Buying a house without my partner

daveshow93

Hi all - I'm new here so please excuse if I get anything wrong.

I'm 27 and I'm nearly ready to buy a house. I have a little bit more saving to do for the deposit but within a year I should be there.
The problem is that my partner isn't financially ready at all. We've been together for 7 years and would love to go on this adventure with her but unfortunately she doesn't have any savings (or very little savings) to contribute to the deposit.

What is the best way of working this out? I'm new to the house-buying world so I don't know how it works? Is there a way that she can increase her ownership of the house over years?

Looking for any advice on this matter. Thanks!

boxer234

Does she have no savings because she is terrible with money or because she earns less than you and has difficult circumstances?  Do you see marriage in the future? You can protect your deposit that you put in if you decide to buy jointly.  

clamdreamer

Hi, I'm in quite a similar position to you (also 27 as well haha).
I've only been with my boyfriend 2 years compared to your 7 but I started saving for my deposit and engaging with the market before we were together. He has nothing to contribute towards the process with me (and has some debts to pay off) and in all honesty, I think he's accepted that he hasn't put in the hard work of saving or being able to contribute from any other source, so he's supporting me where he can (like driving me to viewings and telling me what needs fixing as he's a carpenter) whilst accepting that it'll be my 'house' but still our 'home'.
 He'll likely move in with me and I don't intend to charge him any rent for 2 reasons: so that I protect my sole ownership of the property and also to allow him to build savings so that we can buy a place together in the future. In the mean time, I'd like to include him in any decorating/renovation ideas to make him feel it's equally his home as it is mine. 

I think your partner may be able to increase ownership over time but I think there are other experts on this forum that can give you advice on that.

Comms69

daveshow93 said:

Hi all - I'm new here so please excuse if I get anything wrong.

I'm 27 and I'm nearly ready to buy a house. I have a little bit more saving to do for the deposit but within a year I should be there.
The problem is that my partner isn't financially ready at all. We've been together for 7 years and would love to go on this adventure with her but unfortunately she doesn't have any savings (or very little savings) to contribute to the deposit.

What is the best way of working this out? I'm new to the house-buying world so I don't know how it works? Is there a way that she can increase her ownership of the house over years?

Looking for any advice on this matter. Thanks!

Yes you can sell her a portion down the line. 

blue_max_3

There is a lot to be said for single ownership of a property with a partner. It's obviously different when marriage or kids come along.
However, I know it's not something anyone wants to talk about, but get an agreement on what happens if you choose to go separate ways. There are regularly threads on here that prove why that is a good idea.

macman

It's fine if the non-owning partner accepts that they have no security of tenure at all and can be asked to leave without notice. If they are not paying rent, they are not even of lodger status, merely a guest.

Beeboo23

clamdreamer said:

Hi, I'm in quite a similar position to you (also 27 as well haha).
I've only been with my boyfriend 2 years compared to your 7 but I started saving for my deposit and engaging with the market before we were together. He has nothing to contribute towards the process with me (and has some debts to pay off) and in all honesty, I think he's accepted that he hasn't put in the hard work of saving or being able to contribute from any other source, so he's supporting me where he can (like driving me to viewings and telling me what needs fixing as he's a carpenter) whilst accepting that it'll be my 'house' but still our 'home'.
 He'll likely move in with me and I don't intend to charge him any rent for 2 reasons: so that I protect my sole ownership of the property and also to allow him to build savings so that we can buy a place together in the future. In the mean time, I'd like to include him in any decorating/renovation ideas to make him feel it's equally his home as it is mine. 

I think your partner may be able to increase ownership over time but I think there are other experts on this forum that can give you advice on that.

I’m in the exact same situation as you. The worry is the longer I own it the more equity I build up and the more difficult it would be for him to make a significant contribution to a property we buy together. I’ll be paying the deposit paying the mortgage and hoping to make 100% overpayments and paying for the renovations. When he’s ready to buy we may consider buying a second property together to rent out. However his credit isn’t great so adding him to the mortgage would likely result in a worse deal and he has next to nothing saved. He has good earning potential as his career goes on do hopefully it will be easier for us to buy together in the future but I currently make four times what he does. 

MrsPorridge

When I met DH 30 years ago I had a house and he didn't.  We sold my house and I had equity therefore I was able to put the deposit on and we bought a new house together.  Jointly owned and we had a joint account and all our money went into it - he did earn more than me.  However, my deposit was around £15k for the house.  Fast forward 18 years and DH had some endowment policies mature - around £15k (!).  The money went into our joint account.  I gave up work to have our son, so DH was the only earner, then he gave up work for 6 months and I was the only earner.  30 years later we have each had inheritances, tax rebates, etc., etc., and all gone into the joint account.  Many years ago I stopped thinking about who had contributed what.  We have now both taken early retirement, only possible because DH has 3 pensions and I have one, his amount to far more than my one.  He will draw his state pension in 2 years, me in another 10 years (don't get me started on that one!).  As before everything goes into one pot.  So I guess it is looking at the bigger picture - or maybe it has just worked for us.

Competsoph

So I am in exactly the same position at this moment in time.
I am in the process of buying my house. Me and my partner have been together a year and a half. He has some savings but I was always intending to buy a property alone regardless of if I met someone or not. He also doesn’t have enough savings to effectively contribute to the house. As such he is intending to live with me in my ‘house’ but it will be our ‘home’.
We have had those discussions and he would like to contribute to the house by paying bills. Essentially this will be rent however he accepts he has no ownership within the property.
My broker told me the mortgage company would require a signature to say he has no interest in the property. Up until this point however we haven’t had anything from them.
If we are still together at the end of the 3 years we intend to add him to the property and he may contribute by way of deposit. 

daveshow93

boxer234 said:

Does she have no savings because she is terrible with money or because she earns less than you and has difficult circumstances?  Do you see marriage in the future? You can protect your deposit that you put in if you decide to buy jointly.  

She doesn't have savings because she is bad with money - we are both on reasonably similar wages.
Some interesting comments here with it being my "house" but our "home" - that could work I guess.
My intention would be that I buy the house with my deposit but then we both contribute to the mortgage, bills etc. Does that make financial sense for both of us? Then when she can afford it, I can sell her a portion down the line - how does that work?

blue_max_3

daveshow93 said:

She doesn't have savings because she is bad with money - we are both on reasonably similar wages.
Some interesting comments here with it being my "house" but our "home" - that could work I guess.
My intention would be that I buy the house with my deposit but then we both contribute to the mortgage, bills etc. Does that make financial sense for both of us? Then when she can afford it, I can sell her a portion down the line - how does that work?

You've been together seven years and you almost have enough for a house deposit and she has nothing? Doesn't sound like she has that ambition at all.
Can you afford the mortgage on your own? If not and you need her salary to be taken into consideration, you'll both own the property anyway as her signature will be on the deeds as well as yours.