Buying a property with family

Have you ever thought of buying a property with a family member or friend? We are moving and I am feeling nostalgic. I bought this house with my brother in January 2007 but now it is time to move and leave it as what was intended: an investment property. In 2006 I had moved home for that purpose to save up a deposit. My generous parents allowed me home rent free while I worked two jobs 8:30am to 5pm five days and then 7 to 2am two nights a week. I saved but then instead of buying a cheaper place further out I decided to buy with my brother. Over the years I may have questioned why we bought together but as I always say, “you make your decisions based on the information you have at the time.” In my 2006 diary my list was as follows:

Should I buy a house with my brother?

Positives

1. Half a mortgage equals half the repayments.
2. Shared expenses (rates, insurance, electricity, water).
3. I will have company not alone.
4. I will not have to advertise for a room mate.
5. I will not need to buy a fridge, washing machine, or dryer or TV.
6. It will also help my brother buy a place.
7. I can invest any other savings in shares.

Negatives

1. It will not technically be 100% owned by me.
2. I am unsure of where I will be in the future (overseas? Boyfriend? Sell?)
3. Can I live with my brother (privacy, clean house, sharing bills and maintanence)
4. Can we agree on the future of the property.

Anyhow based with these pros and cons I decided that the postitives outweighed the negatives and we bought together. It has not been all smooth sailing but nether-the-less I have lived almost four years in this house and one year with our little family unit. My brother made the move last year when I told him “Surprise its Twins” and he politely decided to move out and as what was fair we paid him a year of half equitable rent. But now we have appointed a property manager and tenants have been found. We are moving.