Couples buying together - both paying the same share?

Libertine07

Hey, sorry if something similar has been posted before but I couldnt find anything.

My other half and I are planning to buy sometime next year (fingers crossed). I'm just wondering how most couple manage the repayments, ie. 50/50 split? The reason I ask is that my partner earns quite a bit more than me, so in order to get somewhere decent he would have to pay a larger share of the mortgage. If we went 50/50 we'd be a lot more restricted in what we could buy, and I'd be spending a huge percentage of my salary on a mortgage. However I would feel bad if I paid less. We wouldn't be thinking of selling the house so its not like he'd benefit in any way from owning a bigger portion of the house.

Which way is fairest, both partners pay equal shares or both pay the same percentage of their salary towards the mortgage?

Any feedback would be appreciated, thanks

godtabh

Libertine07 wrote:

Hey, sorry if something similar has been posted before but I couldnt find anything.

My other half and I are planning to buy sometime next year (fingers crossed). I'm just wondering how most couple manage the repayments, ie. 50/50 split? The reason I ask is that my partner earns quite a bit more than me, so in order to get somewhere decent he would have to pay a larger share of the mortgage. If we went 50/50 we'd be a lot more restricted in what we could buy, and I'd be spending a huge percentage of my salary on a mortgage. However I would feel bad if I paid less. We wouldn't be thinking of selling the house so its not like he'd benefit in any way from owning a bigger portion of the house.

Which way is fairest, both partners pay equal shares or both pay the same percentage of their salary towards the mortgage?

Any feedback would be appreciated, thanks

Agree with each other who should pay what percentage and if you do decided to pay work out before you buy how much of a share in the sale based on how much you paid back.

But thats more like a business arrangement than a couple going out. Suppose each to their own

ixoy

Most likely, when we buy, we'll be in the same position as yourself. I'd not expect my other half to contribute equally, for much the same reasons you state.
We've already agreed that we'd calculate percentage shares based on what's being paid and set it in a legally binding sense with a solicitor. As there's no basis for divorce law for us, this would be a concrete agreement to abide by. It's in no way undermining the strength of our relationship, I feel, to do this but it is fiscally responsible in the event of a situation that we never believe will happen.
You may feel differently, we may act differently, but right now I think it's the best approach for us.

miju

my advice to the OP is it doesnt matter who pays more etc. when I moved in with my other half we didnt split bills 50/50. we both earn about the same and sometimes my entire wages are gone at the end of the month on all the bills and she gives me pocket money sometimes its the other way around

so just do it whatever way means the cashflow works best.

Zambia

miju wrote:

my advice to the OP is it doesnt matter who pays more etc. when I moved in with my other half we didnt split bills 50/50. we both earn about the same and sometimes my entire wages are gone at the end of the month on all the bills and she gives me pocket money sometimes its the other way around

so just do it whatever way means the cashflow works best.

Miju is right this is what a relationship is about there are always times when you carry each other.

You each have to work out what you need to live food , travel , entertainment , cosmetics , cars etc then the rest of your pay goes on bills or savings.

If your at the stage where your buying a house together you should be as sure as you after before proposing marriage. The idea of buying a smaller house you will have to re-sell as your family grows due to this 50-50 thing is a little silly. In the current market where you buy now you should be prepared to stay for a long time.

Also if this all falls apart like you are preparing for in the next 2-3 yrs you may be splitting the shortfall by percentages as well.

In short you should ensure your relationship is up to this then proceed with getting a house your joint wages can afford and simply keep records as most folk do.

But that's only my opinion, best of luck with everything.

Libertine07

Thanks for the replies.

We do intend on buying a home to live in long term, neither of us wants to buy a smaller place and sell on in a few years time (would be a crazy move the way things are going). I suppose I just feel bad that he'd be carrying more of the financial burden, not that he minds, he's more than happy to do it.

Zambia I like the idea of setting aside the amount we each need to live off and paying the bills out of the rest. I was originally thinking the other way round.

The last thing I want is to be getting picky over who pays what, just wanted an arrangement that was fair to both of us, thats all

Trampas

Best thing to do is agree before half what % each will pay and get a legal contract with this agreement.

Hopefully you dont break up but if you do things could get out of hand where one will say well i pay x percent and you pay y.

t least with a contract its all agreed and if x doesn't pay their share you force other to sell there share.

Best talk to a solictor would be my advice.

Zambia

The way we do it is simply agree that amount and each arrange for a standing order from our wage account (the day after your wages come in)into a third joint bank account from which all bills are paid , mortgage , gas , electricity , rates ,rent etc.

That way when "your" out of cash you know your not both out of cash.

Its a great way to stress free finance living.

Zambia

Trampas wrote:

Best thing to do is agree before half what % each will pay and get a legal contract with this agreement.

Hopefully you dont break up but if you do things could get out of hand where one will say well i pay x percent and you pay y.

t least with a contract its all agreed and if x doesn't pay their share you force other to sell there share.

Best talk to a solictor would be my advice.

If you want to go down this route I proposed this formula to someone who was splitting a house and it seemed a good idea to them.

1 : Take each contribution to the initial deposit as a percentage

house cost 120000
house deposit = £10000
you £3000
him £7000

on sale each is refunded this amount

In the case of profit . each is refunded the percentage on their initial investment

House sale = 210000
Less mortgage (presume repayment and interest cancelled each other)
210000 - 90000 = 110000
remaining = 110000
less deposit 110000 - 10000 = 100000

You get 30000
He gets 70000

He may have paid more over the time in between but he was maintaining a larger return

xxdilemmaxx

Hi,

My other half is doing an apprenticeship at the moment, he left a well paying job to do this. I earn considerably more than him but how we work it is - we both put 800 each by standing order in to a joint account, this covers the mortgage and the bills then we just live off my money for the rest of the month.

I don't mind this at all as for the last few years when I wasn't making much money he took care of me. We'll eventually be on the same wages and it's all give and take.....! I wouldn't feel right about saying that I own a higher percentage of the house than him but that's just me and as another poster said every couple is different!

DéiseGirl

I've just moved into my first house with my boyfriend but we won't start paying the mortgage until October just to give us a bit of breathing space to get the house kitted out etc. He does earn a good bit more than me so we've pretty much agreed that he'll pay about 2/3 of the mortgage payments, but I've set up direct debits for a lot of utilities etc so I can pick up the slack in that regard. Nothing is really set in stone yet, we probably won't know exactly how things will work out until payment No. 1 comes around.

Victor

Buying together

D'Peoples Voice

Victor wrote:

Buying together

Make sure everything is wrote down and agreed in advance!
Becos if you end up having an affair with your partner's sister, your missus will refuse to even discuss splitting the house and the whole thing becomes a nightmare! I've tried to be the intermediary for such a couple, and the fact that they couldn't sell their house in today's market just makes things a thousand times worse - even for me!