deed of trust

snooping_around

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anselld

No, you don't need one. Just make sure the solicitor records ownership correctly with LR.

troubleinparadise

A contract drawn up legally covering what the split is, maintenance cost arrangements, management arrangement, selling arrangement (period of notice, how soon after purchase and so on) etc would cover you if for some reason you fall out, or are taken very ill, or other unforeseeable circumstances which might affect your joint ownership.

And a Will!

Kynthia

If there is a clear percentage split of ownership with no other complications such as differing deposit amounts, etc, then as long as you have the ownership registered as Tenants in Common for the correct percentages. However a Deed of Trust of some kind of cohabitation agreement might be very useful as troubleinparadise says. What are your exit plans, what if one of you wants to sell and the other doesn't, one loses their job and can't pay for a bit, is there an agreement about moving partners in or paying the other rent if he doesn't live there and you do? What if you disagree about whether a maintenance job needs doing, what if one of you wants to put a lodger in the house to pay for their share does the other get a say who they share with, etc? It's good to have discussed these possibilities.

tBagpuss_2

your transfer deed can specificy that you will hold as tenants in common as to 45% to you, 55% to your brother (or whatever the % are) That is a declaration of trust so technically it is a trust deed.

However, it would be sensible to have a more detailed trust deed to make sure you have accounted for things such as whether any future contributions such as different mortgage payments will be treated, when and in what circumstances the house will be sold, how responsibilitiy for the costs of any repairs etc will be split. Quite apart from anything else, drawing up a deed like that means that you have to actually think about, and discuss those kinds of issues. An awful lot of disputes come about because people have made different assumptions about how an informal arrangment will work, and the differences don'r come to light until there is a conflict between them.

Bear in mind that while you trust your brother and get on wll, in some cuircumstances (for instance, if he gets married, divorces or dies) you may not be dealing with him, or not only with him.

You should also both make wills and ensure that issues such as ; if one of you dies, how long is the other allowed to stay in the property before it has to be sold to pay the estate heir share/ how will costs be met in that interim period? Do you want the survivor to have first refusal to buy the others share, and if so, how will it be valued and how long would you have to buy it?

margoluc

I am new to the forum. Does anyone know a cheaper way of getting a declaration of trust. My solicitor will charge £265.

kingstreet

Try other solicitors?