Not everyone will need a Deed of Trust if sharing home ownership with someone else, but if you are tenants in common (as opposed to joint tenants), then it is an important and legally binding way to establish who owns what share of the property. As for how much the Deed of Trust will cost, that is dependent on a range of factors.
What is a Deed of Trust?
Sometimes, when two or more people buy a house together, they pay an equal amount of money towards the purchase and share the mortgage equally. This means they are joint tenants. Other times, different people will contribute different amounts, known as being tenants in common. This gives them different rights.
In the case of tenants in common, a Deed of Trust can be used to legally define what proportion of the property you each own. That means that if you ever choose to sell the property, you can ensure that each of you receives your fair share of the profit.
How do I prepare a Deed of Trust?
It is possible to choose to draw up a Deed of Trust yourself, which obviously allows you to avoid potentially costly legal fees. This is, however, a legally binding document, and you do not want to make an error that could prove even more expensive in the long run by preventing you from claiming your full share of the property.
For most people, the sensible choice is to have a qualified solicitor or conveyancer, such as one from https://www.samconveyancing.co.uk/news/conveyancing/deed-of-trust-4378, to prepare the documents for you. If you use the same solicitor as the one handling the other legal matters regarding your property purchase, this will likely be cheaper than trying to hire a separate professional just for this one task.
How much does it cost?
The Deed of Trust cost can vary widely depending on the complexity of your arrangements and the usual rates of your chosen solicitor or conveyancer. In the simplest cases, you may only be paying around £100. For more difficult divisions, or with a particularly costly solicitor, the fee could rise to as much as £1000. Of course, this is still much cheaper than the tens of thousands of pounds that you could end up spending in a lengthy legal dispute with your co-owner over your proportion of the property.
To know how much a Deed of Trust might cost for your property, you will need to consult with a conveyancer or solicitor about the specifics of your situation. This will allow them to calculate the likely rate, which could be anywhere between £100 and £1000 depending on the various relevant factors.