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A12 BUSINESS
Thursday 8 december 2022
Co-buying a house: How platonic

partners make it work

By ABBY BADACH DOYLE
of NerdWallet
Seven years ago, Phil Levin
and his girlfriend, Kristen
Berman, pondered a com-
mon question: Should we
move in together?
Levin assumed they’d take
a predictable path and
find a more affordable
apartment outside of pric-
ey San Francisco. But Ber-
man, a behavioral scien-
tist, shared her reservations
about leaving their friend
network and some facts An advertising sign for building land stands in front of a new
to back it up. “All the be- home construction site in Northbrook, Ill., Wednesday, Sept. 21,
havioral science research 2022.
shows that that’s one of the Associated Press
worst things you can do for “other household compo- with a resale on that, be-
your happiness,” Levin says. sitions” that is, something cause somebody could
Instead, the couple rented different than single, mar- rent it out.”
a Victorian-era mansion in ried or coupled. “It can STRESS-TEST YOUR RELA-
San Francisco’s Hayes Val- be a great situation, and TIONSHIP
ley neighborhood and in- a way to enter the market Even for family members or
vited nine friends to move that they wouldn’t be able experienced roommates,
in. Today, they co-own a to enter otherwise,” says the financial commitment
multiunit property in Oak- Don Koonce, a real estate of co-buying raises the
land, California, called agent in Seattle who has stakes.
Radish, which houses 17 helped dozens of co-buy- Ashley Agnew is a n invest-
adults and two infants. ers during his eight years in ment advisor and financial
It took some effort to find real estate. therapist with Centerpoint
the right property and Many co-buyers Koonce Advisors, a wealth man-
figure out finances. But has worked with are pla- agement firm in Needham,
the now-married couple tonic friends who have Massachusetts. When
couldn’t imagine design- been living together for working with co-buyers,
ing their life or raising their years. she role-plays worst-case
daughter any other way. But they’re as diverse as scenarios to “stress test”
“Being able to have this the types of homes they the relationship, such as
extended family of ‘aun- buy, which range from tra- how they’d handle major
ties’ and ‘uncles’ close by ditional single-family homes home repairs or theft. You
has been wonderful,” Levin to condos and duplexes. really do have to get a little
says. Many co-buyers oper- The right home depends bit financially naked with
ate on a smaller scale. But on your group’s size and the person that you’re buy-
no matter the size of your tolerance of personal ver- ing with,” she says.
group, co-buying requires sus shared space. Houses “There has to be a lot of
extra planning and paper- with basements work well transparency.”
work. If you’re willing to for separate living spaces, Agnew always recom-
get vulnerable about your Koonce says, or you could mends that co-buyers
finances and long-term remodel. seek legal counsel. An es-
goals, the payoff of com- Recently, Koonce helped tate attorney can draft a
panionship can be worth it. a mother and daughter cohabitation agreement
KEEP AN OPEN MIND buy a split-level that they something that’s not just
In the National Association renovated into two distinct for romantic partners, she
of Realtors’ 2022 Profile of units, including separate notes. That way, all par-
Home Buyers and Sellers, kitchens. ties know what to expect
a record-high 5% of first- “It was beautiful,” he says. if someone wants out of
time home buyers were “I don’t see any problem the homeownership com-
mitment. “It’s almost like
running a minibusiness, es-
pecially if it’s not a couple-
ship,” Agnew says.
An estate attorney can
also help co-buyers under-
stand options for titling the
home, such as joint tenan-
cy or tenancy in common.
Each arrangement has
pros, cons and legal obli-
gations. q