Buying a house with girlfriend ?

That was my thought, but she's absolutely rubbish at saving up.

No buts. If you really want it you will. She knew you would do it so didn't bother.

Can you get a mortgage just on your wages? If so have her as a lodger.

And she did say she'd save up for a deposit but didn't? Be wary about her paying it all. ;) After a while it isn't fair to her then.

Split everything 50/50 and get it noted you paid all the deposit.

Sounds harsh and I sincerely hope you can make it work with her so I sound cynical and I apologise. :)
 
Do you earn the same/have similar outgoings? She have any debt before this saving period started?

I earn a little bit more than my girlfriend and yep similar outgoings. We both pay our equal way with the car we own together.
 
I earn a little bit more than my girlfriend and yep similar outgoings. We both pay our equal way with the car we own together.


Well what's she been spending her "mortgage money" on then? If it's on two hundred pairs of shoes, then you might want to reconsider getting financially tied to her via a mortgage.
 
i was in the exact same situation.
i spoke to the solicitor about it and we went down on the house deeds as tennants in common with a 60% 40% split to me.
how it worked, say house was 100k, deposit was 20k. then you own 1/5th outright with 4/5th's split 50/50.

something like that anyway! basically it will ensure the initial % you put down is reflected in ownership.
 
yep similar outgoings.

Obviously you do not otherwise she would have saved money for a deposit like you have.

Seriously, the simplest and most hassle free way is to just split the deposit and mortgage payments right down the middle so you both always fairly own a 50% stake in the property. Otherwise you will have to get some legal paperwork drawn up to represent your increased stake.
 
Be careful. Even a relationship that seems fine can vanish. And people you thought you knew can change quite quickly!

Make it 50/50 or nothing.
 
I'd be concerned about her paying the mortgage and utilities by herself. If she can commit to that then she can save. Ideally have a joint account both put in money and that is used for mortgage, utilities and other living costs.

If this is important to her then she can save just like you have. If she can't you need to carefully consider how her finances and spending could have an impact on you both should your finances become linked. I certainly wouldn't go into a mortgage in the circumstances you have described.
 
Two of my closes friends, who are soon to be married (they're they 'real deal', sorry!) split their mortgage something like 70/30 as he paid 70% of the deposit. I think he also pays 70% of the mortgage as well, but earns significantly more than she does.

I think this is the only way to go these days to be honest. Ok it will cost a fair bit to cover legal fees for paperwork, but this could potentially save you 10s of K down the line if the worst were to happen.

If she has saved ZERO deposit, then I'd put it all in your name. If she wants to contribute to the mortgage, have it as a fair split, i.e. 50/50 and let the paperwork represent this.
 
I would never buy a house with a girlfriend if Im honest. Especially one that is no good with her own finances.

Unless we'd been together a stupidly long time, but even then Id be cautious as if she were that great she'd be my wife already surely...
 
I don't know not my money to ask that question.

But it's your money that you're effectively giving her to buy her half of the house. Don't you want to know if she's financially reliable, given that you're trusting her to help you pay the mortgage and bills?

If you're still at the stage where you're afraid to ask her where her deposit money went, then doesn't that tell you something? You're not exercising due diligence for a debt that you're both taking on, but that you might be left paying for.

If she was your best mate, and the house was purely a business investment, wouldn't you want to know why your mate hadn't come up with his half of the money? Wouldn't that tell you about his level of commitment? One of the reasons mortgage companies want a deposit, is it demonstrates a certain level of commitment, and financial trustworthiness.
 
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She did say yesterday that she would pay the full mortgage and utilities every month and just use my wage to live on.

if 'your wage to live on' ends up meaning you still both spend the same then what difference does it make.... you've still basically ended up splitting everything 50/50 anyway...

you need to go to see a solicitor and get an agreement drawn up that is fair - if you're contributing a larger portion of the capital then you should own a larger portion of the property
 
i was in the exact same situation.
i spoke to the solicitor about it and we went down on the house deeds as tennants in common with a 60% 40% split to me.
how it worked, say house was 100k, deposit was 20k. then you own 1/5th outright with 4/5th's split 50/50.

something like that anyway! basically it will ensure the initial % you put down is reflected in ownership.

even that isn't really 'fair' if you split up part way through....

Say you split up in 1 year's time after having made sufficient repayments to pay off 2k of capital (so 1k each)

suppose property prices have not changed, you sell for 100k, pay off the mortgage and get 22k back - surely 21k of that is yours.... not 60% of it
 
I know a couple that did this, they split up and it was a nightmare for the girl, they ended up renting the place for a while and finally got the guy to co-operate with selling it. I wouldn't do this unless you've been together a long time. I've been with my gf 8 years and wouldn't get tied into anything financially with her.
 
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