Buying a two-family house with friends

I agree with Pagoni. You write that you are aware of the risk. By that you mean you have heard that it can also go wrong. Of course, that will not be the case with you ;-) If you were to consider that it gets serious with you, then joint liability would not be an option.

Yes, there is definitely something to that!

At the latest, when property is involved, people become strange.

The only clean solution is to have the house and property divided and then to buy it. I also do not consider a 60:40 split fair, even with different conditions. Moreover, a partition declaration allows you to resell the apartment at any time without being dependent on the other. The moment you are jointly liable, you have each other in your hands. I did not want that, especially not with friends. Money is a fairly reliable way to destroy friendships, so before buying I would clearly separate who is responsible for what and at what price.

Since this scenario is not that common, unfortunately you can only find a few examples on the internet, so I really hope you can help me.

Because you don't do it - the stronger the friendship, the less...

There are unwritten laws of life: this is one of them: don't build or buy a house with friends. There are others: don't sleep with your friend's wife, or always brush your teeth in the morning. Believe me: any discussion about it leads nowhere!

I agree 100% with all the skeptics. I would never, in my life, enter into such a project as joint debtors.

The 50:50 split was for us a compensation for the fact that we do not commission an expert to quantify the lower value of apartment 1 but strictly divide the purchase price according to the living space.
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A fair process is our top priority.

If you really care about a fair process, then an expert should be commissioned even if you agree 100%. Sorry, that is really foolish and negligent not to record the actual condition and to separate it properly.

The project is only fair and legally clean for both parties if you invest at least a few days before going to the notary.

1. Obtain the certificate of completion from the office (from the current owner)
2. Prepare the declaration of division (there is even a template including the community rules available online)
3. Schedule a notary appointment and notarize the purchase or declaration of division

Before that, you can properly consider who is entitled to what at what price. Depending on the special usage rights to the property, the living area, and the condition of the apartments.

I would never handle anything else as a real estate banker. Joint and several liability is a mess. Fractional ownership is also a mess - because no bank finances it and it is therefore ruled out (unless you all are liable for everything again).

Alternative, if the purchase needs to happen quickly - one party buys alone. Division afterwards. If that would even be feasible for you due to financing.