Buying a Home With a Partner, Friend, or Family Member in the DC Area

With DC-area prices, more people are buying together: unmarried partners, siblings, friends, and parents with adult children. It can make a home reachable. It also ties your finances together, so here's how it works.

Can You Get a Mortgage With Someone You Are Not Married To?

Yes. Lenders don't require marriage. Any two or more people can apply together as co-borrowers on conventional, FHA, and many other programs. Everyone on the loan is fully responsible for the full payment, not just their share.

How Lenders Evaluate Multiple Borrowers

• Incomes are combined, which can raise the loan amount you qualify for.
• Debts for every borrower count toward the debt-to-income ratio.
• Most programs use the lowest middle credit score among borrowers.
• Everyone on the loan is generally listed on the title, unless they are a non-occupant co-borrower.

Co-Borrower vs. Non-Occupant Co-Borrower

Title: How You Hold the Home

Joint tenants with right of survivorship means a surviving owner inherits the home. Tenants in common lets each person own a defined share and leave it to their own heirs. Which is right depends on your situation, so ask a real estate attorney or title company before closing.

What to Agree on Before You Apply

1. 1Who pays what share of the down payment, monthly payment, and repairs.
2. 2What happens if one person wants to sell or move out.
3. 3How you would buy out a co-owner.
4. 4What happens if someone stops paying.

Put it in writing. A simple co-ownership agreement is far cheaper than sorting it out later.

Programs That Work Well for Co-Buyers

FHA and conventional low-down-payment loans both allow multiple borrowers, and many down payment assistance programs do too, with income limits that apply to the household. We'll check which option fits your combined profile, at no cost to you.

Considering buying together? Talk with us before you start shopping, and we'll walk through the numbers for everyone involved.