How To Buy a House Together If You Aren’t Married

Couples are waiting longer to get married these days, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t want to buy a home.  The underlying issues of an unmarried couple can make it slightly harder to buy a home, but it’s not impossible if you follow our guide for how to buy a house together if you aren’t married.

Learn Each Other’s Credit History

We’re going to assess both of you as individuals on this mortgage.  Married couples are too, but they probably have some things built-in together, like cars or other loans, that they know what their credit scores are.  Many couples that aren’t married haven’t tied in their finances together, so they could be in for a nasty surprise if one person has impeccable credit and the other…doesn’t.

Have a sit-down discussion with your partner and discuss your finances.  Talk about your credit score and the future problems that could come up or landmines that will show up in your credit score.  We’ll find out eventually anyway, so just be upfront.  Check your score before you come in at a reputable credit site and go in with confidence.

Make Real Decisions On Bills

You’ve got to know who pays what, guys.  If you have separate bank accounts, you probably will have to divide up the bills.  Somebody pays cable, somebody pays electric, somebody pays gas, etc.  How you divide this up is up to you, but have a set plan for it each month, or bills won’t get paid.  Make a calendar and stick to it.

Who Has Their Name on What

Lots of couples have had terrible breakups that were exacerbated by not having both names on the lease.  It can really be hard, but you need to both be titled as owners of the home if you are both making payments, otherwise the home will go to the titled owner in a breakup and you can lose all of the equity you have put in.  It may seem like you’ll be there forever, but without the legal attachment of a marriage or having both names on the title, it’s very easy to walk away with nothing.

If you’re ready to buy a home together, both of you can let us know.  Call us at 800-991-6494. You can always apply online at www.thehomeloanexpert.com, and we’re also open on Saturdays to better serve you. We work hard to make it easy on you.  Nobody gets lower rates on better loans than The Home Loan Expert, Ryan Kelley, why go anywhere else?