Mortgage in my name - living with girlfriend

_Penny_Dreadful

Arsenal2019 said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

What are you counting as bills and shopping?  50% of the bills (excluding mortgage repayments) and 50% of the groceries which would seem reasonable to me.

If you're worried you could always have a cohabitation agreement drawn up.

This question comes up almost daily on the forum as well as unmarried couples buying properties with unequal deposits.  There should be a sticky covering both topics or a MSE article that we can share the link to.

Yes. 50% of the bills (excluding mortgage) and groceries shopping… 

ive thought about that but then equally I would imagine that would only start a huge argument!!

if you have the link to hand or know where I could find it that would be amazing

Thank you   

MSE doesn't have anything to link to for this frequently asked question, that was my point.  I did find something on the Law Society's website though:

https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/public/for-public-visitors/common-legal-issues/moving-in-together-getting-a-cohabitation-agreement

Bringing up the topic of a cohabitation agreement should not start a huge argument, if it does then that is a red flag in the relationship.  I'm about to veer into relationship advice rather than property advice now.  You need to consider the future, what is the plan in 2 years, 5 years, 10 years?  Will your partner always be living in your house or will there come a point when you decide to jointly (not necessarily a straight 50/50 split) own the property or perhaps sell it and buy somewhere else together?  You've been burnt before but your partner might not necessarily be happy to be your bidey-in indefinitely.

Arsenal2019

moneysaver1978 said:

Just a thought - what if you have a different account for mortgage, and another one for utilities (which she pays into)?

Hi, yes. Im thinking that is a good idea

Arsenal2019

RexItaliae said:

It's worth noting that if you make a joint bank account, your finances will be linked from a credit rating perspective. If your girlfriend has a bad credit history, this will affect you negatively the day you have to borrow money, for example in a mortgage.

I'm currently buying a flat on my name only although my boyfriend will come live with me, and my solicitor told me that he'll have to sign a form where he'll essentially relinquish any rights to the property. He'll live rent-free but we've decided to split 50/50 bills/groceries and also the "ordinary" maintenance expenses, that is that part of the service charge that refer to normal maintenance such as keeping up the communal gardens, clearing the gutters, etc. Of course any extraordinary expense that relates to structural repairs like re-making the roof, repainting the external walls and similar will be completely on me.

Thank you. That’s a great idea and ill
Definitely look at that. Can I be cheeky and ask if that cost a lot to draft up a contract like that??

RexItaliae

Arsenal2019 said:

RexItaliae said:

It's worth noting that if you make a joint bank account, your finances will be linked from a credit rating perspective. If your girlfriend has a bad credit history, this will affect you negatively the day you have to borrow money, for example in a mortgage.

I'm currently buying a flat on my name only although my boyfriend will come live with me, and my solicitor told me that he'll have to sign a form where he'll essentially relinquish any rights to the property. He'll live rent-free but we've decided to split 50/50 bills/groceries and also the "ordinary" maintenance expenses, that is that part of the service charge that refer to normal maintenance such as keeping up the communal gardens, clearing the gutters, etc. Of course any extraordinary expense that relates to structural repairs like re-making the roof, repainting the external walls and similar will be completely on me.

Thank you. That’s a great idea and ill
Definitely look at that. Can I be cheeky and ask if that cost a lot to draft up a contract like that??

I'll let you know once I complete the purchase and I get my solicitor's final bill XD I think it'll literally be a form though, I don't think it'll be part of the contract. So I guess the solicitor will charge me her hourly rate for the time taken to write the form, but we'll see.

Someone mentioned the fact of treating the girlfriend as a tenant when it comes to decide who should pay what: I disagree with that, unless she actually pays rent. If she's going to live rent-free, it's only fair that she contributes to the normal maintenance of the property. I'd rather use as criterion whether the expense "brings up the value of the property", and I tend to think that redecorating (like painting the walls) does so, while repairing a leak or any kind of damage doesn't really, it just restores the value it had before the damage happened.

RexItaliae

RexItaliae said:

Arsenal2019 said:

RexItaliae said:

It's worth noting that if you make a joint bank account, your finances will be linked from a credit rating perspective. If your girlfriend has a bad credit history, this will affect you negatively the day you have to borrow money, for example in a mortgage.

I'm currently buying a flat on my name only although my boyfriend will come live with me, and my solicitor told me that he'll have to sign a form where he'll essentially relinquish any rights to the property. He'll live rent-free but we've decided to split 50/50 bills/groceries and also the "ordinary" maintenance expenses, that is that part of the service charge that refer to normal maintenance such as keeping up the communal gardens, clearing the gutters, etc. Of course any extraordinary expense that relates to structural repairs like re-making the roof, repainting the external walls and similar will be completely on me.

