buying MY council house with a partner - wht are my rights???

taje1968

Hi
Im finding myself in a right dilemma here and would really appreciate some advice before I make the biggest mistake of my life!!

I have been a council tenant for 20 years and am the sole tenant of the house that my boyfriend and i live in (he moved in with me but his name is NOT on my rent book) I live here with my 2 children who are 16 and 8.
I would be entitled to a £38,000 discount and I would also be putting down a deposit of around £10,000-£15,000 should we decide to buy.

Now my dilemma is as follows: (i sound like a complete pessimist but have had a couple of terrible relationships before that have made me a bit wary and as this is my council house and my security for me and my kids, I am slightly anxious about 'sharing it legally' with someone else!!!)

IF we ever split up, could I be forced to move out and sell up?

IF I died, could he make my children leave their home?

If we did split up how can I ensure that a) I remain in the house with my children and b) that he gets something out of the house value without leaving me in a situation where I cannot afford to buy him out of it by giving half of the value of the property!!!

I am just really confused, I would rather have a 80/20 ownership in my favour but not sure how to work this.

Thanks for any advice...........I am a first time buyer and this is not only scaring the crap out of me, its confusing me to the point that much as I want to buy my house, I dont know if I dare for the fear of one day losing my home if things go wrong!!!

Thanks again

BitterAndTwisted

I honestly think that if you are having such doubts now that you should not proceed with the Right To Buy at all. A 38% discount isn't all that much compared with security of tenure FOR LIFE as long as you don't break the terms of your tenancy.

If you marry and then bought your OH would own everything equally but to not be married complicates things further and for the sake of your children's future security I would recommend you do not countenance this.

Cazza

From a practical point of view, in order to get a mortgage to buy your home, the names on the mortgage need to match the names of the right to buy papers. If you're the only one on the right to buy papers, it will either need to be done in your sole name, or you will need to get his name added to the right to buy papers from the council. If you are the only name on the mortgage, then you will also be the only legal owner on the itile deeds, as these also need to match up.

I have very little knowledge of the rules concerning eligibility to right to buy though, my experience is purely on the mortgage side.

If you manage to get this part sorted out (and the things that Bitter and Twisted has mentioned!) contact your solicitor and discuss your concern with them, it is quite usual in situations like this to draw up a Deed of Trust, between you and your partner, detailing what would happen in the situations you describe. It's not complicated and would add very little to your overall conveyancing bill.

taje1968

thanks for replying, i think our house after the council discount (am yet to get the figures from council) would cost us about 95,000 to buy, as I am going to put down about 15,000 cash we would be getting a mortgage out for about 80-85,000.
I do want to buy this house as it would be a great investment, i just dont know if there is any way to protect myself should things go wrong. id rather buy it alone but obviously if im living with my partner i can hardly expect him to contribute towards my mortgage. I just dont know what to do. :eek:

Fire_Fox

If you have the right to buy are you sure the council would allow your partner to buy with you? It's possible to buy property as joint tenants which means you each own the entire property, IIRC if one of you died the other would automatically inherit. If you buy as tenants in common where you each own a specific percentage, I *think* you can have your children inherit. Whenever you go into a joint financial arrangement (mortgage/ current account) with someone else you credit ratings become somewhat intertwined, you should also consider the effect of either party being made redundant, long term sick or bankrupt. If you buy alone but your partner contributes towards the mortgage or helps out with major DIY projects then he may have claim on the property. As there are children involved you will need to set up a will at the same time as buying the property, really you need to seek legal advice rather than risking poor advice on a forum.

christine_chris_chrissy

you could wait till the children are grown up & buy it with them?
I put in for the right to buy,luckily for me I didn't take that route at the time as I ended up ill in hospital having major surgery out of action for a year & further ops over the next few years,I would have lost the house for sure.

BitterAndTwisted

Kindly also note that should you put in your request to apply for the Right To Buy (I think the form is called RTB1) ALL maintenance and repairs on your property will cease immediately. Also please consider what might happen should your relationship break down within the five-year discount period i.e. if you go on to sell in the first year you will have to pay back 100% of the discount and it reduces by another 20% per annum.

If you do decide to go on and buy the property in both your names, should your relationship break down there is a good chance that you will retain use of the property and it cannot be sold until your youngest child reaches the age at which education ends, then you will most probably need to acquire a mortgage in your own name and to buy your partner out or vice versa or sell altogether and split any profit or loss between you both.

"IF I died, could he make my children leave their home?"
If you have any doubts whatsoever about the possibility of this happening I believe you are in a relationship with the wrong person! What happens after your death entirely depends on whose names the mortgage is in and the terms of your will. There are other issues connected with the joint-ownership of the property which are also very important but this is something you should consult a solicitor about before you consider doing anything whatsoever. The something is what Fire Fox mentioned, the " joint tenants" and the "tenants in common" business etcetera

taje1968

I totally understand what everyone is saying, there is so much to be taken into consideration. My partner doesnt get on too great with my eldest so while i love him and know i want to be with him, i can honestly say i dont know how he would be if i died and the house went to him. i would obviously make a will to say that my children would inherit my half of the property but i dunno, as i said before, while i have no plans on splitting up with my partner, i have been burnt enough times to now have the view that nothing is forever!!! (terrible view which hopefully will change but right about now, its how i think!!)
While my house belongs to the council, i know that if anything did go wrong in my relationship i would always have a roof over my head, if i buy my house, i have no guarantee of that . ITS A TOUGH ONE!!!!

BitterAndTwisted

It is obviously a tough one when you're so close to the issues at hand but from a dispassionate observer's view (mine) it appears very, very simple indeed!

Retain the tenancy in your own name and continue renting, enjoy your security of tenure and all of the modernisation, maintenance and repairs being done for you and paid for by your landlord, and wait until both of your children are living happily and independently. Then review the situation.

PasturesNew

House prices aren't going to shoot up. The value of council houses won't shoot up. Why not wait another 5-10 years and see how your relationship turns out.

Or, just sit back and enjoy a LIFETIME of cheap rent and all maintenance/upgrades done for you... I know I would!

mark5

I personally would stay as a council tenant for another few years and see how the relationship works out. In the meantime continue to build up your savings so that if you do decide to take up your right to buy in the future you will need a smaller mortgage.
I also think property prices will remain around current levels for a good few years.