Some advice please...

Jessycat

...I'm in the process of buying a house, the deposit is mainly from money I've managed to save myself & an amount my dad has kindly given to me as a gift. My partner will be moving sometime in the near the future & should we split, I would obviously like to protect myself financially.

If he contributes to half my monthly mortgage payments & general upkeep of the house, what would be be entitled to?

Thanks.

SquatNow

Half the house... depending on how long he contributes for obviously

Jessycat

So do I need to seek legal advice to protect my desposit?

moneysavinmonkey

Hi.
I think you do need to set up some kind of legal arrangement as otherwise your OH could potentially have some claim over the property in the future.

Although it's a slightly different situation when my sister bought a house she put in more deposit than her partner so they have a document drawn up by the solicitor detailing who owned what percentage of the house etc. I think it was called a Deed of Trust and cost about £200.

I think you probably need to get some proper professional advice - you may be able to get a free session with a local solicitor.

zekepes

Yes, I would definately get some legal advice.

My DH was in your position when he bought our house. He bought it from new and his GF moved in within a few days and stayed there for 6 years I think. However, he knew he would never marry her and had no plans to be with her longterm (sounds harsh doesn't it?!) so he ensured she never paid anything towards the mortgage. I think she bought the food as a household contribution. I really don't know whether he really was protecting himself so I don't know if I would recommend that!

I guess he could pay you lodgings (be aware that you will be liable for tax over a certain amount). I wonder how he will feel about that though?

poppy10_2

Jessycat - what you want is to become Tenants in Common with your partner. This means that you can own the house in unequal shares, rather than 50:50, thus protecting your deposit.
It means that when the property is eventually sold, you will get your deposit back first, and then any remaining equity will be split equally (assuming he has paid half of the mortgage payments from the time he moves in)

david29dpo

Being tenants in common will not protect the deposit, only how the sale proceeds are slit. Get a trust deed set up stating the % of the slit and the deposit.