While taking the next step with your romantic partner always feels daunting, the decision to purchase a house together can be scarier than most. Buying a house with your partner means merging a huge part of your life and your assets with another person, and that kind of commitment can be very intimidating. Fortunately, however, so long as you and your partner love and trust each other in an open and honest relationship, there should be no reason why the prospect of purchasing a house together should be frightening.
Nonetheless, the fact is that the stress of purchasing a home together can place a significant amount of strain on even the most healthy and respectful relationships. However, there are some guidelines and tips that can help you and your romantic partner avoid both financial and emotional setbacks while you navigate the difficult terrain of buying a house with a loved one. Here are five tips to make sure your relationship and your wallets stay healthy while buying your first house with a romantic partner.
Talk About Expectations
One of the most important parts of any relationship is open and honest communication, and nowhere is that more necessary than when you’re about to commit to a huge joint financial investment with your romantic partner. Before you purchase a home together, you and your partner should sit down and discuss expectations on what your budget looks like, what type of home you want to purchase, and what kind of lifestyle you want to have in that home.
While these may seem like difficult questions, the truth of the matter is that the home you purchase will shape your life for several years to come. Therefore, it’s especially important that you and your romantic partner are on the same page throughout the entire purchasing process.
Be Prepared To Make Compromises
Once you lay out what you expect from your first home with your romantic partner, you may be dismayed to find that your vision has some significant differences from your partner. That’s okay — almost no relationship, no matter how compatible, will be in harmony in every aspect of life. However, once you’ve identified whatever differences you have with your partner in what you expect from your home, it’s important that both of you are prepared to make compromises in order to satisfy each other.
One good way of discussing compromises is to have an order of priority for the issues in contention. While some issues may be things you absolutely cannot change your mind about, other issues may not be so important, and it may be smart to compromise on the things that don’t matter as much. It’s always a good idea to be smart about choosing which hills you want to die on, and sometimes minor issues aren’t worth the conflict and distress that might come from a fight.
Picture Scenarios Before Making An Offer
After you and your partner have agreed on what you want from the house you’re about to purchase together, it’s time to start looking at properties. While doing so, it can be smart to try to imagine what living at a given property together would look and be like. If you can’t picture yourself and your partner living in a house, that house probably isn’t the one for you. Think about how the houses you’re looking at will suit you and your partners’ lifestyles and the future that the two of you have discussed.
Rely On An Expert
It can also be helpful to ask for advice from your realtor or another real estate expert before making a decision. Purchasing a home is a huge commitment to make, and you should take your time to make sure you’re buying a home that will make you happy for at least the next few years. In addition to speaking to a realtor, you may also want to consult a contractor or handyman in case you wish to perform any renovations on the home, or have it inspected before making an offer.
Make Decisions Together
Finally, the most important part of purchasing a house with your romantic partner is mutual respect and being willing to make decisions together. This obviously includes the actual purchase of the house, but it also pertains to what you plan to do afterward. Once you purchase a house with someone, you can no longer make unilateral decisions about the property because it is not solely yours. Before committing to renovations or researching by Googling “concrete companies near me” to redo the driveway, it’s imperative that you always speak to your partner first and come to a mutual decision. By doing so, you’ll avoid building up resentment and miscommunications between the two of you, and set yourselves up for a happy and loving future.
