Buying With Others
What should co-buyers agree on before buying a home together?
The short answer
Before co-buying, the conversation worth having covers the money questions that are awkward now and expensive later: how much each person contributes to the down payment and monthly costs, whether unequal contributions mean unequal ownership, how you’ll handle a missed payment, and what happens if one person wants to leave, marries, or dies. Putting these in a written co-ownership agreement — separate from the deed and the loan — turns vague good intentions into terms you can rely on, and it is far cheaper than resolving the same questions in a dispute after closing.
Key points
- Down payment and monthly-cost splits — and whether they set ownership shares.
- A plan for a missed payment, since every co-borrower owes the whole loan.
- What happens on exit, marriage, or death of a co-owner.
- Put it in a written co-ownership agreement before you close.
Contributions and ownership shares
If one person puts in a larger down payment, decide explicitly whether that buys a larger ownership share (often recorded as tenancy in common in unequal percentages) or is treated as a loan to be repaid. Gift funds from family carry their own documentation rules and should be labeled as gifts or loans up front, because a lender will ask and because it affects who owns what.
Why writing it down matters
A co-ownership agreement is a private contract among the buyers; it does not change the loan or the deed, but it governs the questions those documents leave open. Many co-buyers have an attorney draft it alongside the purchase. The goal is not to expect the worst — it is to make sure a disagreement is settled by terms you chose together, not by a court.
Put this to work
Sources
Every claim above traces to a public government source.