Partner buying a property - best way to protect

[chml]

My girlfriend is in the process of buying a property and has been gifted some money towards the deposit by her parents. I will be moving in however I will not have, in the event of any separation, any stake on the house. What is the best way to go about this, would a simple agreement that we both sign be enough for this?

Thanks

[anonymous-user]

chml said:

My girlfriend is in the process of buying a property and has been gifted some money towards the deposit by her parents. I will be moving in however I will not have, in the event of any separation, any stake on the house. What is the best way to go about this, would a simple agreement that we both sign be enough for this?

Thanks

As long as you do not make any payments towards the ownership or improvement of the house then no agreement is required. You can of course enter into one.

[MrBarry123]

Start making those payments OP!

[chml]

Thanks guys, I will be making a payment each month into her bank account that will cover my expenses and ‘rent’. I appreciate that it sounds naïve but us separating won’t be an issue, I just want her parents to have some kind of reassurance that should the worst happen then I’m not going to want something from it.

[AyBee]

If it's the parents that are worried about this, ask them what would make them comfortable. There's no point you running around trying to find a solution without knowing whether it'll make them satisfied that you're not going to try and have a claim for half if you break up.

[chml]

AyBee said:

If it's the parents that are worried about this, ask them what would make them comfortable. There's no point you running around trying to find a solution without knowing whether it'll make them satisfied that you're not going to try and have a claim for half if you break up.

That is their concern though. I understand why as I would probably be the same and their family have experience of something similar.

[Impasse]

FWIWm the whole "Don't make any payments" thing isn't always black and white in reality despite the morality of the issue. My ex made zero financial contribution to the house yet still expected a payout when she left. (Together thirteen years.)
My solicitor advised me that it would be cheaper to negotiate a "Sod off you two timing woman" cash amount rather than do battle in court with scrappy bits of paper receipts for B&Q paint etc.

[toon10]

We got an equity agreememnt made up. I can't remember the official name for it but it's a pretty standard document you local solicitor can draw up.

Basically I put £60k towards the deposit and she put £15k in. The mortgage and bills are split about 55% me, 45% her but as near to 50:50 as we could get it. Our agreememnt states that should we split, we sell the house and pay off the mortgage. After that we both get our initial stakes back (or if we've somehow lost money on it, then a percentage based on the deposit figures. Any additional profit made after is split 50:50. We're both happy with that and it seemed pretty fair.

[btsidi]

Impasse said:

FWIWm the whole "Don't make any payments" thing isn't always black and white in reality despite the morality of the issue. My ex made zero financial contribution to the house yet still expected a payout when she left. (Together thirteen years.)

After splitting with an ex, who'd shared 6 or 7 years, I paid the deposit on a new flat for her to get on with her life elsewhere

[AyBee]

chml said:

AyBee said:

If it's the parents that are worried about this, ask them what would make them comfortable. There's no point you running around trying to find a solution without knowing whether it'll make them satisfied that you're not going to try and have a claim for half if you break up.

That is their concern though. I understand why as I would probably be the same and their family have experience of something similar.

I understood that, my point is that the best way of making them happy, is to get them to draft something they are happy with and you sign, not the other way around.

[MitchT]

There's no way I'd pay 'rent' on a property I was living in with a partner and which was owned by them. If they had paid all the deposit then that percentage of the property's value would be theirs first, in the event of a split, but any further equity would be split between us both according to the proportion of the mortgage payments each of us had made. Only way I'd agree to having no stake in the property would be if I paid nothing towards it.

[Centurion07]

chml said:

I will be making a payment each month into her bank account that will cover my expenses and ‘rent’.

I'm sure someone emminently more qualified than myself will correct me if I'm wrong BUT...I was of the understanding that that arrangement, without an official tenancy agreement to say YOU'RE a tenant and SHE is the landlord, means you could have some claim to the house in the future.

ISTBC.

[anonymous-user]

Centurion07 said:

chml said:

I will be making a payment each month into her bank account that will cover my expenses and ‘rent’.

I'm sure someone emminently more qualified than myself will correct me if I'm wrong BUT...I was of the understanding that that arrangement, without an official tenancy agreement to say YOU'RE a tenant and SHE is the landlord, means you could have some claim to the house in the future.

ISTBC.

I think the requirement is simply a rent book that records the payments as rent.

[PurpleMoonlight]

garyhun said:

I think the requirement is simply a rent book that records the payments as rent.

That doesn't work if they share a bed and bodies.

[chml]

Some good advice from you guys, certainly food for thought! Cheers

[Centurion07]

garyhun said:

Centurion07 said:

chml said:

I will be making a payment each month into her bank account that will cover my expenses and ‘rent’.

I'm sure someone emminently more qualified than myself will correct me if I'm wrong BUT...I was of the understanding that that arrangement, without an official tenancy agreement to say YOU'RE a tenant and SHE is the landlord, means you could have some claim to the house in the future.

ISTBC.

I think the requirement is simply a rent book that records the payments as rent.

Tenancy agreement/record of rent being paid.

[anonymous-user]

PurpleMoonlight said:

garyhun said:

I think the requirement is simply a rent book that records the payments as rent.

That doesn't work if they share a bed and bodies.

Ooh err missus!

[BobSaunders]

chml said:

I appreciate that it sounds naïve but us separating won’t be an issue, I just want her parents to have some kind of reassurance that should the worst happen then I’m not going to want something from it.

Things change - your be amazed how people change their thinking.

Have you thought about how you will split things like sofas etc? Take that into account also.. You might stick £500 into sofa or table or something.

[S10GTA]

I had a declaration of trust drawn up when purchasing with an ex. Made things nice and simple when separating.

[designforlife]

So, you're effectively contributing to her mortgage...and her parents want to make sure you don't get a penny in the event of the two of you parting ways.

Sounds like you're giving all the ground here...which is admirable, if a little naive. In the long run you stand to lose out.

If that's the way they want to play it, pay for your food, and the bills, and let her handle her mortgage...until such a time that her parents have deemed you worthy to be contributing to their daughter's financial investment.