Buying A Home With Family Or Friends – How To Make It Work

If you’ve been dreaming of buying a home but your finances aren’t strong enough to qualify, you may want to partner up with another family member or roommate in the same situation. By pooling your resources together, you’ll be in a much better position to buy a home. One benefit of cobuying with your roommates is there will be less adjustment because you’re already living together.

One type of property to consider is a dwelling with separate units, like a duplex or triplex. Each of you would enjoy the benefits of a separate entrance, kitchen, and more. While you may physically be living in separate units, you still have the joint responsibility regarding ownership and maintenance costs associated with the land and roof.

Another less expensive option is to buy a single property and share the space together. One disadvantage of this arrangement is the loss of individual space. Consider purchasing a home with a layout conducive to separate living areas.

It’s important to spend time discussing some key financial issues and issues unique to co-ownership before you jump feet first into a co-buying situation. One vitally important concern will be how the down payment and monthly expenses will be apportioned. Are you going to divide everything evenly or will you divide everything on a percentage based on the amount of down payment invested, the size of bedroom assigned, or other criteria? A good idea is to check with a tax professional on how your arrangement will affect your tax situation.

Another significant concern is what happens to a co-owner’s portion of the property when he or she dies? Will his or her heirs have rights to it? How will you deal with circumstances where one co-owner decides to move out-does he or she have the option to sell his or her portion of the home, require the other co-buyers to buy his or her portion out, or force the sale of the property?

Taking proper title to the property can have major consequences when not done wisely. It’s best to seek the advice of a trained attorney before deciding on what kind of ownership to list on the deed. Some popular ways to list ownership on a deed are joint tenants with rights of survivorship or tenants in common.

Some additional concerns that should be addressed are what length of time does everyone plan on staying in the property (and what are the options when one owner gets married or their parents need extended care); how will the common areas be maintained (cleaning, home supplies, music volume, and overnight guests); decorating the house, and what happens when one owner gets into financial problems.

Co-buying a house is a major decision that requires the right co-buyer to be successful. Make sure you spend quality time discussing all these important issues with your partner and solidify it with a legally binding contract drafted by an attorney.

Want to find out more about buying a home in Orange County, CA? Check out these Tustin realtors and Yorba Linda Realtors to help you find one!