To buy a house with my partner whose still married?

[onedaymaybeone]

Hi,

I would like some advice please. I'm divorced and have been renting since. I would like to buy a house but cannot raise enough mortgage to buy in the area I live in now and where DP go to school. I would be £35k short on the amount I need to buy in the area. I know I can afford the mortgage repayments as it would be half my rent but I don't earn enough in my own to get the full loan amount required.

My partner has offered to come in on a joint mortgage with me to make up the difference. We would be joint tenants and he would be paying no deposit and would 'own' a minimal percentage of the house. The reason being he is still paying for his previous property which he is not living in whilst he fights for custody of his daughter through court. Due to the complicated nature of the case he can't get divorced yet.

What are people's thoughts on doing this?

In your first post you said you would be joint tenants. In your second you said tenants in common. It’s tenants in common you need if he is going to own a defined percentage of your house.

25 per cent is more than nominal. Doesn’t seem he is doing enough to justify it. And if you split up he will want his share out.

On divorce his 25 per cent will be disclosed and included in the pot for division. You can protect your 75 per cent. There is absolutely nothing you can do to put his 25 per cent interest in your house beyond the reach of the court on divorce. So you need to have a plan in place in the event a judge decides that the equity your DP has in your house is required to meet the needs of his ex. This will depend on what other assets there are.

If the wife comes after her 12.5% do you have a plan how to pay her without losing your home?

If you split up do you have a plan how to pay him his 25% without losing your home?

2. Get 75% stake in the house now and in the worst situation, wife gets 12.5%

But presumably if OP could afford 87.5% of the house, she'd already be doing that?

OP you're being a MUG and you know it..

everyone is telling you this is a disaster waiting to happen.. even a Mortgage Broker has told you this...

So... carry on.. ignoring all this great advice and let your home be included in his assets 🙄

@WorraLiberty - sorry I missed that bit

@onedaymaybeone - I'm presuming you have exhausted all other mortgage options so you can purchase independently

It's possible but you need legal advice, make sure items are covered like 3rd party claims, death, life insurance, being able to buy DP out, etc etc

@category12

2. Get 75% stake in the house now and in the worst situation, wife gets 12.5%

But presumably if OP could afford 87.5% of the house, she'd already be doing that?

She can't? She can't get a mortgage to cover full 100% of house ownership. She can only afford 75% of the house. A bank won't give her 100% of the money for 75% of the house.? 🤔

2. Get 75% stake in the house now and in the worst situation, wife gets 12.5%

Thats not the worst potential situation by a long chalk.

Hell would freeze over before I entered into this. Just no.

@primrosee

No, the point I was trying to make is that what happens to the man's 25% share matters. Someone said the wife could only get 12.5% of it, but that's still enough to fuck everything up if OP can't afford to pay that. She can't afford 85.7% of the house or she would be already.

87.5

If his wife claimed her half of his share could you afford to pay her without selling the house?

CBUK2K No solicitor would advise anyone to sign a contract with a term like that and no court would enforce it

Protect yourself & your children first

Do not buy anything with a married man

He is clearly making excuses about the divorce, which continue for decades or he may never divorce

You're nuts to even be considering it.

Don't buy property with him until he's divorced.

I'd be looking to reduce that 25% share if you can. Is the purchase price £140k if not then the 25% is more than the £35k you are missing. I'd also look to him paying something towards his share, especially if you are putting in a decent sized deposit as otherwise if things do go pear shaped either with the divorce or between you he is walking away with an asset he hasn't contributed to.

Have you talked to an independant broker? You may find that there are options for you to get that extra £35k without him... (or as someone suggested with him as partial guarantor etc.)

Technically it may be adultery to be living with another woman before divorce, but practically it is totally irrelevant to this situation. Adultery has no legal meaning other than as a reason to get divorced - and it's the soon-to-be-ex-wife, who is in no hurry to divorce, who would be entitled to cite it.

Cheating is something else. You can cheat without being married and you can be married without it being cheating; e.g. open marriages by mutual consent, or separation. It's an emotive word that doesn't advance the discussion one bit.

can you buy a small rental flat in a cheaper area and use the rental income from that to pay the rent on a property where you need to live until you're in a position to buy a house to live in?

Don't let your boyfriend put his name to ANYTHING of yours while he's still married. Too risky.

@Howshouldibehave

Absolutely not!

Missing the point here but why does your DP go to school? Dear partner? Dear parents?

You seriously can’t wrap your head around the fact it’s obviously a typo?

Of course not. He's married, half of his assets belong to his wife, and he already has a mortgage; he may not pass the financial checks to get a second one.
The "it's all too complicated for him to divorce just yet" is a massive red flag, you know?

Please don't do this. It's begging for trouble.

No bloody chance.
What if she decided to fight for a portion of his share of the house? I know it's only a small portion but it would still be a ballache

Not in a million years

No, just no, OP. Don't do this.