With the banks dictating stricter new mortgage lending criteria and higher deposits, the first time buyers of today face deposits that are the equivalent of several years annual salary. For the parents of this generation a few thousand pounds saved up to help out is a mere drop in the ocean.

It seems that a potential solution to the problem of allowing your young adults to fly the nest without breaking the bank is to build a log cabin at the bottom of your garden. Had I not witnessed this myself recently I would have declared the notion as a joke, but it is a question being asked quite frequently in garden centres throughout the UK.

It seems that parents have deduced that the only realistic and affordable way to provide their offspring with a place of their own is to put them in a log cabin at the bottom of the garden. The latest log cabins have come a long way from the humble garden shed and there would be planning regulations and neighbour considerations to be taken into account, but for the average cost of a quality conservatory you can buy an insulated secure building with several different rooms.

You can quite easily install a small kitchen, a shower room and main electrics and you will suddenly have a self contained Teenage Den conveniently close to home, yet far enough away to suit both parties.

Far fetched, far from ideal or an affordable solution, there are five very good reasons for considering this option:-

1. You can keep a close eye on where they are and who they are with.
2. You can live separately enough for them to feel independent.
3. You can charge them a token rent and help them save for a deposit.
4. They will learn to look after themselves and become more responsible.
5. You will always have the option to use your new desirable residence as an annex for relatives coming to stay in the future.

Whatever you may feel about the current housing climate and its effect on first time buyers today or in the future, you must agree that for centuries the Scandinavians have enjoyed living in beautiful log houses despite the harsh winters and short summers. It may well be that the only affordable housing for a lot more people in the future will be of the wooden variety.

The rise and rise of the cost of living and the rapid incline in house prices over the last decade has left many parents of teenagers unprepared financially to assist with the leap to the first rung of the property ladder. Sometimes the solution to the problem is right under your nose, or in this case at the bottom of the garden.