Today's article is for all the men and women out there that have found new romance. Maybe you have been divorced or lost a spouse in death, but now you have found new love. You may have met at work, through mutual friends, or you may have met through online dating. When we first fall in love everything is great! You overlook all those bad habits that will drive you crazy in the years to come. You may have been together for a few years now, but you are ready to combine house holds.
Here in SE Michigan I seem to do a lot of that. Selling one or two homes and then finding a new home for the new couple. It's an exciting time when you are in love. As a real estate agent I can't say this to the face of a client because I could lose the client. But as a real estate writer I can. When you start making these plans you have to do it smart. You have to be smart financially. Like I say everything is great, but you have to protect yourself for the downside too.
One of the biggest I have heard from clients is the sale of the old homes. You may need to sell both of them in order to financially afford the new joint house. Then I say jump right in. Where I have heard of problems is when the marriage or the new cohabitation doesn't work out and the old home is sold. Yes, I know that if you go into a relationship thinking or protecting yourself that it may fall apart....it has problems from the start. Let me tell you from experience and watching other clients is that it doesn't always work out and sometimes it falls apart quick.
So my advice is if you do not have to sell, it may be wise to rent the old home for a couple of years. That way you have a fall back if the relationship does not work out. Sometimes relationships go great. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 years to learn what a person is really like and whether you can live with them. I have had a client regret that they sold their home of 25 years and jump into a relationship. The relationship fell apart and they were not left with enough to buy another home. It was heart breaking for her.
When you enter into a relationship when there are unequal amounts being put in, you may want to put in writing that you will get the same amounty back out. I had a client once where he had a paid off house and had lived in it for 30 years. She owned hers for 5 years and owned the max on it. They sold their homes, bought together. We together for 4 years and she got half the money of the new house when they split up.
Add in children from previous marriages and it can become a nightmare for the parties as who will get what when somebody dies. These are all matters that you should be thinking about before you jump into marriage. I had another client buy a big water front home in Oakland County in his name for both of them. He had taken out a mortgage on it. She lived in a nice older home in Rochester. He fixed it up for her and was getting ready to sell it when he learned of her different financial thoughts. She had it in her mind to sell her house. Keep the money from it. Live in the new house and not contribute anything to the mortgage. It was great for her....needless to say they never got married and split up.
As a realtor I see it all the time. You need to talk finances and homes when you are committing to another relationship. It's not like when we were young. We have more assets. One person may be thinking something totally different. So talk about it before you pull the trigger. Unless you don't care about the money. To search for Southeastern Michigan homes on or off the lakes go to http://www.Michiganlakerealestatehomes.com
