Do we need two conveyancing solicitors to deal with a shared ownership property?
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Cecile D from Leeds
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Legal questions and answers
Question
My partner and I are looking to buy a flat in a shared ownership scheme. Because we are not married, do we need to have separate conveyancing solicitors?
Answer
No. There is no necessity for you to have separate solicitors when you are buying a shared ownership property because both of you will have the same aim in the transaction and so there are unlikely to be any problems where your individual wishes come into conflict.
If it is the case that the two of you are contributing different amounts of money to the transaction and you wish to record this in writing, ask your solicitor to prepare a Declaration of Trust between you as this can allocate different shareholdings to each of you and also provide that each of you gets back what you put in in the event that your relationship breaks down or the property is sold.
reallymoving comment:
Our solicitors are used to dealing with two individuals purchasing together and will not be concerned. You do, however, need to let the solicitor know so that they can carry out the necessary legal checks. Here is an article on what happens once you have had an offer on a property accepted.
Richard Broadhead
NBM Conveyancing Solicitors
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