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Boyfriend moving in.

2

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  • Redbedhead
    Redbedhead Posts: 1,131 Forumite
    We did this a few years back with my then boyfriend (and now soon to be husband).

    The way we decided to deal with it was not put him on the mortgage but treat him as a tenant. He pays me 'rent' which under the 'Rent a Room SCheme' through the INland Revenue is tax free if under a certain amount (£4k per annum i believe).

    That way IF anything goes pearshaped, the house is still in your name and you basically evict your lodger.

    We get married later this year and won't be changing it then as we plan to buy a house together. I will transfer the equity over from this house and we have been advised to have a deed of trust (I think that is what it is called) drawn up, which shows I have put more in. This is not because I think we will break up but also linked to our wills. If we don't have kids and we die together, I want to ensure the equity from the house I worked hard for goes to my family and not his - the deed of trust will help with this I believe.

    Good luck
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  • fannyadams
    fannyadams Posts: 1,742 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Do not forget the joint and several liability clause in the mortgage contract thing.
    thsi means that if he !!!!!!s off you are liable for the whole lot - yup that's right of your monthly mortgage payments are say £400, and he's paying half and you pay half He could !!!!!! off and you would be liable for all £400, then you default and the mortgage company come after you for the whole lot. But get this - they can also go after him fo rthe whole lot too (if they can catch him). so it is always possible that they could be paid twice for the same debt - they must LOVE young lovey dovey couples - and because of the data protection act you are not allowed to know how much if any of the debt has been paid by the other party.
    I hope this doesn't put you off but I think you should consult a solicitor to protect your interests.
    just in case you need to know:
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  • mr218
    mr218 Posts: 247 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Aletank wrote:
    My GF of 12 months started to think about moving in with me in a few months time, then she started to think about getting put on my mortgage. Her and her Mother had the idea of paying half of what i paid for the house and any interest etc :rolleyes: When i explained to her that if she wanted half of my house it would be half of the current market value she didn't like it!! I said if you can't afford half of the market value maybe buy a 40% share or similar. I explained that if we split up, she would expect half the market value so its only fair she comes in at half the market value or at a certain %. She didn't like this and has now said she might as well buy a house of her own!! She started saying she wouldn't of had things done to house that i have, such as a garage built etc so why should she pay for that, I tried to explain that it all increases the value of the house and she'd want half of that if we split. I even tried to explain to her that if house prices had fell by 50% would she still want to pay for half of what i paid.
    Really made me relise/think she just wanted to get on the property ladder cheaply and who knows what plans she had for the future. If anyone moves in with me in the future i wouldn't take any money from them, just let them buy food etc and If I got married well everything is each others then anyway.


    if you dont mind me saying so, she has quite some nerve. either she is a bit thick or pretending that what you have said is outrageous. considering that both her and her mother have had an input in it, i would assume the latter.

    i understand the need to protect your assets. in my case, i organically moved into my bf and later husband's place without any arrangements. if things had not worked out, i would never dream of asking for 'my share'. i did not formally pay him anything for a long time and later we had a joint account before we got married and even then we never had any arrangements.

    i know situations are complicated but it is a bit depressing to imagine that you have to look out for any possible legal repercussions if things dont work out.
  • I would also seek legal advice as to what the position would if you maintained the mortgage/deeds in your sole name and then were to die......I have a feeling that any will you draw up may have to make for provision for your boyfriend should you choose not to add him to the deeds.

    (Of course the other consideration is what would happen if you didn't make a will and he was joint owner........)
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  • DebbieJ_3
    DebbieJ_3 Posts: 45 Forumite
    Many thanks to you all for your replies, it's given me something to think about.
  • eamon
    eamon Posts: 2,319 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic
    I think its very straightforward to protect your interest in a property. Get a solicitor to draw up a Common tenancy agreement. In this document you can state ownership of the property in percentage terms. For example I've purchased current house with GF and I paid something like a 65% deposit from my funds. The remaining 35% is on a joint mortgage but again that is reflected in the common tenancy agreement. Lastly not allowing for inflation I own approx 82% and GF 18%, bit unequal I know, but the alternative I didn't fancy (don't plan on marriage, but will definitely need to get wills re-sorted). Downside of course is that it makes the relationship appear very clinical.

    yours

    Eamon
  • Maybe the way to make it seem unclinical is to understand that both benefit. No-one able to make a grab for what they're not entitled to and no-one losing out if they move out.
  • can these 'deeds of trusts' just be done by the couple? or does a solicitor need to be involved to make them legally binding?
  • margaretclare
    margaretclare Posts: 10,789 Forumite
    Incredible, isn't it.

    When you read these things in the cold light of day, threads on these boards about 'boy-friend moving in but how can I protect what I've worked for....' etc, and then you read things like 'will the council rehouse my son if we throw him out...' it really does make me wonder what planet I'm living on.

    My DH moved in with me nearly 8 years ago. He was in flight from a terrible marriage, wifey was violent, abusive, extravagant - he couldn't stand any more. I was a widow with a (mortgaged) bungalow, we were both 62. He arrived on my doorstep like a refugee, practically in what he stood up in.

    From the start he said he didn't want any part of my estate - he was happy to have a roof above his head and he thanked me for sharing my home with him. We don't have luxury but we do have comfort. He's worked and contributed here...until after the divorce we pretended he was a lodger, just renting a room with use of facilities, breakfast and evening meal. After that I took advice - because the place was still mortgaged, if I died first the mortgage provider could have had him evicted and the place sold. Even after we got married in 2002, he still said he didn't want anything from my estate. I insisted that we got the title to the property put into joint names, to protect him. We now have a 'lifetime mortgage' which doesn't need paying off until the second of us dies, and it's in joint names.

    I couldn't invite someone to move in with me if I was for ever looking over my shoulder wondering 'what if'. I agree with Dora that Aletank's story above is a 'cautionary tale'.

    Incidentally, before I invited my now DH to move in, I never even asked a man in for a coffee. I was always scared that, if they got in, I wouldn't be able to get them to leave!

    Margaret Clare
    [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Æ[/FONT]r ic wisdom funde, [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]æ[/FONT]r wear[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]ð[/FONT] ic eald.
    Before I found wisdom, I became old.
  • is that no everyone is like your OH.....there are some people out there who quite cynically move into their partner's home with the intention of getting as much as they can (financially) out of the relationship.

    As I said we're dealing with the aftermath of such a ploy now and quite frankly its made a horrible situation a zillion times worse.
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    Overpayment to date : £310

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