Unmarried couples buying homes together


The number of unmarried buyers in the U.S. has risen to 8% in 2003 from 5% in 1993, the National Association of Realtors reports. The category includes groups of at least two buyers who may be significant others, friends or relatives.... But buying property together can bring problems into a relationship, and such couples don't always live happily ever after, say therapists and singles themselves.

...On the one hand, the partners are committing to merge their finances and living space, yet they may not necessarily commit to making their relationship permanent. They may even say buying together is a way of "testing the waters" -- ironic, he says, given that couples who buy property jointly are considered married after three years of cohabitation under "common-law" rules in some states.

This scenario is becoming more and more common.

The number of unmarried buyers in the U.S. has risen to 8% in 2003 from 5% in 1993, the National Association of Realtors reports. The category includes groups of at least two buyers who may be significant others, friends or relatives. For the first half of 2004, such buyers accounted for 9% of all U.S. residential property purchases.
But buying property together can bring problems into a relationship, and such couples don't always live happily ever after, say therapists and singles themselves. ...
In a sure sign of insanity -
On the one hand, the partners are committing to merge their finances and living space, yet they may not necessarily commit to making their relationship permanent. They may even say buying together is a way of "testing the waters" -- ironic, he says, given that couples who buy property jointly are considered married after three years of cohabitation under "common-law" rules in some states.
Read this article at the Realestatejournal before you take the plunge into co-ownership.

Posted: Wed - March 23, 2005 at 10:16 AM         |

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