We’ve seen over and over again that many first time home buyers have a common trait to them – they recently got married.
Two souls become one
There are psychological and legal aspects of why this might be a trend.
When two happy birds get married, they start to feel more stability in their life. To many, buying a home is an event that requires stability, and this makes sense. Ranging from regular mortgage payments (if financing a home through a mortgage) to property taxes every year, owning a home can be a large commitment. When potential first time home buyers feel that they have external forces of stability in their life, such as a marriage, they feel more comfortable committing to buying a home.
Buying a home is also an expensive experience. From thousands of dollars in closing costs to rising property prices, having someone to split the cost with is nice. While it would be nice to split the cost of a home with a friend, or even a distant uncle that you’re very chummy with, it’s legally complicated to do so. Who’s name goes on the title? Who’s in charge if one party defaults on mortgage payments? What if one of the parties wants to move to a different city/sell the home, but the other doesn’t?
Some new startups are tackling this co-ownership issue, but for the most part, the law takes for granted that married couples make decisions together – and this does hold for most cases. As such, it becomes significantly easier to share a property with a spouse, hence leading to this trend.
So let us know if you’re thinking of getting married soon, or recently got married. We’ll send a really lovely wine bottle, with a sweet note that bumps you up on the waitlist to buy a home with Hutsy. It’s the least we can do on your joyous occasion ๐
