Should You Buy A House Together If You’re Not Married?

Have you and your significant other been talking about buying a property together before you tie the knot? In the olden days a couple living together before marriage was considered scandalous, let alone buying a property. However, times have changed and these days it is much more common and accepted to own a home together before even saying “I Do.”

Maybe you plan to get married in the future but you are not ready yet, maybe you are being prevented from being married by the current law in your state, or perhaps you simply prefer not to marry at all. Either way, it is totally fine to buy a home together before marriage, as long as you both weight the decision carefully and choose something that works for your needs.

Think Things Through Carefully

Remember that breaking up co-ownership of a house will be more difficult and more expensive in most cases than getting a divorce. This means that you should think about buying your property just as carefully as you would when deciding whether you should marry.

If you are going to be borrowing a total of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars together to buy a home, you want to make sure that both of your goals match up and that you are both on the same page.

Get Everything In Writing

Make sure that you have legal contracts outlined for the home buying arrangement. You might have a verbal understanding, but having the words on paper means that if there is ever confusion or conflict later on you can go back to the contract for clarification. Getting everything in writing doesn’t mean that you don’t trust each other, its standard practice for financial arrangements of this scale.

How will the title to the property be held? Will both of your names be on the mortgage? If one partner died, how would the property be distributed?

Applying For A Mortgage

There unfortunately is no law that prevents mortgage lenders from discriminating against an unmarried couple, whether they are gay or straight. Some narrow-minded brokers might have difficulty thinking outside the box and this can make obtaining financing sometimes difficult.

Also, many times unmarried couples have to apply as separate applicants. A problem with another person’s application can be harder to overcome and some banks will require both parties to qualify, which can be a challenge when one partner is the main breadwinner. Bizarrely, there are still laws on the books in some states that forbid unrelated people to live together. Usually these old fashioned laws are not enforced, but it is good idea to be aware of them.

Buying a house is a big commitment, so whether you are married or not you should make sure that you have had a heart-to-heart and both agree on the decision that you are making. To find out more about real estate and buying a property, contact me at 1-888-279-1778 or email me at Aubra@AubraRealtor.com.