Is it a good idea to buy property with your partner if you’re not married?

With more Australians delaying marriage until later in life, and four out of five married couples living together before tying the knot, buying a home with your partner can seem like a great way to get onto the property ladder.

Although the average age of first-home buyers has remained constant at 32 years old for two decades, the median age of marriage in 2015 was 31.8 for men and 29.8 for women, compared to 29.5 for men and 27.6 for women in 2005, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.If you are already living with your partner, your finances will likely have already merged to some degree, and buying property together may have crossed your mind. After all, it’s easier to secure and service a home loan with two incomes rather than one.

But considering that buying a home is one of the largest purchases you will ever make, there is much more at stake financially than signing a lease on a rental property, especially if the relationship comes to an end.While you may think that marriage would make it easier to secure a loan, or offer you more security in the event of a breakup, the reality is that both the banks and the courts treat de facto couples the same as they would married couples.

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