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Hi everyone, looking for some pragmatic advice here. Please let me know if there's a more appropriate forum for this issue.
My boyfriend's father recently put the deposit down for a house being renovated with the view to myself and my boyfriend living there and paying the mortgage. His father claims that he wants to transfer the mortgage to myself and my boyfriend’s names if and when the time is appropriate i.e. we’re both in stable jobs with a good income, or we get married. However, I have recently been asked to pay between £2000-3000 from my personal savings in renovation costs (painting, flooring etc) before we move in, which my boyfriend’s family see as reasonable due to their verbal agreement of the house as a ‘gift’ and eventually becoming mine. My boyfriend keeps quoting all the money he has personally spent on it so far. I feel very uneasy about being asked to pay these renovation costs, because I currently have no legal ownership of the property and there's no security if the relationship ends. To my mind, and despite their good intentions, I am effectively renting the house from my boyfriend’s father without a contract until/if he transfers the mortgage.This is obviously something that would never be asked of you as a tenant.
Asides from the emotional difficulty of the situation (it's being implied that I'm devaluing the relationship and the generosity of his parents), it is causing me a great deal of financial concern, as £2000-3000 is a substantial amount of money. If the relationship between my boyfriend were to came to an end, or any other circumstances prevented me from co-habiting in that property, I have no guarantee that they would refund the renovation costs I paid, despite verbal promises. Because I have no legal rights over the property, I see this money as closer to a loan.
Is there any way that I can request for my boyfriend and/or his father to sign a contract or other document guaranteeing the reimbursement of my payment if the relationship does come to an end, to cover any liabilities? I've been researching into co-habitation agreements and promissory notes. Promissory notes seem like the closest example of what I had in mind, although they seem specific to commercial loans to be repaid at a certain date. What I need is a document with a clause stating that repayment would be conditionally due in the case of the relationship ending before I have any legal ownership and my co-habitation in the property ending. Is there any way to receive help or advice with this?
Or should I out rightly refuse to pay these renovation costs on a house that I may never own? I know this could be something done entirely at my own risk.
Thanks for any advice here. I don't know enough about mortgages, legal contracts and terminology to find the right solution.
My boyfriend's father recently put the deposit down for a house being renovated with the view to myself and my boyfriend living there and paying the mortgage. His father claims that he wants to transfer the mortgage to myself and my boyfriend’s names if and when the time is appropriate i.e. we’re both in stable jobs with a good income, or we get married. However, I have recently been asked to pay between £2000-3000 from my personal savings in renovation costs (painting, flooring etc) before we move in, which my boyfriend’s family see as reasonable due to their verbal agreement of the house as a ‘gift’ and eventually becoming mine. My boyfriend keeps quoting all the money he has personally spent on it so far. I feel very uneasy about being asked to pay these renovation costs, because I currently have no legal ownership of the property and there's no security if the relationship ends. To my mind, and despite their good intentions, I am effectively renting the house from my boyfriend’s father without a contract until/if he transfers the mortgage.This is obviously something that would never be asked of you as a tenant.
Asides from the emotional difficulty of the situation (it's being implied that I'm devaluing the relationship and the generosity of his parents), it is causing me a great deal of financial concern, as £2000-3000 is a substantial amount of money. If the relationship between my boyfriend were to came to an end, or any other circumstances prevented me from co-habiting in that property, I have no guarantee that they would refund the renovation costs I paid, despite verbal promises. Because I have no legal rights over the property, I see this money as closer to a loan.
Is there any way that I can request for my boyfriend and/or his father to sign a contract or other document guaranteeing the reimbursement of my payment if the relationship does come to an end, to cover any liabilities? I've been researching into co-habitation agreements and promissory notes. Promissory notes seem like the closest example of what I had in mind, although they seem specific to commercial loans to be repaid at a certain date. What I need is a document with a clause stating that repayment would be conditionally due in the case of the relationship ending before I have any legal ownership and my co-habitation in the property ending. Is there any way to receive help or advice with this?
Or should I out rightly refuse to pay these renovation costs on a house that I may never own? I know this could be something done entirely at my own risk.
Thanks for any advice here. I don't know enough about mortgages, legal contracts and terminology to find the right solution.
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