How do I work out my percentage share of our property?

LittleMax

Guest101 wrote: »

It's like 'I like you at the minute, but not enough to share what's mine'. But i'm a hopeless romantic at heart.

No - it's very clearly about sharing what's mine. However, should the unthinkable happen and they split up why then should the person only contributing a small share walk away with half of everything?

It is very sensible to draw up a deed of trust to agree now what should happen in the event that the relationship goes sour. It doesn't mean the relationship will end, or even that they are expecting the relationship to end. Hopefully the document will never be needed.

clarky_cat

I bought a house with my partner recently. I paid the deposit of around £18k and we are paying equal mortgage payments.

. We drew up a document with the solicitor saying if we come to sell the house the first £18k is mine then then rest is split 50/50. It seemed a lot simpler than messing with %'s of who owns what.

charliewocka

deaston wrote: »

Also, is your 'declaration of trust' an official thing? Or something you've sorted out between yourselves?

Yes, our declaration of trust is an official document. We spoke about what we wanted with our solicitor who drafted one for us. It includes what we do in the event of a relationship breakdown, if one of us wants to force sale of house (three months written notice to the other party), how many quotations we get if one party wants to buy the other out etc. We have both signed this in front of our solicitor and a note has been placed on the land registry to say that one party cannot sell without the consent of the other.


Yes, as some will say it doesn't seem very romantic getting all this done, but in our situation we are both practical people and prefer to have all this in front of us so we are entering in with our eyes wide open. If we get married and the situation changes then so be it.

deaston

charliewocka wrote: »

Yes, as some will say it doesn't seem very romantic getting all this done, but in our situation we are both practical people and prefer to have all this in front of us so we are entering in with our eyes wide open. If we get married and the situation changes then so be it.

I think it makes perfect sense. Best way to make sure there aren't arguments and legal issues in the even of a split.

G_M

Whilst I agree with people who say (or umply) that a joint purchase is a serious commitment, implying the relationship too is serious - and hence all the comments about "if you're partners, it should be 50/50", I also think:

every 'partnership' is unique, and there are scales of commitment, as well as uncertainty, in any relationship.

Plus nowadays, propery prices mean it is almost impossible for many FTBs to start out on their own.

For all we know, in this case, 'partners' might even mean 2 friends who cannot singly afford to buy so are buying jointly.

So it makes perfect sense to work out in advance what would happen if xyz. eg
* we sell: who gets what
* we split up and one buys the other out: how much?

And a formal Deed of Trust, drawn up by a solicitor is sensible.

giddypenguin

clarky_cat wrote: »

I bought a house with my partner recently. I paid the deposit of around £18k and we are paying equal mortgage payments.

. We drew up a document with the solicitor saying if we come to sell the house the first £18k is mine then then rest is split 50/50. It seemed a lot simpler than messing with %'s of who owns what.

Although this sounds simple, if you sell the house for less than you bought it for it won't be fair, as your investment will be 'protected' at the cost of your partners share.

Guest101

It's a moral thing I guess.


Whilst I see the practical side of the argument - should things go wrong etc etc.


I believe if I'm buying a house with someone, I need to trust them 100%. That means either buying 50/50 or as joint tenants.


I think these agreements are great for investors. But in a loving relationship I just think it would cause animosity - though I accept everyone is different

HappyMJ

deaston wrote: »

The stamp duty alone is £29,000. With all the other costs it quickly adds-up.

If I were to do 50/50, I'm essentially handing my partner £182,500 - that seems a bit careless on my part.

How about another option you could lend your partner £182,500 repayable on the sale of the house with no interest charged? You would both then be 50/50 partners in the house and equally share in any increase in value.

deaston

HappyMJ wrote: »

How about another option you could lend your partner £182,500 repayable on the sale of the house with no interest charged? You would both then be 50/50 partners in the house and equally share in any increase in value.

That's what I wondered, but it seems unduly harsh. If we were to split up, they would leave with absolutely nothing! Unless the house went up by £183k, I suppose.

Ultimately, I want to protect the £380,000-odd I've put forward to allow us to buy the property, so I guess that's the most important thing to make clear.

Guest101

deaston wrote: »

That's what I wondered, but it seems unduly harsh. If we were to split up, they would leave with absolutely nothing! Unless the house went up by £183k, I suppose.

Ultimately, I want to protect the £380,000-odd I've put forward to allow us to buy the property, so I guess that's the most important thing to make clear.

Would you consider buying on your own.


Your partner saving up her 'share' of payments and then buying into the property?


If you split up, she would have build up a pot of money then too.