Signing agreements prior to building new house

S

SineadG

Guest
Hi there,
My boyfriend and I are considering jointly building a house on a piece of land given to him by his father. Obviously, we don't want to go into the venture with out eyes closed and our heads in the sand - how do we both ensure that we protect ourselves in case of it not working out down the line? The agreement roughly would be that if we decided to go our separate ways - we would get the property valued at the time of sale and I would sell my half to him. I heard that in order for it to be completely kosher, his father would have to sign the land over to both of us so that the house and land would be in both our names (preferably, it would be better if this was NOT necessary) - has anyone any information on what is the legal viewpoint? And any advice on how we both can protect ourselves (fairly) at this stage would be most appreciated.
Sinead
 
I'm not a lawyer, but I would be surprised if a mortgage company would lend
you money to build a house on land which did not belong to you, as they
would have to have the right to repossess, and sell the whole property on,
if you defaulted.

So, assuming you need a mortgage, I think you will have to own the site
anyway.

There have been a few threads about buying with friends which could
be useful to you.
 
Hi Sinead - this key post outlines some of the things that an agreement between two friends buying a property should cover. Your situation is a bit more complex given that you are building your own house. Have you discussed this with your solicitor?
 
Huskerdu,
Thanks for your response....so as far as you know, if I am to get the mortgage granted in my name too - the property has to be signed over to both me and my boyfriend? Is there any other way (or place) I can be named which would give me entitlements to 50% of the house but not have the land signed over? for example, could I jointly pay the mortgage repayments (therefore the mortgage is granted in his name) and still have claim to 50% - or is having your name on the mortgage a key area? I'm very new to this subject matter.
Regards,
Sinead
 
RainyDay said:
Hi Sinead - this key post outlines some of the things that an agreement between two friends buying a property should cover. Your situation is a bit more complex given that you are building your own house. Have you discussed this with your solicitor?
Click to expand...

Thanks RainyDay - that's quite comprehensive actually! The only thing is it doesn't cover (a) the fact that it's a personal house and (b) the issue of land ownership not being mine (or us having bought the site outright).

Any suggestions as to how it could be worked into the clause that my boyfriend could be in some way recognised / compensated for the fact that it was him alone who was due to inherit the land?

The thread you referred me to also mentions in brief about a person not being able to buy the other out at time of valuation - if the two parties reached a compromise on that - say, giving the buyer x number of years before they had to pay the money, is it the amount at the time of valuation or is the property reassessed in value after said x years have expired?

No - I haven't yet consulted a solicitor in this regard - for now, I just want to gather as much information as possible so that I'm as informed as I can be :)
 
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