The Question ….

The Answer ….

Louisa, Thank you for the question. The answer to this is “Yes you can”.

When purchasing a property with a friend, not all Mortgage Lenders will want to lend, but there are a few out there happy to supply the funds. The difference will be in the way the property is registered by your chosen solicitor.

When a couple are married / in a civil partnership or long term co-habiting, the usual way to set up a property ownership is as a “Joint Tenancy”. This means that when one person passes away, the other half of the property automatically passes to the surviving partner.

This means that there is a clear divide of the property (usually 50/50 ownership, but his can actually be any percentage split), and when one owner passes away their half of the property passes to their Estate as nominated in their Will. If there is no Will present, then the inherited half of the property will go to a family member following the “Rules of Intestacy”.

It is very rare to have this type of arrangement though and not have a legal Will, your Solicitor will recommend this is drafted when arranging the Tenants in Common ownership.