question:- I'm mortgage free. should my girlfriend pay me rent ?

bell1

:jhi what about the house work.cooking ect , are you going to pay her for all the, cooking she would do for you ,and are you going to pay her for cleaning, or will you employ some one else to clean your house and do the gardening, wash the car ,take yor dog for a walk ,ect if you love her ,then you would want to take care of her and make the place she lives in safe, with you, when you love some one, you share, everything inculding money, may be you dont love her enought,think about it.

Johnnygogas

The fact that you have asked this question means you need to end your relationship with her as you are quite evidently not in love with her.

vervegirl

Sharing the bills is fine but if the house is paid for and will remain yours no matter what, you shouldn't expect her to pay rent unless, of course, the arrangement is that she will have her own bedroom and not be expected to share yours!

justwondering25

bell1 wrote: »

:jhi what about the house work.cooking ect , are you going to pay her for all the, cooking she would do for you ,and are you going to pay her for cleaning, or will you employ some one else to clean your house and do the gardening, wash the car ,take yor dog for a walk ,ect if you love her ,then you would want to take care of her and make the place she lives in safe, with you, when you love some one, you share, everything inculding money, may be you dont love her enought,think about it.

Hi , where a modern couple who believe in sharing the chores

Thegreatestislove

Maybe your beloved is well used to your business like approach to everything and will take this financial decision in her stride.

I am just glad that my wife and I threw in everything we had when we first became one - that is when we got married. Before that point we had differing material wealth now we don't. After 26 years I have no reason to change my mind (see my post on page 12)

I believe that the role of the husband is to lay down his life for his wife. That speaks of putting her desires and security ahead of your own. It's a tough model to live by but there are wonderful rewards in the long term.

Pre-nuptial agreements and trial living together are a quite different approach to marriage. That may be the model that our celebrities live by - it is not one that I believe ends up with a firm foundation for marriage.

Gemma111_2

I don't think there is anything wrong in charging your girlfriend rent if she's working and earning a decent salary as she'd have to pay it if she lived anywhere else.
Like lindyb I own my own property and my partner lives with me and he pays 'rent' of a sort. My partner has lived with me for 8 years and when he first moved in he had a lot of debt from a previous relationship and paid me £40 a week which didn't even cover half the bills and food! He now pays me £70 a week which covers half the bills, half the food and just under £20 a week towards 'wear and tear' etc. I do all the cleaning and all the cooking though once a week he takes me out for a meal as he can't/won’t cook. He does the gardening and any decorating or jobs that need doing though I always pay for the materials.
I'm now mortgage free though I wasn't when he first moved in. I earn less than the national average and had 2 jobs (full time office job plus part time bar job) in order to be able to afford to pay my mortgage and don't see why he should live with me rent free when he earns more than I do! Although your house may be mortgage free you've still got the upkeep to pay for and if you need a new roof or new boiler it could end up costing you thousands. You also have to pay for fixtures and fittings which need replacing every so often. I think all those who wouldn’t charge rent either have lots of money or are looking at this through rose tinted spectacles! I might sound mercenary but I don’t see why my partner should benefit from all my years of hard work and going without – though I don’t want to rip him off either. I’m better off financially than if I lived on my own and he’s got somewhere cheap and decent to live.

justwondering25

Gemma111 wrote: »

I might sound mercenary but I don’t see why my partner should benefit from all my years of hard work and going without – though I don’t want to rip him off either. I’m better off financially than if I lived on my own and he’s got somewhere cheap and decent to live.

Thank you for your feedback Gemma , its nice to see those that are mortgage free and those that arn't yet mortgage free , looking at it from a similar point of view as my own , some people have been just plain old outraged at the sugguestion of charging a rent , but you make valid points that have to be considered.

penthouse

Personally, I think that charging your girlfriend rent to live with you frankly turns the relationship into more of a business than a relationship, effectively you're being the landlord and that probably isn't the stamp you want. The house was your investment and you should be very proud of your achievements to live mortgage free, few people can afford to do this nowadays let alone get on the housing ladder. If she is paying for rent, she should have her own room and effectively be a lodger and not share a room with you as I presume the arrangement will be. In essence you are charging your girlfriend to live with you and share a bed with you which is a little creepy.
I think it would be fair to share the living costs in your home, such that you go halves on bills, food etc after all she's living with you AFTER you were mortgage free.
Having your girlfriend live with you shouldn't be seen as her taking advantage of you or 'taking you for a free ride' it would be looking after your and her interests too. She doesn't have any legal rights over your property should things go pear-shapes as she hasn't contributed to it. So surely that's a win-win situation.
On the flip side, had your girlfriend been mortgage free, would you be comfortable giving her rent?
Money can't buy love as they say and you certainly can't put a price on it, just enjoy having her in your presence and sharing a life together.

jo6526_2

You worked hard to pay your mortgage off. If you hadnt been in that position then your girlfriend would be paying rent to you to live in your place.

If I were her, I would want to pay my fair share. If you both earn a wage then its only fair she contributes. I would go as far to say she would pay all the bills (if they amount to a resonable amount). Then she really would feel like shes contributing properly.

Everything gets halfed down the middle between my partner and I, he owns this property and we pay half. Many people were quick to say I shouldnt be contributing to his mortage but the fact is it would cost me more to rent somewhere therefore I think I have a good deal.

Paying rent to my partner never changed our relationship at all. Why should it? If you can come to a resonable and fair amount for her to pay then that should be fine. I would question the relationship more if she refused to pay towards living there.

justwondering25

jo6526 wrote: »

Paying rent to my partner never changed our relationship at all. Why should it? If you can come to a resonable and fair amount for her to pay then that should be fine. I would question the relationship more if she refused to pay towards living there.

Im glad it worked out for you both , better than going into a landlords pocket .