Sharing a home, whether it is part ownership or rental, seems to be an option that many of us choose to avoid. Gas and food prices keep rising and we just economize a little more to squeak by each month. Yet, if it is agreeable, sharing can give you so many luxuries in life, through acquiring monthly income or spare cash from the part-sale of your home.



It is not a new thing to share and sell part of your home. Colonial mansions in the older areas of the USA have long been divided and sold. It is also a very popular feature of British real estate, and the most common way for first time buyers to get their foot on the property ladder.

Offering co-ownership in the home is often called an "equity sharing partnership". This is outlined in great detail on a site called AlperLaw.com where it is explained that the system started as a way for parents to use their child's home to beat the tax system.

A parent can take the title of their child's residence, rent the house 'back' to them and claim the tax benefits associated with owning a rental property. The child contributes as much as he can afford, the balance is picked up by the parent and the two of them share any gain from the sale. This system has since become expanded to include investors who wish to find tax loss opportunities.

These two scenarios jump from one extreme to the other, i.e., sharing with your family or sharing with a complete stranger who is never there! A third alternative which can be agreeable is sharing with someone who actually lives in the same house as you, but in their own part of it that they have purchased from you.

This way, you can sell part of your home using a tenants-in-common contract; this is the only choice you can use because joint tenancy has to be contracted at the time of the purchase of the property. Most married partners use the joint tenancy contract and automatically inherit the other half of the home if the partner dies. You will need a realtor and a lawyer to help you with this; it is still a pioneer process and you will need advice on your choices of what you can do with the house on your death. (So far this system has become popular in California and Washington D.C. and it is still fairly new in Florida.)

One thing that is clear under the law is that it does not matter which 'half' or fraction of it you own (buy or sell); the whole house is jointly owned by both of the tenants.

Obviously there may be some initial outlay, such as a second bathroom, kitchen and entrance way. On the other hand, it does give you a house sitter for when you go away on all those vacations that you will now be able to afford!