Loan agreement for only one person: advantages / disadvantages

My partner and I are not married, but we want to buy an apartment and already have one in sight.

We have also already received financing offers, for which we would take out the loan together.

Now the question arises whether we should both take out the loan or just one of us, so that we do not both negatively affect our Schufa score. It could well happen that we might need another loan for some reason in the future, and then it would be better if one of us still had a better Schufa score. As I have read, there is also the option that there is one borrower and the other pays their share in the form of rent, which could also be contractually recorded.

I have also read about the option of a GbR, which completely confused me.

Does such an option negatively affect the financing, and what would need to be considered in the loan agreement? The borrower would have a positive income in addition to their regular income declared to the bank and therefore should not have any disadvantages regarding the monthly installment, right?

The borrower would also have more shares in the apartment in the land register, since they also contribute a larger portion of the equity capital. It would then not necessarily have to lead to a foreclosure with a big loss, but rather a partition auction in case of separation, and they would have the right to buy out the share and could continue to live in the apartment. We would only choose a financing offer where a change in the installment is possible.

I know this actually concerns two topics now, but we want to keep it as fair as possible. It should not look like one party is significantly disadvantaged if they are the only one registered for the loan agreement for the apartment.

What is your view on this? Thank you in advance.

Gbr is nonsense for personal use and almost no one would finance you. Financing alone is only a good idea if you become the sole owner. If you sign the loan and buy with your partner, you are personally liable for the loan and in rem (with 50% of the apartment), your partner only in rem. Now you should recognize where the problem is.

Hello,

basically, a lot is possible, the question is only whether it makes sense. A bank always prefers two borrowers over one. You have to be clear about the tail it drags along. And then consider why you are doing it. In principle, the questions are already the answers. There is a lot more that would have to be arranged additionally. If one person takes out the loan alone, then the property should also belong to them alone and they should be able to bear the loan alone. Everything else is, to me, an unnecessarily complicated construct that, if it goes wrong, will especially backfire on you and with most banks would rather cause an additional wrinkle of the nose.

If the reason is only [Schufa]... throw the idea away quickly. A construction loan is not a negative feature. On the contrary, it can even be a positive signal if you have a mortgage loan that is serviced regularly. This shows a bank that the person is reliable. And if your circumstances are right, a later loan will not be a problem, if the circumstances are not right, the construct will not help you much either.

From my point of view, this makes no sense.

Thank you very much for the quick responses, they have already helped me, especially regarding the Schufa. I had different information here and feared that it could even be bad with simple contracts, such as quite simply with phone contracts or car financing, if you have such a loan running. So a joint loan agreement is definitely more sensible. Then we will probably do it that way after all and open a joint account specifically for this purpose, as originally planned, through which the financing will also run. We will then no longer obtain additional offers from the banks. When and where could/would we have to make arrangements about what happens with the apartment in the event of a separation, that is, who has the right to stay and with what notice period he would have to buy out the other's share, or in the event of death? Would that also have to be done immediately, or could the notary also handle that directly at the time of purchase? But that would be a separate contract anyway.

Engage a lawyer who is specialized in this and notarizes. Just always remember, the bank will not care about your side agreements in the worst case.