Co-Owner

You have a spouse, and you want to buy a home. You both apply for a loan. It’s accepted by the bank.

Not only are you co-applicants, but you’re now co-owners. Well, not technically. Technically, the bank owns your house, and both co-owners spend the duration of their loan paying it off. Once your loan is paid off, then you are now co-owners…unless you don’t pay your property taxes. Then another owner can come in and buy it at auction.

Co-owners have a percentage of an asset, according to their ownership agreement. There can be many of them, or few of them. The general rule, however, is to never go into business with your family. They’re the worst, remember? And the easiest way to ruin a friendship is to go into business together as co-owners of virtually anything, especially if one of you is really passionate about the industry and the other just wants to get paid regardless of market conditions.