Should You Split House Bills 3 Ways With Your Parents?

The Initial Agreement

• 🏠 A 30-year-old Canadian woman moved to Orlando, Florida, and purchased a house with her mother.
• 💰 Initially, she and her mother split the mortgage payments 50/50, with a $90,000 down payment.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Her father, initially risk-averse, later contributed $204,000 to pay off the mortgage, effectively owning a majority share.

Disagreements Over Expenses

• 💸 The core issue is how to split ongoing house expenses like taxes and repairs.
• ⚖️ The daughter believes expenses should be divided by three since her father owns the majority of the house.
• 🏠 Currently, she and her mother split these bills 50/50, which the daughter feels is unfair given her father's significant equity.
• 🗣️ The original agreement was verbal, leading to a lack of clarity on expense division.

Financial Stakes and Future Considerations

• 📈 The daughter's equity is estimated at around $60,000 out of a $340,000 house value, potentially around 18% of the profit upon sale.
• ⚠️ The hosts advise getting the agreement in writing to avoid future disputes, especially given the potential for house appreciation.
• ✈️ The daughter's work visa status adds complexity, as she might have to return to Canada, potentially forcing a sale or leaving her with payments on a property abroad.

Advice and Potential Solutions

• 🏡 The hosts suggest the daughter might be better off exiting the deal entirely and renting her own apartment to simplify her life and reduce conflict.
• 🤝 They recommend a "come to Jesus meeting" with her parents to formalize the equity split and expense division in writing.
• 💰 An alternative is for the parents to buy out her share, allowing her to use her equity as a down payment for her own property.
• ⚠️ The situation is deemed messy, with the daughter potentially facing a situation where her parents could argue for her to pay more due to her living there most of the year.