Mortgage in my name - living with girlfriend

Arsenal2019

Schwarzwald said:

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.

THANKYOU! That makes me feel better

Arsenal2019

Postik said:

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.

Thanks to you too. Appreciate your time and help!

Mutton_Geoff

How will you deal with the question on your mortgage application form that specifically asks if anyone over 18 will be moving in with you?

Any temptation to mislead the lender could be construed as mortgage fraud.

Arsenal2019

Mutton_Geoff said:

How will you deal with the question on your mortgage application form that specifically asks if anyone over 18 will be moving in with you?

Any temptation to mislead the lender could be construed as mortgage fraud.

I would answer the question as yes- but would not take any payments from them which would contribute to the mortgage and would receive any payments from them into a separate bank account which is not associated  with the mortgage payment 

Emmia

Arsenal2019 said:

Mutton_Geoff said:

How will you deal with the question on your mortgage application form that specifically asks if anyone over 18 will be moving in with you?

Any temptation to mislead the lender could be construed as mortgage fraud.

I would answer the question as yes- but would not take any payments from them which would contribute to the mortgage and would receive any payments from them into a separate bank account which is not associated  with the mortgage payment 

The bank will be more concerned about whether they can possibly evict them in the event you default.

Arsenal2019

Emmia 

The bank will be more concerned about whether they can possibly evict them in the event you default.

What do you mean by this 

Exodi

_Penny_Dreadful said:
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.

Phase 2 of this well-trodden path usually consists of the OP coming back in a couple of months, proclaiming that it's not fair that he doesn't have much spare money paying the mortgage, while his partner is rolling in it. Usually it's coupled with flawed comparisons like "she'd have to pay rent if she didn't live with me, why should she be able to live here rent free?".

This arrangement can only be temporary, the OP should have a long-term plan. It's not fair on the partner to harbor them in an insecure zero-rights limbo indefinitely.

Postik said:

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.

Not necessarily, proprietary estoppel is proved by assurance (the partner believed they were gaining equity), reliance and consequence (would the partner have done something different if they had not believed they were gaining equity - e.g. try to buy a different house).

Usually it's argued that a partner paying towards the mortgage implies that the partner would gain equity.

Some people try to avoid this by making it clear to their partner that they will not gain an interest, some people are careful to always refer to the payments as rent.

People on this forum generally advise being cautious and not charging housing costs at all. Personally, I think it is unfair to take advantage of a new partner by having them subsidise your mortgage - you would have been paying the same if they weren't living there.

Arsenal2019 said:

I only ask as I came broke up with a previous partner last year and don’t want to be in the same situation again- granted that was a joint mortgage….. 

Having been through a similar situation in the past, I would remind that it's not your partners fault this happened to you in the past. I would be cautious of indefinitely protecting yourself and your assets, as always planning for a break up can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Perhaps in your longer term view, after 5 years or whatever, you could agree with your partner that they have the option to buy in to the property with whatever money they have saved. You wouldn't want them to think they'll never have any chance of ever owning property by staying with you.

Postik

Arsenal2019 said:

Emmia 

The bank will be more concerned about whether they can possibly evict them in the event you default.

What do you mean by this 

If you stop paying the mortgage the bank can come and turf you out.  But it's not so easy for them to do so to another adult living there that they don't have any agreement with.

Mutton_Geoff

Arsenal2019 said:

Mutton_Geoff said:

How will you deal with the question on your mortgage application form that specifically asks if anyone over 18 will be moving in with you?

Any temptation to mislead the lender could be construed as mortgage fraud.

I would answer the question as yes- but would not take any payments from them which would contribute to the mortgage and would receive any payments from them into a separate bank account which is not associated  with the mortgage payment 

Then you may find your mortgage declined for the reasons above, lenders don't like this.

Emmia

@Arsenal2019 given your previous relationship broke up last year (2022/2023) how long have you been with your current girlfriend?

Perhaps you should not have her move in until you're more certain you actually want to share everything with her. 

Does she really need to move in instantly?