Lately I’ve heard of more cases of couples buying a house before marriage. I wonder why someone would make such a huge commitment with someone they haven’t even committed to. As Steve McLinden from Bankrate.com says, “Though it may not seem too romantic to your partner, you are wise to protect your interests.” That means taking precautions if this is something you actually go through with (which I would never condone).
Buying a house is the largest purchase you will ever make and when things go wrong with the relationship there could be some major conflicts as you aren’t protected legally with marriage. One reason more and more couples are doing this is because people are waiting longer to get married. Some are apparently ready for a house, but not ready for marriage. I feel that a commitment to marriage should come first (keep the legal things in mind).
A break up can cause many issues. First, at the beginning: Lenders see you as two individuals, which can make it more difficult in obtaining a good mortgage. There are many terms such as being “Joint Tenants” which means ownership is shared equally. If one dies, the survivor has the rights to the property. “Tenant-in-Common” means each person has a percentage of ownership (depending on who paid what). If one person dies the other only has a percentage ownership. If the relationship ends… What if both refuse to move? If the house is in one person’s name, there can be conflict with who gets what.
All in all, it can create quite a mess.
>> Read more about the legal complexities of purchasing a house before marriage and my opinion on Page Two.
1 Comment
2 May 2007 at 14:25
Random props!
My husband and I just got married in March, but we’ve been living in the house we bought for about a year.
Before that we had been living at each other’s condos for over three years, but it just became ridiculously absurd to keep two place and two of everything, so instead of spending all our equity on a big wedding, we decided to invest it in a home.
Then we had a small ceremony to celebrate our union, so yes, it was conventionally out of order, but an organic step for us.