ᐅ Initial Questions About Home Construction

Created on: 23 Aug 2017 15:30
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lisa-kessler
Dear forum members,

I have a few initial questions about building a house...

About us: I am female, 24 years old, and my partner is male, 26 years old. We are unmarried and have no children. We currently live in a rental apartment (around 100 sqm (1,076 sq ft), 560€ rent including utilities). My boyfriend is still in training but will earn about 2,200€ net per month starting in March 2018. As for me, I have been fully qualified for six years and have a permanent job. I earn about 1,600€ per month.

We want to convert a barn on my father-in-law’s property into a residential house... We do not plan to get married.

I do not want to pay "rent" to my boyfriend but would prefer to contribute to the loan as soon as possible. What is the best way to arrange something like this?

I would also like to know how to best protect myself contractually in case of a separation. Marriage is not planned, at least for the time being.

I should also mention that my boyfriend’s father is a trained bricklayer and would pay for the shell construction. A lot of the work on the house could be done ourselves.

Thank you very much 🙂
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lisa-kessler
23 Aug 2017 16:03
Thank you very much. What do I gain by having my name registered in the land registry?
Can I request this from my parents-in-law?

I just want us to do this together... That is important to me. I don't want to be living there as a 'tenant'...
D
Deliverer
23 Aug 2017 16:08
You can certainly ask for that. Whether they want to gift you half of the land is up to them. However, you will probably have to be included on the mortgage, and THEN it will be very difficult for you to get out of that situation.
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lisa-kessler
23 Aug 2017 16:09
I’m really torn. I don’t know if I can consider it my property when I’m only paying ‘rent’ or utility costs...
How is this usually handled?

I want to fully belong there and be able to call the house half mine :-/
B
Benutzer19
23 Aug 2017 16:15
I haven't read anywhere that the plot is supposed to remain owned by the 'parents-in-law'? Isn't that somewhat inconvenient, since the son could also potentially have a falling out with his parents. By the way, your boyfriend probably shouldn't consider it as his own property either.
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Deliverer
23 Aug 2017 16:15
You shouldn’t consider it as ownership – because it isn’t (unless your name is on the land registry). No matter who you pay and how much.

What is considered normal is always hard to define. At least, what is more common is that a) people are older than 24 when building a house, and b) have been together for a longer time or are even married.

In case of a separation, it would definitely be MUCH more favorable if everything is in your partner’s name and you only contribute financially. If you get married in three or four years, he can still gift you the shares and you can make a significant contribution.

Just don’t stress about it – building the house will be challenging enough.
Z
Zaba12
23 Aug 2017 16:15
Just to ask it differently, why should your prospective father-in-law register you or both of you in the land register? No children, not married, so basically only a loose connection exists (sorry for saying that).

However, if you were to contribute, for example, €50,000 (approximately $54,000) of your own capital to the house financing, in your case I would at least secure this amount through the land register.