MMD: Should Jennifer do the deeds with Brad?

olly300

If your partner moves in and you are not married the best thing is to have them a lodger. And ensure they don't pay for or do anything in the house apart from their share of the bills. If you have it written on a piece of paper as well then you should be all right. Also I would ensure that the rent was less than half the mortgage and at a market rate for a room in the area.

The Stack V Dowden case occurred because the couple where together for 18 years and had 4 children.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldjudgmt/jd070425/stack-1.htm

There is a proposed law change which means if you cohabit for say 2 years then you will win the right to get some support from your ex-partner. In other words either don't live together at all, or live together and get a proper legal agreement including get married.

Look_after_the_pennies_2

Absolutely not. In fact she should look into the legal position regarding sharing payment of utility bills because it might mean he could lay some claim to a % of the property in the event of a split. She would be better off asking him to pay for all the food and any holidays they have, that way she keeps the property and all the associated costs under her name.

cheltenhamgirl

I'm in a similar situation with my partner now and after reading all of your comments i'm a bit worried! Mine's a bit different though because it's just that we're looking to buy together...we're both in rented at the moment....

We've been together for about a year and a half, and we both rent our own places. We've just found a house that we want to buy, and are in the process of organising mortgage etc. However, he has been notoriously 'ditsy' with money in the past (not paying bills on time, going slightly overdrawn quite often...more through being useless than overspending) and now has a bad credit rating meaning we can't get the best mortgage deal.

Do you think it's a bad idea to buy somewhere together? He would be putting in more than half of the deposit? I thought it was ok, but after reading your comments I'm worried!!

eternal_optimist_3

No! No! No! No!

If Brad agrees to buy half the house at current market value, which will mean giving Jennifer a cash deposit and getting his own mortgage for his own half. Yes, I know i've over simplified, but that's the principle.

If he's not p[repared to do that then he's not the sort of person to get involved with long term.

Oops! over simplifying again!

ShandyPandy_2

:eek: Absolutely no way should she put him on the Title Deeds. If it all goes down the pan, why should she lose half her investment. It seems to me that if he wants to be on the Deeds, then he is already thinking ahead about what should happen if they broke up and he wants to make sure that "I'm alright Jack". My brother-in-law was in a similar situation, whereby his girlfriend moved in. He only had her pay for housekeeping and the phone bill, as his Mum and Dad had given him the money for the deposit on his house and he'd made all his profit it on it before she moved in. They did move to a bigger house later on and, again, he kept her off the Deeds. A few years later they decided to move again and it was at this point that he finally put her on the Mortgage/Deeds (probably as neither would have been able to afford the property alone), but he has had the documents drawn up so that it is not owned on a 50:50 basis, but a 80:20 basis so that he doesn't lose any of his original investment/profit.

WGM_2

If two people come from different ends of the spectrum financially, ie she saves and he doesn't; it's a fair bet where this one is going once the gloss wears off! He sees an opportunity, and she'd be a mug. Get yourself someone who's worth it girl!

PeterD_4

First you need to decide whether you love and trust Brad enough to give him half your house as a present and walk through a legal and tax minefield to give it to him.

Once his name is on the deeds he will be able to claim half the value of the house if you split up. I mention this because a good friend added her husband to the deeds on a new flat and he left her two weeks later, taking half the value in the divorce settlement! He obviously had a mistress at the time he was added to the deeds, but that didn’t reduce the divorce settlement.

You will also need to find out about the new Pre-Owned Assets taxation, to make sure that HMRC don’t charge income tax on a ‘benefit’ on half the market rent for your home! And you could be liable for income tax on the actual money paid to you as well.

If you still want to add Brad to the deeds you will need to agree this with your mortgage provider, who may be worried about Brad’s financial history and could impose conditions or charge a higher rate of interest. If they agree, you will have several bills to pay:- your lender’s fees [they are unlikely to do it for free]; solicitors feess for your lender and you; Land Registry fees; possibly Stamp Duty if half the value of your house goes over the threshold [this is a self assessment tax, so it is your responsibility to work it out and pay it, though the solicitor will help you through.]

My son and his girlfriend [now wife] had the same issue, but he owned the house and she joined him. They waited until they were married, then went joint when they moved. This avoids lots of costs and risks!

CCCele

Look_after_the_pennies wrote: »

She would be better off asking him to pay for all the food and any holidays they have, that way she keeps the property and all the associated costs under her name.

She would be better off. But then he wouldn't. Why should he have to pay for all the food and holidays, and get nothing for his investment in the relationship if SHE goes off with someone else? If she will not let him contribute to their life together in a fair way, then he is better off out if it.

JayD

Before my partner moved in 17 years ago, we agreed that the house was to stay in my name forever but be willed to him should I die first.
Having fought long and hard to keep my home (after a painful divorce) and having suffered years of hardships to repay the loan taken out to buy my ex's share in it, I never want to face that hell again. My partner fully understood this and willingly signed a legal document accepting the situation before he moved in. He fully contributes to the mortgage and maintenance costs of the house as well as the regular household costs.

We are thinking of marrying soon - but the house will be put into trust for me before we do, so that should we divorce, it will remain mine. There is no way he would want to ever see me lose my home and I have nothing but total respect for his understanding.

Yes, it does seem a little unfair on him in material terms - but material considerations are not the priority in our relationship.

JayD

PS: 2 years is nothing! She should keep the house in her name and only reconsider if/when she feels a lot more confident about the relationship. Maybe that would be a good time to consider buying somewhere together.