Moving in girlfriend...

super_sweeney wrote: »

Ah it all gets very confusing. It is a conversation worth having those as mature adults and seeing what the best is for both parties to protect them both best. 
I had the personal misfortune of being tired of paying crazy rent in Dublin and the gf at the time was unemployed so i decided to buy. At the time she was very upset as i wouldn't put her on the mortgage ect but the banks wouldn't have given me a mortgage if she was a dependent and also I didnt really see a reason why as she didn't contirbute to deposit nor had any intent on paying rent. She went on and on about it. The shortly before the house was ready we split and I found out she had been seeing some other dude for 9 months. I had been with her for two years so clearly thought she was legit. 
But in hindsight one has to ask now with all the fuss of getting on the mortgage that she was clearly just out for half the gaf... So take from that what you...

But either way an Adult conversation should be had and no one can tell you whats right and wrong for your personal circumstances its all just opinion.

Thats pretty insane. It would send up massive red flags to me if a GF of only 2 years started complaining that she wasnt being put down as part owner having contributed nothing. Regardless of the cheating aspect you should have been dropping her then.

Even after 5 years there's no automatic entitlement to anything and even where the courts have made orders they've been substantially less than what are made in divorce orders.

There's too much scaremongering on this thread. I already said the legislation specifically has an opt out. Do a cohabitants agreement before you cohabit and unless there are exceptional circumstances it would stand up in court

BrokenArrows wrote: »

You know you could get married and pay almost nothing. There is no requirement for a big fancy wedding.

A marriage is not valid in Ireland unless it is witnessed by every Tom Dick and Harry the bride and groom have ever met.:P It can also be invalidated by lack of a singsong in the Resident's Bar.

irishguy1983 wrote: »

to my house - been together a year...

It is my house and I have a mortgage - no one else here...

Looking to hear thoughts/stories...

Do people generally ask their OH to pay rent? Is there a standard out there? How do you work this out? Or maybe they just live their for free? Maybe that is the normal?

Do you look at current market rates?

I presume bills at least are halved?

I haven’t a clue so just looking for thoughts/ideas...

You want to charge your girlfriend for sex?

Nothing will be 100% watertight but the bar is very high- the legislation says
"(4) The court may vary or set aside a cohabitants’ agreement in exceptional circumstances, where its enforceability would cause serious injustice."

It would not simply be a case of changing your mind or changing your arm

Liberty Bumpy Mineral wrote: »

Your joking I assume? It's an awful idea, why would someone buy their own home only to rent it out purely as they don't want a gf moving in this paying a heap of tax on the rental income, most likely subsidising the mortgage and almost definitely paying far more rent than the mortgage payment.

There is serious scare mongering going on in this thread. For a start you have 5 years before she would have any say in the property and coming up to that stage if you are still together then it's very likely going to last and If in your 30's I'd be very surprised if they weren't already married before the 5 years if they are still together in 5 years.

Clearly not an unrealistic idea if the OP can rent his property for a good return. Rental market atm is healthy with good potential return especially if it is a larger property. The arrangement is an option which would allow for a fair division of costs especially where there is no long term commitment. The OP is evidently not confident on whether or not to ask the girlfriend for rent within the current setup.

It reduces the possibility of inherent legal issues relating to the Ops property if that is of concern. Who knows what will be the outcome in any relationship. Do you have some type of crystal ball - no? - then don't be surprised if things don't always work out smelling of roses ...

Liberty Bumpy Mineral wrote: »

Your joking I assume? It's an awful idea, why would someone buy their own home only to rent it out purely as they don't want a gf moving in this paying a heap of tax on the rental income, most likely subsidising the mortgage and almost definitely paying far more rent than the mortgage payment.

There is serious scare mongering going on in this thread. For a start you have 5 years before she would have any say in the property and coming up to that stage if you are still together then it's very likely going to last and If in your 30's I'd be very surprised if they weren't already married before the 5 years if they are still together in 5 years.

gozunda wrote: »

Clearly not an unrealistic idea if the OP can rent his property for a good return. Rental market atm is healthy with good potential return especially if it is a larger property. The arrangement is an option which would allow for a fair division of costs especially where there is no long term commitment. The OP is evidently not confident on whether or not to ask the girlfriend for rent within the current setup.

It reduces the possibility of inherent legal issues relating to the Ops property if that is of concern. Who knows what will be the outcome in any relationship. Do you have some type of crystal ball - no? - then don't be surprised if things don't always work out smelling of roses ...

Couldn't have said it better myself Gozunda , its amazing how many people mostly men go into these arrangements been very naive, all loved up and dewey eyed and find out further down the line there been screwed by the bitch from hell.
LOL

In general the issue is not whether rent is contributing to the mortgage; it's whether the couple are financially dependent on one another. And, when a couple have been cohabiting for any period of time, sharing accommodation expenses, sharing grocery and utility bills, sharing other major expenditures like holidays, the answer to that question is almost invariably "yes", if they are both working and earning. (If only one of them is working and earning, then one of them will be financially dependent on the other.)

Once you get to that point (and the other statutory conditions regarding duration of cohabitation etc are satisfied) then the court has a wide jurisdication to order maintenance, property adjustment, etc, just as if the couple were married. Essentially, the policy which underlies the Act is the notion that what matters here in determining the couples' obligations to one another is not the wedding ceremony that they did or didn't have, but the real nature of the conjugal, interdependent relationship that they do or don't have.

The problem with trying to predict, before you move in together, how the court would exercise its powers if you break up five or ten years later is that the court would be exercising its powers in the light of facts and events that have yet to unfold. If and when he court comes to exercise these powers, it will have a great deal of information that, as of now, you don't have. Therefore even your best predictions about what the court will or won't do can only be very tentative, very speculative. You can't know what the court would do, only what it could do.

A cohabitation agreement reduces this uncertainty but doesn't eliminate it. If, say, by the time the breakup happens, one party has given up their career to become a full-time parent to the couple's children, moved to a new city to support a partner's career progression, etc, then the cohabitation agreement that they made before they moved in which said that neither would have any claim on the other will simply be batted aside. As regards cohabitation agreements, the best strategy is, yes, make one before you move in together, but also review and adjust it regularly - every couple of years or so - in light of developments in the relationship and its circumstances, so that it looks like a just and reasonable attempt to address the circumstances that the couple are now in.

If you own the house outright before you met and you have no children then she would have no entitlement to a share unless she paid for an extension.

if you do have a mortgage for several years and she moves in and does not have her name on it but contributes to food and bills your still fine.

if you have a mortgage and you agree to put her name on it you will have to negotiate a settlement.

Best way to safeguard yourself is to get a cohabitation agreement drawn up and witnessed by a solicitor.

Ffs thanks Polly..I just wasted 10 mins on this 6 year old thread also...