Dream Home: Avoid Conveyancing Nightmare
Day 15: Everything You Need To Know About Buying and Selling a House or a Flat in 31 Daily Bite-Sized Chunks -“Buying your Dream Home with a Partner: Don’t turn it into a Conveyancing Nightmare!”
Buying a house and setting up home with a partner is quite common before a marriage or a civil partnership. It is also quite common for divorced people to set up home with a new partner.
Call us Conveyancing Solicitors morbid if you like, but what if your relationship were to go all wrong.
By taking the proper legal advice from your Conveyancing Solicitor right at the beginning of the Conveyancing transaction, you may avoid further anxiety and financial stress.
Here is a list of 5 simple and straight forward solutions:
1. PUT the deeds of your property into joint names.
This way you will not encounter problems of sharing in the profits on sale, especially where you may have contributed to improving the property.
It also eliminates a potential crisis if the named owner asks you to leave the property.
2. DECIDE whether you would like to own the property jointly (known as a joint Tenancy) or whether you prefer a predetermined share e.g. 50/50 or 60/40 ( Tenants in Common)
3. WHAT happens to the money when you sell?
If you have put in an unequal share rather than simply having your capital returned on sale or transfer, you can have your contribution expressed as a percentage in a document known as a Declaration of Trust
That way, if your relationship doesn’t work out each partner will know exactly how much of the net sale proceeds will be his or hers to receive.
Don’t risk it and have to let a court decide.
4. WORK OUT your ongoing running expenses for your new property.
Again, if unequal you might consider a “Cohabitation Agreement”
These documents are by no means uncommon, and both partners will benefit from full disclosure of finances and getting things off your mind right at the beginning.
The Deed could always be ripped up at a later date or reviewed and renewed as the partners see fit.
5. MAKE a WILL. This is essential advice, especially where you have decided to hold the property as Tenants in Common.
Without a Will there is no absolutely guarantee that the property will go to your partner on death. In fact, in the worst case scenario, with no agreement with the executors of the deceased partner, you might be forced to sell the property and only receive your original share.
You can find Conveyancing Solicitors who will give you a fixed price for any additional Deeds or Documents and also provide you with a fixed fee guarantee with no hidden extras.
In all cases, individual circumstances will vary, and you should obtain specific advice from your Conveyancing Solicitors
Be sure to sign up for a chance to have your Conveyancing carried out by Clutton Cox, free of charge.
