3 Things You Need to Consider Before Buying a Home with Another Couple
Posted on: 30 November 2016
If you are worried that you may not be able to afford mortgage payments on your dream home with the salaries that you and your spouse make, you may consider buying that house with another couple. This kind of arrangement has been done successfully for decades. Sharing a home that you buy with the other couple can be a positive experience for all parties involved. However, there are serious considerations that you should keep in mind while deciding whether it's the right choices for you.
Consideration #1: How You Will Handle Disagreements?
One thing that you can count on when you are sharing a home with another couple is conflict. Before you agree to buy a home with another couple, be sure that you know how each one behaves under pressure. In addition to observing their behavior, have direct discussions with them about how they plan to handle disagreements. You all need to come up with a healthy way to communicate what you want and need. Decide on a system for airing any issues that arise, whether it is in the form of weekly meetings or regularly checking in with each other about potential problems.
Consideration #2: What Will Happen if the Other Couple Bails on You?
No matter how well you may know the other couple, you need to accept the possibility that the couple may bail on their responsibilities. Even after signing a mortgage and making a down payment, the couple may be miserable in the arrangement, and people sometimes behave very irrationally under extreme pressure. Make sure that you have a back-up plan to stay afloat in a worst-case scenario situation where the other couple completely desserts you and leaves you and your spouse in the lurch to cover the mortgage on your own.
Consideration #3: Is There Enough Common Ground?
To live happily together, you and your spouse need to have enough things in common with the other couple to coexist peacefully. For example, if the other couple wants to play loud heavy metal music until midnight while you prefer to read quietly in the evenings, that would be a deal breaker. Even if you are willing to compromise for a while, that will ultimately get old, and you will want to relax at home. Explore all your similarities and differences, and discuss any obvious problems ahead of time.
Finally, keep in mind that sharing a home together is one way to get to know another couple perhaps better than you know anyone else. That can be a good and a bad thing. Be sure to consider whether it is worth potentially ruining a friendship or familial relationship if things go bad. Weigh these considerations carefully before making your final decision. To learn more, contact services like KoenigRubloff Realty Group - Elmhurst.
Share