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

taxing

Hi
Am a newby but felt inclined to add my tuppence worth to this debate: hope you don't mind?

Sorry, but life is love and if you love this lady, and with all your heart, then it seems to me that being together would be paramount. (Yes, Martin, the practical issues should be thought of at some point but -and maybe I should say this quietly - it is only money at the end of the day). Generosity of nature and an open heart will get you far in this life. You should be inviting your 'love' into your arms and into your home with no conditions: Love is, after all, unconditional.

Having said all that, it seems to me that you are a bit 'unsure of her' and your feelings, too, perhaps so, that being the case then, yes, charge rent as the relationship sounds already doomed to failure.

You will never be as rich as you are when you are in love.

All the best...

wickym

Mate......if you are living together in a proper relationship then you should share bills where needed but to charge the girl rent is a bit steep! She should probably tell to to Foxtrot Oscar and find a better deserving boyfriend.

Hels50

Get married and share your lives (and finances) fully or live on your own. Living together in an uncommitted relationship is a recipe for disagreement, heartache and tears.

LucyTheDwarf

Everyone seems to be harping on about the OP "profiting" from his GF moving in with him, if charging rent. They seem to suggest he's wanting her to move in for the rent money. Look at it from the other point of view - maybe the girlfriend is "profiting" by moving in rent free. It'd be saving her what she currently pays. Maybe she only wants to move in for a free ride!

I don't for one minute think either scenario above is what's happening here, for the record. It would just be good if everyone looked at it from both points of view, rather than just condemning the OP - who I think has been rather brave to open this discussion up to us. I don't think it's unromantic or indicative that they don't love each other - it's sensible. How many relationships are ruined because people just won't discuss money?

TypeR wrote: »

"Life is a buisness , Money is the building bricks , Love is the mortar. IMHO Life is a buisness , Money is the building bricks , Love is the mortar. IMHO "

Just noticed this, there is a sad irony you've linked all these three together, people's love of money and 'building blocks' (property) is what precipitated the global crash of 2007 - something we're all going to be paying for, for a very very long time........and to think this all started with you wanting your girlfriend to pay rent (MONEY MONEY MONEY) and has ended in you talking about Investment Properties.

I really liked the quote about life being a business, and interpreted it totally different to you. I took it to mean that Life is about making a profit in the long run (not necessarily a financial profit - happiness, love, and a well lived life are the profit to me following the cost which is the time and effort put in to get these things); money being the bricks is the sad truth of our age - you can't get much without money, and lack of money is apt to ruin pretty much everything, and earning and saving a little money creates a foundation for everything you want in life, not saying money brings happiness, but I am saying that lack of money brings unhappiness; and then Love is the mortar - well that's rather sweet, I think, if it's love that keeps your life holding together, gives you strength.

I've never been good at these things, but that incoherent rambling is just how I interpreted it.

iceman197258

If you had a car you already paid off you wouldn't expect her to pay half of what the original price you paid for it was.....but at least if you both used that car equaly then it would only be fair to ask her to pay half of the running cost and or repairs......

so in my opinion it should be the same as the house.....she should pay half the running costs.....bills et'c....the fact that this would be classed as "rent" is incidental.....but what if the relationship ends?....

surely if you expect her to pay towards what the house cost you it would entitle her to "half the house"???......

I'm pretty sure if you split up and had a car that you both shared you might agree to sell the car and half the money......so it's entirely up to you as to what you decide....but it isnt fair asking someone to pay for something which is already paid for, isn't theirs....and will never be .......

FATBALLZ

Yes she should pay rent. When I buy it is likely to be a 62.5/37.5 split with my partner so I expect her to rent 12.5% of the property off me. If one partner doesn't want to pay rent they should put an equal share into the property in the first place.

wildthing01

what mrsobbm said.

i have to say, when i first moved into my now-husband's house, all those years ago, he suggested i 'pay rent', and i was horrified. yes, i wanted to pay towards the mortgage, as an equal partner, but to 'pay rent' sounded like i was some kind of lodger, rather than the supposed love of his life.

the girlfriend can't help that the mortgage is already paid off - no doubt she has also been paying her own rent or mortgage. i think you need to have a good long look at the relationship and decide how committed you are and how much you trust each other. in the early stages, i think it's a good idea to keep finances separate, but if a long-term future is on the cards, and you trust each other totally, then i think it leads to more harmony if you just pool everything you have (regardless of what each individual's income is) - e.g. 'what's mine is yours', otherwise, the power balance in the relationship is not equal - if the girlfriend is 'paying rent', then she may not feel as if the house is truly her 'home'. best solution: buy a property together, equal shares.

wildthing01

FATBALLZ wrote: »

Yes she should pay rent. When I buy it is likely to be a 62.5/37.5 split with my partner so I expect her to rent 12.5% of the property off me. If one partner doesn't want to pay rent they should put an equal share into the property in the first place.

are you planning on splitting up then? i only ask, cos if you were planning to be together forever, it wouldn't matter how much each of you put in, as you'd never have to take it back out again.

dolcelatte

Many couples pool their money and share as some have commented on here. If you two were to do this, then the writer of this post would be better off, as he stated that his girlfriend earns 3 x his income. Put like this, everyone seems happy with the sharing idea, but not with the 'rent' idea which would make him worse off than 'sharing'. Its the label 'rent' that seems to be upsetting people.

maracasman

Sounds like a match made in hell rather than heaven. As a male person who has provided for wife and children without ever thinking of trying to turn matters to a money-making exercise I find it incredible that you seek to reduce a relationship to a means to make money.You have to decide whether you are having a human relationship based hopefully upon love and mutual respect or a business partnership.Are you going to charge for hire if you let her use your car? I don't think you deserve her, given that you have had to ask the internet world the question you have posed.