Buying a property with a partner is not always as
straightforward as you might think, says Ogier's Lindsey
Power.
Couples buying a property together often make different
contributions. Perhaps one has the entire deposit to put down, or
each contributes a different amount towards joint mortgage
repayments. It can also be the case that only one has the required
housing qualifications to buy the property, meaning that a freehold
purchase will have to be in his or her sole name. Or, one of the
couple might have children and wish to safeguard their
inheritance.
In such circumstances careful thought should be given as to how
to structure the ownership of the property and whether it would be
a sensible precaution to draw up an agreement to record what should
happen to the property, and any sale proceeds in the event that the
couple go their separate ways, or one of them dies. These are often
referred to as Equity or Cohabitee agreements.
