Buying a house on my own, but living with my girlfriend

Browny137

Thanks all for the advice. :-) I'm going to get an agreement written up by my solicitors for my girlfriend to acknowledge her entitlements if we were to split up. Obviously this can and will be changed as time passes.

Gwhiz

I live with my girlfriend in the house I own. She pays for food and half the council tax and buys the soft furnishings when needed! I pay for the rest. She has no claim on the property at all.

As others have said, as long as your other half does not contribute to the mortgage or property upkeep then there is nothing to worry about - the term "common law wife" does not exist, it's a myth.

You do not need a written agreement - if your girlfriend is happy to sign one then all well and good but, it can leave a nasty feeling in the mouth for some so use it wisely

jaylee3

Browny137 wrote: »

I am 21 and have only been with her a while - OBVIOUSLY it would be unwise to risk losing £1000's in the name of 'trust'.

This just reinforces what I said earlier in the thread. :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

"I pay all the bills and she buys the food"

Is she a little housewife with your dinner on the table when you get in from your manly job? :rotfl:

Also just because she is not on the mortgage doesn't mean she won't be entitled to anything years down the line. She is obviously contributing to the house and a court will recognise this.

yorkshire_terrier_owner

jaylee3 wrote: »

Always makes me laugh, these 'I am in a relationship but don't want my partner to EVER EVER get any of my money' posts. :rotfl:

Makes me wonder why some people even get together. :cool:

And it makes me laugh who people who have never been in the awful position of the legal wrangling of splitting up when property is involved have absolutely no understanding of why people may want to protect their assets.

12 years ago my ex and I moved in together. We bought a property trusting that it would all be ok and if the worst did happen, we agreed how we would split it all. The reality of what happened is far from that. It got nasty, solicitors were involved, and I was about to go to court to force a sale when he saw sense at the eleventh hour. The only people who came out of it benefitting were the solicitors.

Fast forward - I am now in my late 30's, own my own family sized home, my parents home, savings, a sizeable pension and other assets. I have worked hard for what I have. No way would I put everything I have worked for at risk. A friend of mine nearing retirement has just had to remortgage his home and lost half his pension to his ex, and will now need to work longer to pay for the mortgage and will be no where near as comfortable in retirement.

I have a comfortable life and a comfortable retirement ahead. Any bloke who couldn't accept that I'm not prepared to join finances would, and has, been shown the door.

jaylee3

Deleted_User wrote: »

"I pay all the bills and she buys the food"

Is she a little housewife with your dinner on the table when you get in from your manly job? :rotfl:

Also just because she is not on the mortgage doesn't mean she won't be entitled to anything years down the line. She is obviously contributing to the house and a court will recognise this.

:T Well said.

Makes me laugh that some men think that because they put more in financially, that this means they should be entitled to more when the couple splits up. :rotfl:

Niv

jaylee3 wrote: »

Makes me laugh that some men think that because they put more in financially, that this means they should be entitled to more when the couple splits up. :rotfl:

Makes me laugh that some women think that they can hook up with a bloke who owns his own home, contribute little to nothing financially, do no DIY or help with any maintenance, spend all their money on shoes then think they have a right to half the house if they split up. :rotfl:

marathonic

Niv wrote: »

Makes me laugh that some women think that they can hook up with a bloke who owns his own home, contribute little to nothing financially, do no DIY or help with any maintenance, spend all their money on shoes then think they have a right to half the house if they split up. :rotfl:

Agreed. To the extent that the non-homeonwer expects an entitlement to half the property the second they move in, I wonder would they feel equally liable to the negative equity were property prices to plummet - as they have here in Northern Ireland.

I have a friend who, many years ago, had to sell the house and give half the proceeds, less his deposit, to an ex-girlfriend. His solicitor went one further than the whole "half the food bill and nothing else" in his advice. He said to aceept NOTHING in future relationships and, should a partner buy a pint of milk on their way home from work, give her the pound for it. That advice was probably over-the-top but it shows how careful you have to be.

The average person, after purchasing their home with a sizeable deposit, could probably expect to have 3+ medium-long term partners before eventually getting married. It wouldn't bode well if they lose half the equity in their property every time there was a split.

sterl1ng

I'm in similar boat at the moment, about to buy my first home :j bf will be living with me and I'll have contract drawn up for him to only cover food bills and his piece of council tax then anything towards flat if he wants. I did suggest to him he should put any other money towards a savings account if he wanted so eventually we could get somethign bigger together.

I wonder though, would this contract still apply should we get married or am I to do a pre nup? Not that I'm a millionaire!!:rotfl:

marathonic

sterl1ng wrote: »

I wonder though, would this contract still apply should we get married or am I to do a pre nup? Not that I'm a millionaire!!:rotfl:

This is probably a step too far. The marriage would override the contract and, as far as I'm aware, a pre-nup in the UK isn't worth the paper it's written on.