Money money money

Not_so_sure_2

Old nag, new name!

Apologies because I cant give much details on here....

I met a man online, known for a while now and we've been seeing each other regularly for a while. It's now at the "moving in" stage and this is where the problem lies...

He currently rents his home and is a bit of a spend-a-holic (yes, he has debts, at the moment im aware of £2k)

I own my own property (mortgage has been paid) and have a credit card that I use monthly (But pay back in full each month)

My concern is my house. Whilst I would love to live in the fairyland where nothing bad ever happens, unfortunatley I learnt the hard was by falling on my backside.......

I want to live together and yes at some point in the ever so distant future i can see myself being with this man

BUT in the mean time

Is there any way of securing myself and my property in case things go pear shaped?

I know someone will be along and state the "why be with someone you dont trust" - Well in pre-response, I've been burnt before, I just want to safe guard myself without becoming a spinster!

RAS

If you do not marry and he is not financially dependent then he has no claim on the house (assuming England because Scottish law is different).

If you do marry and then split up, he is likely to get half even if you go for tenants in common with a different split.

Ensure he does not pay for renovations, extension etc or anything other than half the day to day costs.

FBaby

He would have to be paying you regularly, and in addition financially contribute towards the maintenance of the home before he could even start to claim any of it if you were to separate. Hopefully by such time you would know where you stand.

The main issue is to put everything on the table before he moves. Firstly, I would ask him if he has a good credit history as the last thing you want is for it to affect you by him changing his address to yours. I would then discuss and be clear about who pays for what and stick to it. That applies not just for finances, but also who does what housework. Moving in together after some time alone is hard. My OH and I found it really hard to start with as we had very different habits.

RAS

FBaby wrote: »

Firstly, I would ask him if he has a good credit history as the last thing you want is for it to affect you by him changing his address to yours.

Credit records are attached to people not addresses.

OP - do not open any joint accounts for anything as they do link you for financial purposes.

melanzana

I was in this situation. When we got to the moving in stage, after mu h discussion, I rented out my house and we rented another place together.

No worries, no ties, no money troubles. That was fifteen years ago, and we went our separate ways, amicably after three years. I eventually moved back to my own house when our lease was up. I had to wait two months before the lease on my own house was up...the only problem! But I stayed with a good friend temporarily (I'm sure she was glad of that!). And it all worked out.

Just something to think about.

BTW, all the rental income was mine. And I paid the taxes, upkeep etc.

savingmummy

As pp`s have said keep yourself financially separated from him.


Hope things work out well with you.

TBagpuss

You can, if you wish, have a cohabitation agreement drawn up, which can explicitly state that you have an agreement that he will not acquire any interest in your home even if he makes financial contributions towards bills etc.

If things go well, and you later decide to get married, you could look into having a per-nuptial agreement at that time, which, while not cast iron, would give you some protection if things later went pear shaped.

Both meant that you will need to talk about financial issues which can also help to ensure that you are both on the same page with your expectations, which should reduce the risk of later quarrels.

As others have said, opening a joint account will link you financially, so is not a good idea.

Not_so_sure_2

Thank you all for the replies

Yes it's England so not applicable to Scottish Laws (sorry I should have said)

A friend said that she believed if he contributes to half the bills then he is entitled to half the house (I am assuming this relates to a mortgage, which obviously I don't have)

Marriage - I'm not that type to be honest! But never say never right

Cohabiting agreement - I didn't think these were legal? Am I wrong?

Joint accounts - definitely not! I learnt this the hard way in my early twenties!

Mojisola

https://www.advicenow.org.uk/living-together//

Even if you don't go as far as writing a living together agreement, this site raises the issues that you need to discuss.

He won't get any rights to the house if he shares all the shopping and utility bills with you - it's only if he pays towards a mortgage or work on the house that this might come into play.

Personally, I'd be more concerned about him being a spend-a-holic than him getting beneficial rights to your home.

Not_so_sure_2

His spending does worry me, but it's something that also needs discussing.

As far as I know the debts are from a store card and credit card and he pays the minimum (yes, he pays interest, and yes I've told him to clear them, but he won't listen)

I just want to ensure if we do this, then I can't be held over a barrel for anything (house, or his debts)

BitterAndTwisted

Not_so_sure wrote: »

A friend said that she believed if he contributes to half the bills then he is entitled to half the house (I am assuming this relates to a mortgage, which obviously I don't have)

Your friend is mistaken. He can't acquire a beneficial interest in your property unless you charge him rent or accept contributions towards repairs or he finances improvements. He CANNOT acquire a beneficial interest purely by paying half of the bills and council tax.

Just ensure you're not financially-linked and you should be fine.

I'd also be wary that this moving-in-together business hasn't been suggested by him as a means of getting somewhere cheap/free to live because of his debts.

Bear in mind that as many relationships become ruined by being financially incompatible as by infidelity.