Where to start

[wheresthedummy]

Hi there, I'd be grateful for any advice available please. I am separating from my husband. We have a two year old and three month old twins. We were/are in the very early process of buying a house together and my husband thinks we should still go ahead with the purchase so that we are on the property ladder, even if we are apart. The idea would be for me to live there with the kids. I was putting up the deposit and paying for the legal costs as I have around 50K. He was/is due to put up 20K for the renovations needed for it to be habitable (needs kitchen and bathroom). In some respects it makes sense to continue as I wouldn't be able to do it on my own. However, I'm just not sure if its wise and can't before 100% sure of his motives. WWYD? We'd already agreed that we would be joint owners with a split of 70/30 in my favour as I was putting in the bulk of the funds and have signed papers to that effect. However, I'm not sure i could manage to pay the mortgage as I am not planning to go back to work. He would contribute, but looking at the online calculator it wouldn't amount to much. Would it make more sense for me to use the 50K to support myself for the next couple of years before I can return to work? My head is a mess and I really don't know who I should be talking to to work all of this out. Solicitor? Financial advisor? Thanks for your support.

[ClaireRalph]

I really would very seriously consider proceeding with the transaction (assuming that you haven't changed contracts and can pull out without incurring really harsh penalties).
Regardless of the legal holding of the property (joint tenants/tenants in common) and how much you put into the house the property would become a matrimonial asset, and would then have to be divided up in the divorce settlement - and the starting point for this is a 50/50 split. And there is no guarantee that once you have spent your 50k that he actually invests his (lesser) figure of 20k on the renovations.

Maybe it comes down to trust, and how amicable you are. But proceed with extreme caution.

NB. A great many mortgage lenders would not permit a mortgage to be taken out in a sole name (your husbands) for a house owned between you both. If you aren't planning to return to paid employment for a while he would be the only one capable of getting a mortgage, but if he isn't going to live there - merely own it as an investment for him/his kids then it may well be considered a buy to let mortgage which complicates things further.

I am also not sure I would recommend moving house at the same time as separating from your ex unless it is unavoidable - esp given your children's ages.

Def get legal advice on this, and consider making a will reflecting your new circumstances just in case the worst happened.

Good luck!

[STIDW]

I agree, speak to a solicitor. If you can meet mortgage payments one option is for your husband to hold an interest in the property as a chargeback which is paid out when certain conditions trigger a sale. The conditions can be different but the usual ones are the youngest child reaching 18 or finishing university and the death or remarriage of the parent with the majority of childcare.

[wheresthedummy]

Okay, thank you both. Appointment with a solicitor will be arranged in the morning.