This is a question often overlooked when buying your home. It is, however, a common situation when two people are buying a property together. Let’s take an example to show how these both work.
If you’re buying a house together, many will assume that you’re in a relationship and, therefore, would want the property purchased jointly, using the ‘what’s yours is mine’ approach. If this is the case, a ‘joint tenancy’ is appropriate. The effect of owning property in this way is simply that if one of you dies, the property passes to the other by what is known as the ‘right of survivorship’.
However, if you both want to protect your own investment in the property for whatever reason (you may be friends and not in a relationship, for example) and don’t want it to instantly pass to the other person on your death, you will need to obtain some advice on owning the property as ‘tenants in common’. This means that your share would be recorded as a proportional ownership on the title and your share in the property would pass to the beneficiaries of your estate as outlined in your Will.
In each case, you should discuss with us which form of ownership is most appropriate for your situation.
Please remember: this information is designed as a general guide only and should not replace specific legal advice on a particular issue.
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