Moving in and money....

[Spcl22]

Opinions needed please...

If you were thinking of asking your partner to move into your house/flat... what kind of money would you expect them to pay?

Would you want them to pay half towards everything?
Mortgage/Rent
Bills, etc?

I live in a part-ownership property and therefore have a morgage and rent ..... would I ask a partner to pay towards both or not?

What kind of figures would you suggest to be fair weekly/monthly?

My friends have all given me so many different answers, my head is in a tizz!

thanks...x

[Velvetee]

Well I'm sure you realise that as soon as your partner contributes to your mortgage or bills, then this gives him the right to claim a stake in your property. So if you split up, things could get nasty.

Maybe accept money from him, in the way of a "rent". Most people pay about a third of their salary towards living expenses, like bills, rent or mortgage. So if his monthly salary is �2000, maybe he could deposit �600 to your account every month.

You can then decide between you how much you each pay towards your weekly food shopping and social expenses.

[Velvetee]

Mind you, if you live in an expensive region like London, where rents are higher than elsewhere, then perhaps ask him for around 35-40% of his net monthly salary.

[4getmenot]

My bloke is moving in start of next year and he is giving me half of mortgage/ elec/water/council tax/food

[Tups]

Once your partner pays officially towards the mortgage, you really are in dead trouble, should you split up. I have moved in with my partner. I pay him �340 per month - the limit you can get in 'rent' without having to declare it for tax purposes (be careful about that). We then have a joint account for food and outings, holidays etc. Presumably, you don't want to make masses of money out of your partner but if you feel you need to charge more than the upper limit for the 'rent a room' scheme, (that's what I pay) you'll have to start declaring it - which leads to all sorts of hassles with the Inland Revenue.

[mrs_overall]

I agree with tups.
i know you're probably in the first flush of romance and can't envisage anything going wrong, but.......

My advice would be to have the money paid by direct debit into your account AND keep a rent book.
If things do go pear shaped your partner (as a rent paying lodger) will have no claim on your property.
Don't let your partner have his/her name on any utility bills either.

[Velvetee]

Perhaps I should start paying my partner something.

[Ethel]

Paying towards mortgage/utitlites and so on isn't the only problem.

If the partner believes it is to be his or her permanent home, and need not make any plans for saving for a deposit to buy a home of their own (for example), has a say in the decorating/furnishings - generally treats the home as equally theirs, that can be enough to give a beneficial interest in the property, whether they contribute to the costs of running the property or not.

[bednobs]

if they are paying half, you can no longer refer to it as "your" place

[4getmenot]

jeez why do people so much into it. I hope that if you are moving this bloke in then you want to be with him forever and you arent going to come to a point where you are arguing over who owns what

[pmorris1961]

whilst i would love love to be enough, i have to agree with mrs overall.............get a rent book, if it becomes more serious in the future then you can change the status quo then, if it doesnt ( sorry, but this isnt meant to be horrible but it might .....) youve lost nothing.....

but i do wonder what is he leaving himself ?? does he have a property ??? if he had nothing, then ensure he would get nothing if it didnt work out....................

because it might be easier to move into a joint tenancy property and rent your own out...........keeping it totally seperate from your relationship

good luck !!!

[JonnyBoy12]

Never having been in a serious live-in relationship with anyone would not know, but most people I know pay for either the mortgage, or the bills. They do not fully go half and half, as this seems too petty. Could be a problem if one is much bigger than the other, but if you are really in love with each other then you should not fall out over something like this.

[terambulan]

Say to partner.....two can live as cheaply as one. Move in with me and we can share one bill?

And promise to let her borrow ur jeans while cleaning her car, your shirt to sleep in, ur socks when feet are cold and the use of your bathroom before you in the morning.

[feebal]

Work out what your monthly expenditure is (mortgage and bills) and split it 50/50. I can't understand why anyone would do this any differently unless you earn vastly different wages. I certainly wouldn't expect to support my partner just because my name was on the mortgage.