Getting a Joint Mortgage

toynlet

Hi there

I’m not sure I’m posting this in the right place but here goes!

I've been living with my girlfriend for the past 2 (and a bit) years in a house with a mortgage taken solely in my name (I bought the house before we were together), we have a joint bank account where all the household bills etc and mortgage come out. We pay the same amount each every month so effectively split everything 50/50.

My mortgage is up for renewal next year and my girlfriend has said she would like to be put onto the mortgage.

So, my question is, how on Earth do I go about this whilst protecting the investment I’ve put into the house already (i.e my deposit, the mortgage I’ve paid before she moved in) whilst also having her protected in case anything were to happen in the future. Is it worth talking to a solicitor? If so, am I looking at paying legal costs? I really have no idea!

Any information would be appreciated!!

Senior_Paper_Monitor

Tenants in Common (divide the ownership up by percentage), Deed of Trust (setting the rules for sale/settlement), Insurance (written into trust - effectively buying the dead party's share of property from estate to benefit of the survivor), plus - preferably - wills.

Try to consider future children in structuring.

In event of marriage start again.

Best (cheapest) process is to use a broker to structure and Solicitor to execute Deed of Trust.

Conrad

You quite simply apply in joint names to your current or a new lender. A Solicitor will be involved, sometimes the lenders own.

AS for protecting your assets and input, you'll need a Solicitor to draw that up but not the same one you would use for any mortgage dealings because in reality where a mortgage is concerned, everything is supposed to be for your equal benefit (lenders don't like added complexity, why would they, they just want to lend and make a profit, they dont want any kind of side issues clouding things).


Personally I never did this when I added my then GF to my existing house and mortgage, but there you go, takes all types.

Senior_Paper_Monitor

We spend half our life trying to work around the detritis of breakups where such structures are not in place (we specialise more and more in divorce/separation cases) so we are pretty pushy about these structures when setting couples up together (in the hope in will make our lives easier if/when stage 2 comes around).:rotfl: