The Boyfriend Mortgage Contribution

• February 5, 2014

by UrbanTurf Staff

In this installment of UrbanTurf Reader Asks, a homeowner who recently had her boyfriend move in inquires as to whether there is a protocol for the boyfriend helping with mortgage payments.

Several weeks ago, my boyfriend moved into the condo that I have owned for a few years on Capitol Hill. We have yet to work out a payment plan, but I was thinking that 40-50 percent of the current $2,200 a month mortgage would be suitable. Frankly, $1,100 a month is far less than what he paid at his previous place, so I think it is a fair solution. If UrbanTurf readers have had experience with this situation, I would be curious to know how things were worked out and if my proposed payment plan is reasonable.

Post your experiences/thoughts in the comments section. This same question was asked of UrbanTurf readers about three years ago. Here are some of the responses:

"My girlfriend moved in with me off of Logan Circle in April. I basically maintained her old Dupont Circle rent of $1,100 flat. That ends up being only about 1/4 of the household expenses, but it seemed like carrying over her old rent was the most equitable thing to do until I put a ring on it."

I’ve lived with my boyfriend—recently husband—for over 4 years and in my old condo, he paid just a portion of the mortgage that I thought he could afford (His income was about 70% of mine). When we sold, I calculated his share of the cash out as a factor of how much money he put in compared to how much I put in—it was very fair.

I’ve thought about how to deal with this if I asked my girlfriend to move in and the most equitable solution that I’ve come up with so far is that she should end up paying less than she paid in rent for her previous place plus her contribution should also be less than she would pay to split the rent if we were renting (my place was rented before I bought so I have a clear sense of what its worth). That way she’s getting a clear financial deal both over her prior costs and over what she would be otherwise paying. If she has those savings, then, in my opinion, the equity issue is moot.

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This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_boyfriend_mortgage_contribution/8088