How do we discuss unequal home deposits without making one partner feel like a guest?
Housing"So I'm paying half the mortgage but buying less of the home?" my partner asked when I suggested recording our different deposits. Until that sentence, I thought I was proposing paperwork rather than changing how the purchase felt.
We're an unmarried couple buying in England. I'd put in £45,000 and he'd put in £15,000. We expect to split the monthly mortgage payments equally. My larger contribution is most of the savings I had before we met; his smaller deposit would still use nearly everything he has available.
[GOV.UK explains that tenants in common can hold different shares](https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership/overview). It doesn't choose a fair arrangement for our deposits, ongoing payments or any future sale. We have a meeting with our solicitor, and I don't want to arrive assuming the deposit ratio should automatically settle every other question.
He offered to pay more each month until he'd caught up. I'm worried that would leave him unable to save for ordinary expenses. How can we talk about protecting the money going in while treating the place as a shared home? We need an arrangement we both understand, including what it means if things go badly.