Buying a house in my name - but girlfriend will be living with me.

nmiah786

WHERE ARE THE LEGAL EXPERTS...PLease come forward and shed some light on this!!

I would have thought that if the house is in your name and you pay all the bills, she would have no claim to the house let alone half. Not having joint accounts is a good idea IMHO.

Also, as harsh as it may sound, you better upgrade Girlfriend Beta v1 to Girlfriend 2. Someone whose more responsible for their finance and has similar goals to you rather then live for today and take tomorrow as it comes along!!! Also, I hink Girlfriend Beta v1 is too young to understand planning for the future!!! Planning on getting a car on finance and yet not saving anything!!!

Bossyboots

Okay, the reality is that if she moves in she will gain a right to a share in the house. It wouldn't be half unless she could prove her contribution, either financial or in looking after the house was equitable with that proportion. The longer she lives there, the more she would be able to claim unless the OP could prove she put no money in and did nothing in the house.

The way to deal with this is to have a Deed of Trust drawn up which will state the initial capital investment and division in the event of a split of any equity. It can also state how each party's financial contribution will be dealt with on a split, for example that all or some of the mortgage payments made by both or either party would be offset against the equity. Professional legal advice is essential on having this drawn up. You would also need to consider whether repayment of the initial capital investment should carry interest or whether the equity gained should cover that. Be aware though, that if this does become a long term cohabitation it will be difficult to enforce the Deed of Trust as she would have grounds after a substantial length of time to ask a Court to rule it invalid as her investment, either financially or in terms of her input into running the property has exceeded the expectations when the Deed was drawn up and is therefore now not fair to her. It would be wise during the course of living together to review the deed to ensure it is still appropriate for the circumstances as they have evolved.

It will then be a case on keeping full and good records of all payments made by both parties for a lengthy period of time in case they are needed later.

I think it is wise to consider this in view of what she said. Even wiser, to heed what bettyr is saying and find yourself someone whose main concern is not what she would be entitled to later on and is prepared to make some sacrifices of her own to build a future with you.

NervousYetFeisty

Hang on a minute! I think you're *both* being sensible in considering the implications of a split. I suspect that the girlfriend would find it harder than she might think to claim half the house, because there is no such thing as a common law spouse, although she might be able to claim that she has contributed to it's purchase.
Imo it's fair to expect two adults to contribute to the running of a household, in a way that reflects each party's ability to pay. I wouldn't, for example, expect one party to pay half the rent/mortgage if they're earning a much lower salary than the other.
Before you move in together it would be wise to draw up a budget (use Martin's spreadsheets to start you off). Work out how much each can afford to contribute. Ideally you might open a joint basic bank account for paying bills and each contribute a designated amount per week. This might have implications should you split though, as you'll be financially linked. I would take advice on this from the CAB - it might be possible to get some kind of agreement drawn up between the two of you. Or you could agree that your partner pays the council tax and water rates and you cover the rest. This would all depend of course on how much the bills are going to be though, and it would have to be open to negotiation as your situations change.
I'd question the size of the car loan she's taking out (does she really need to spend over £7k on a car?!?) but that's another story I guess

Ember999

probably

nmiah786 wrote:

WHERE ARE THE LEGAL EXPERTS...PLease come forward and shed some light on this!!

I would have thought that if the house is in your name and you pay all the bills, she would have no claim to the house let alone half. Not having joint accounts is a good idea IMHO.

Also, as harsh as it may sound, you better upgrade Girlfriend Beta v1 to Girlfriend 2. Someone whose more responsible for their finance and has similar goals to you rather then live for today and take tomorrow as it comes along!!! Also, I hink Girlfriend Beta v1 is too young to understand planning for the future!!! Planning on getting a car on finance and yet not saving anything!!!

Good points you make, my personal opinion is the girl is behaving as all 18 year olds do. How many 18 year olds that any of us know work hard, save their money and plan for the future? Non of them expect to ever wake up one day and find they are 40 LOL. I remember when I was 18, I had a mortgage and a baby and I wanted to go out and have fun not save money, pay bills and change nappies. 18 year old girls (most of them) are even worse nowadays. The points I made were general comments on relationships and how, in my opinion they should be conducted to have a high chance of success. My comments still stand on those points. As to whether a girl of 18 is mature enough to either decide a 'lifetime' partner or be able to cope with all that entails is another one.