Thank you. That’s a great idea and ill
Definitely look at that. Can I be cheeky and ask if that cost a lot to draft up a contract like that??

I'll let you know once I complete the purchase and I get my solicitor's final bill XD I think it'll literally be a form though, I don't think it'll be part of the contract. So I guess the solicitor will charge me her hourly rate for the time taken to write the form, but we'll see.

Someone mentioned the fact of treating the girlfriend as a tenant when it comes to decide who should pay what: I disagree with that, unless she actually pays rent. If she's going to live rent-free, it's only fair that she contributes to the normal maintenance of the property. I'd rather use as criterion whether the expense "brings up the value of the property", and I tend to think that redecorating (like painting the walls) does so, while repairing a leak or any kind of damage doesn't really, it just restores the value it had before the damage happened.

However I should add that BIG structural repairs, like for instance rebuilding the roof, or insulating the property, do in fact increase the value of the property. 

onejrmmrj

Would the girlfriend gain an interest in the property, if she hadn't contributed financially to renovations, but had helped with DIY?

Marvel1

RexItaliae said:

Arsenal2019 said:

RexItaliae said:

It's worth noting that if you make a joint bank account, your finances will be linked from a credit rating perspective. If your girlfriend has a bad credit history, this will affect you negatively the day you have to borrow money, for example in a mortgage.

I'm currently buying a flat on my name only although my boyfriend will come live with me, and my solicitor told me that he'll have to sign a form where he'll essentially relinquish any rights to the property. He'll live rent-free but we've decided to split 50/50 bills/groceries and also the "ordinary" maintenance expenses, that is that part of the service charge that refer to normal maintenance such as keeping up the communal gardens, clearing the gutters, etc. Of course any extraordinary expense that relates to structural repairs like re-making the roof, repainting the external walls and similar will be completely on me.

Thank you. That’s a great idea and ill
Definitely look at that. Can I be cheeky and ask if that cost a lot to draft up a contract like that??

I'll let you know once I complete the purchase and I get my solicitor's final bill XD I think it'll literally be a form though, I don't think it'll be part of the contract. So I guess the solicitor will charge me her hourly rate for the time taken to write the form, but we'll see.

Someone mentioned the fact of treating the girlfriend as a tenant when it comes to decide who should pay what: I disagree with that, unless she actually pays rent. If she's going to live rent-free, it's only fair that she contributes to the normal maintenance of the property. I'd rather use as criterion whether the expense "brings up the value of the property", and I tend to think that redecorating (like painting the walls) does so, while repairing a leak or any kind of damage doesn't really, it just restores the value it had before the damage happened.

If tenent not found at fault for leak, this is a cost by the landlord and not tenent.

Rent free alos comes up with no security like a tenent does.

Arsenal2019

I'll let you know once I complete the purchase and I get my solicitor's final bill XD I think it'll literally be a form though, I don't think it'll be part of the contract. So I guess the solicitor will charge me her hourly rate for the time taken to write the form, but we'll see.

Someone mentioned the fact of treating the girlfriend as a tenant when it comes to decide who should pay what: I disagree with that, unless she actually pays rent. If she's going to live rent-free, it's only fair that she contributes to the normal maintenance of the property. I'd rather use as criterion whether the expense "brings up the value of the property", and I tend to think that redecorating (like painting the walls) does so, while repairing a leak or any kind of damage doesn't really, it just restores the value it had before the damage happened.

Hi, thanks if you could that would be great - just get a rough idea of how much I’d be looking at

Schwarzwald

My gf also lives with me
I bought late 2021, we moved together from my last rental flat into this property.
i put down all deposit, mortgage is in my name, i paid for all renovations and refurb, i service the mortage entirely myself and also buy all furniture, fixtures and white goods.

She pays a certain amount every months for Utilities (labeled as utilities) and we have a separate shared Groceries account, into which we both contribute 50/50.
she has a car that we share, which is in her name.

i truly believe this to be fair in our case and we are both happy with it.
think total payments add up to something like 5:1 between me and her (utilities), but i am fine with that as i own the property and also kinda reflective of our income levels.

Postik

When I lived with my girlfriend and I'd bought the house in my sole name, we had separate bank accounts.  I think I paid the mortgage, council tax and all the bills.  She paid for groceries and meals out if I recall correctly.

I think the main thing is that the mortgage payment comes out of a bank account that is in your name only.

I could be wrong but I believe the fact you're not married, don't have kids and the house is in your name would make it very difficult for her to have a claim over it.  There is no such things as a "common law wife" in the UK despite what people think.