You are viewing the printer-friendly version of Living Together and Getting a MortgageLiving Together and Getting a MortgageFriends who buy houses together may not be friends forever, so before you buy together, visit an attorney together to write a binding property agreement.When two unmarried people buy a house, there are several ways they can own it. If you and a friend are joint tenants and he dies, you get the house. If you are tenants in common, he can will his half of the house to someone else - someone who could force you to move out and sell the house. You can will each other a life tenancy, so that your partner's heir has to wait until you both die to collect his inheritance. Make sure you know what happens if you both die and you will the property to two different people. And while joint tenancy may help keep your probate costs down, you may still owe state or federal taxes after the death of your partner. In a handful of states, registered domestic partners automatically inherit, but a will or a living trust is a surer bet. Other states allow community property, where you each own the house 50/50 and your will says what happens to your half when you die. For tax purposes, it's important to keep good written records about who came up with the down payment, who makes the monthly payment and who pays for upgrades and repairs. Just because you're not married doesn't mean you can't go through the same headaches as married couples who divorce. If you decide ahead of time how you'll handle a break-up and put that in your property agreement, you'll save yourself a great amount of arguing and attorney's fees later. For instance, you may decide that if either one of you wants to sell the other has 60 days to get a mortgage to buy out the other person's half of the house. If you can't agree about the value of the house, each of you can hire an appraiser and you can average the two appraisers' estimates of your home's value. aa |