I am no legal expert of property or family law but I can tell you that in Scotland if you 'live' with someone for just 2 years! you are entitled to a percentage of the property, monies etc. in the event of a split even if you only live together. I believe this to be fair and how it should be all over the UK. Why should anyone (man or woman) live with someone who can say 'get out, it's my house' at any point and they lose everything? The law is good in Scotland. Cohabitees in England do not have this protection and they should.

For what it is worth, my opinion on what the original poster should do is to buy his house himself and not live with his GF. Should several years pass and they are still together, it's as easy as chips to get her put on the mortgage (providing she hasn't got herself in debt) and start a joint life together properly. Why live together when they are both so young and will both probably end up wanting to **** other people (as he put it ) within a few years?

NervousYetFeisty

Another quick point - I suspect that the girlfirend's comment about taking the house was a bit of a throw-away one. I'm sure penty of GFs threaten to cut off their BF's goolies if they cheat on them, it doesn't mean they will! I wouldn't necessaruily read too much into it, at least without knowing the context.

Ember999

NervousYetFeisty wrote:

Another quick point - I suspect that the girlfirend's comment about taking the house was a bit of a throw-away one. I'm sure penty of GFs threaten to cut off their BF's goolies if they cheat on them, it doesn't mean they will! I wouldn't necessaruily read too much into it, at least without knowing the context.

I know what you mean :rotfl: a great post Feisty, I personally said the very same things to my hubby 18 years ago the night before we got married! I informed him that I'd clean him out if ever he did the dirty on me and I would still even after 18 years of marriage. But there again, I'd expect him to do the same to me if I was bad. Isn't that fair and how it should be? She's showing insecurity in the relationship, she's only 18 for goodness sake. She's little more than a kid.

pinkfluffybabe

Ember999 wrote:

probably

I am no legal expert of property or family law but I can tell you that in Scotland if you 'live' with someone for just 2 years! you are entitled to a percentage of the property, monies etc. in the event of a split even if you only live together. I believe this to be fair and how it should be all over the UK. Why should anyone (man or woman) live with someone who can say 'get out, it's my house' at any point and they lose everything? The law is good in Scotland. Cohabitees in England do not have this protection and they should.

I have to disagree with you on this. Why should someone who has financially got themselves together have to provide for someone who hasn't?

I know it is cold and clinical to start a relationship looking at what might happen if it doesnt work out, but I think the OP is quite right to consider what might happen should things not work out. It is not the responsibility of anyone but yourself to provide you with a home.

If I had worked hard to buy myself a house, and had allowed someone to move in, I would fully expect to have the right to ask them to leave if the relationship didnt work out - and i wouldn't expect them to take my earnings with them! (It would be fair for an equal split of both parties had contributed, but in the case of the OP this is not so)

bettyr

NervousYetFeisty wrote:

Another quick point - I suspect that the girlfirend's comment about taking the house was a bit of a throw-away one. I'm sure penty of GFs threaten to cut off their BF's goolies if they cheat on them, it doesn't mean they will! I wouldn't necessaruily read too much into it, at least without knowing the context.

Good point, but it was enough to make the young fellow think which is a good thing.!

Suzi.Q_3

I believe (not know!) that if you ask her to pay rent to you she is effectively paying towards the mortgage, and if you split up she would have a right to some money back. If it had been going on for years and years then she may have a right to a say in what happens to the house. You need to at least visit the CAB, and if she does move in with you you need proper legal advice.

I know that if she will be on the mortgage then you can choose to be tenants-in-law or tenants-in-common. I don't know which way round it is, but one gives you a 50/50 share regardless of who put what into the deposit, and the other protects your initial deposit better if you're putting more in.

I think you need to talk to your girlfriend, think about what you both want, and get some legal advice.

Spendless

Ember999 wrote:

probably

For what it is worth, my opinion on what the original poster should do is to buy his house himself and not live with his GF. Should several years pass and they are still together, it's as easy as chips to get her put on the mortgage (providing she hasn't got herself in debt) and start a joint life together properly. Why live together when they are both so young and will both probably end up wanting to **** other people (as he put it ) within a few years?

Actually that's the same suggestion as I was going to make-considering that at this moment they both have different outlooks in life, one wanting to save their money for a home, the other wanting to spend their cash on a car.

Dean- I bought a house on my own some years ago, and queried with the solicitor what would happen if I later bet a boyfriend who moved in and the relationship was to end. The answer I got was that each case was considered on its own merit. This was in 1994. By the time I met Mr Spendless,he also had his own place and my place was in neg equity, but we would definately not have taken anything from the other one if the relationship had failed.