Making a Will Before Buying a House

For many people, buying a first home is the point at which they own a genuinely significant asset for the first time, often bought with a partner and supported by a substantial mortgage. Before this, if you died without a will, the practical consequences might have been limited. Once a property and a mortgage are involved, the consequences of not having a will, or having one that does not reflect the purchase, become much more real.

It is also simply a natural moment to think about these things, since you are already dealing with legal paperwork, considering how you want to own the property, and thinking seriously about your financial future. Folding a will into this process, rather than leaving it for later, means it gets done.

If you are buying with a partner, spouse or friend, your solicitor will ask whether you want to hold the property as joint tenants or tenants in common, and this decision affects what happens to it on death separately from anything your will says. As joint tenants, the property passes automatically and entirely to the survivor, regardless of what either of your wills state. As tenants in common, each of you owns a defined share, which passes according to your own will, or under intestacy if you have none.

Married couples and civil partners with a simple household often choose joint tenancy for its simplicity. Unmarried couples, those who have contributed unequal amounts, or anyone wanting their share to go to children from a previous relationship, often choose tenants in common instead, paired with a will that says exactly where that share should go.

If you own the property outright or as tenants in common, your will can direct exactly who receives your share, whether that is a partner, spouse, children or someone else entirely. Without a will, that share would pass under the intestacy rules, which may not match what you actually want, particularly if you are unmarried or want to provide for children from an earlier relationship.

It is worth being precise in your will about whether you are leaving 'my share of the property' or a specific gift, and considering whether the person inheriting would need to sell, buy out another owner, or simply continue living there. A well-drafted will anticipates these practical questions rather than leaving them for your family to untangle.

An outstanding mortgage remains a debt of the estate, or in the case of a joint mortgage, becomes the sole responsibility of the surviving joint borrower, who usually needs to demonstrate they can afford the repayments alone or remortgage. This is worth thinking through honestly, particularly for a couple buying together where only one income might otherwise cover the mortgage.

Many buyers take out life insurance alongside a mortgage specifically to cover this risk, so that the mortgage is paid off, or substantially reduced, if one of you dies. This is separate from your will and works through its own nomination of beneficiary, but it is worth reviewing at the same time you make or update your will, since together they provide much stronger protection for whoever is left holding the property.

You do not need to wait until completion day to make your will, and there is a good argument for having it in place before you exchange contracts, particularly if you are taking on a large mortgage jointly with someone else. It ensures that from the moment you own the property, your wishes are clearly recorded rather than left to chance during what is already a stressful and busy period.

A straightforward will covering a property purchase, whether you are buying alone, with a partner, or with a spouse, can usually be made online quickly and starts from £69, a small addition to the overall cost of moving that provides real protection for the biggest asset most people ever own.