Moving in - different finances

[Melsy88]

Boyfriend and I are looking to buy a place together. He will have a much bigger deposit than me (due to inheritance) - so would pay 75% of the deposit. However I earn a much higher salary than him, so my mortgage payments will be higher.

Given his huge deposit, I want to do the right thing and have some form of agreement to protect his share if we were to split up in a year or two. But his share will gradually fall due to me paying much more of the mortgage payments.

Is there a fair and easy way to do this?!

Deed of Trust. Solicitors will do this :)

I mean it depends if you are planning a future with your BF and marriage, etc? Deed of trust is something my DH and I did before we were married, to protect his bulk deposit. We always spit equity just proportionally to income... that isn't protected.

We moved house after we married and obviously didn't do a deed of trust again as joint assets now anyway.

If you are worried about equity payments/deposit then pay a solicitor to write up an agreement you think you need.

Sorry to bandwagon your thread...

I'm putting more deposit down on our house but once in, myself & my partner will be paying the mortgage 50/50. I presume a deed of trust could state that equity for the deposit amount be split as it was put in, then any remaining split 50/50?

Deed of trust will be the way to go to protect it. You both decide on what’s fair. Best to do it now while you still like each other and have each others best interest.

I’ve read cases where it can get quite complicated if the break up is bad and bitter.

if you separate and one person wants to stay in the house and buy the other out, how will you get it valued? This happened to a friend of mine last year (when the market was dead). the one buying out wouldn’t take the estate agents valuation because EAs sometimes give a higher valuation to get you to sign before dropping the price and asking price isn’t the selling price. They couldn’t agree and so put it on the market instead.

what happens if you separate and sell for less than you paid? Does the person who put in more money get the extra money back 100% or should it be factored down because of the loss? likewise if the value goes up?

Have you factored in the upfront cost? Who pays solicitors, surveyors, movers etc.

Deed of Trust about £400-500, I think. DS and his partner considered it but in the end are putting in equal funds for the deposit and related costs. They've always paid rent and utility bills etc proportionally as DS has always earned more. He said the other day that he felt these days he considers all money coming in as joint anyway.

Me and dh were like this. Given it was me that wasn’t providing the deposit I decided I could trust myself to hand it back if we split up. No way would I have trusted someone else to do the same for me though and would have got a feed of trust 🤦‍♀️🫣

You can protect his share of the deposit . But you shouldn’t pay more of the mortage than him unless you own a greater share. As you are not married your finances are separate.

Of course if you decide that you will own 75% of the equity after his deposit is excluded then you should pay 75% of the mortgage . But only if you have all this agreed legally . You don’t have an own a property 50:50.

You’d also need to agree about maintenance, bills, redecoration, housework etc

Go to a lawyer.
Get a deed of trust set up.
You'd be mad not to.