Expert: Dick Dennis - 6/8/2008

Question
I have been dating my boyfriend for almost three years and have lived with him for over two.  We aren't married or even engaged yet but we plan on it.  We are trying to find a place to rent due to us having to relocate for my school and his new job as a physician assistant but cannot seem to find anything nice.  Would it be smarter to look for a home to buy because it seems like a mortgage payment would probably be about the same as us renting per month only we would be putting our money to our home rather than paying someone to rent...if you can understand that....do you think that is smarter and what should we do if we decide to buy a home together, as far as cosigning just in case things go south...I am a very safe person and don't want to make ANY mistakes.  Thank You : )

Answer
You're a smart girl, Whitney. I've been answering these questions for AllExperts.com for six years now and do you know what question subject is the most common?

What to do with a house when a couple break up and one of them has to be responsible for the loan while the other just takes off. Maybe the person who took off is cosigned on the loan. Then later, when it comes time to sell the property, the party that is not there is not present to sign any necessary papers.

In otherwords, Whitney, I say pass on buying a property together. You also have to protect yourself with a lease obligation. That one person can certainly just leave the other one in the lurch with paying the entire rent obligation.

To do it right, both of you should sit down with a REAL ESTATE attorney and tell him/her what you want accomplished. I wish you well.

Dick Dennis