Buying a house with a relative (tangled web?)

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Sorry for name change. If somebody buys a house with a relative and they both put a different amount of equity in from sales of the previous houses who has most rights? Sounds like it could become a tangled web.

I think you need to be careful about the wording of the purchase - it's comething to do with 'joint tenants' or 'tenants in common'. You should see a financial advisor and as long as everything's drawn up carefully you should be ok. you would own a certain percentage each and if you ever sold would take the same percentage back. KIt only becomes complciated if one or the other party invests money in the property for improvements etc and then they claim more input. Hope this helps...def see solicitor/ financial man

Rights to do what? sell? or redecorate? or get first choice of bedroom?

You should be able to draw up a contract which measn that when you sell you get sales proceeds in the same proportion as you have put in (as TMHO indicates this should cover both initial equity and large lump sums on improvements). Your solicitor can do this. This way you both get a similar return on your investment.

If in the meantime you are sharing the mortgage, then for everything else I would work on the basis of "equal" rights (eg on the day to day use of house) - otherwise the person who is putting in less will end up being treated as if they were a tenant. That's not a legal interpretation, but if you are living with someone then you shouldn't have to be resorting to the law over what colour the bathroom is going to be repainted.

My main concern was over what happens when the house is sold and whether it becomes complicated then.

As long as you get evrything drawn up properly, when the hpuse is sold you will get the same percentage of equity as you origiannly put it, so if it goes up[ in price you would both make profit relative to the original investment. As I said the only dodgy be is if someone afterwards invests a lump sum for something and then tries to claim they are entitled to more...preseumably you trust this relative to work it out amicably between yourselves?

Is it to live in together ?
If so i would rent together for 6 months to make sure you get on well living in the same house.