Buying Property as a Partnership

[Alex Caplan]

Hello, 

I purchased my first property in July of 2021. I am currently house hacking, and renting our 3 bedrooms. I received all of my first time homebuyer benefits.

I am now looking at my second property. I toured a pre-market house today and would like to put an offer in, however this house I will be purchasing with a partner.

My partner has never purchased a house before, and would like to purchase this as a primary residence in order to get all of the benefits associated with this.

This means that I will not be on the deed or the mortgage. My lender has told me that it will be easy to add me to the deed 6 months to 1 year down the road and that it will be relatively cheap, but I am wondering if adding me will technically be considered my partner gifting me for tax purposes. Also, the only way to add me to the mortgage is to refinance later on, which we will not be so open to unless rates come down.

How can he protect his interests if I am on the deed but not the mortgage? We want to lessen his risk.

Also, how can I protect my interests for when the house is purchased, before I am put on the deed. We imagined we could have a real estate attorney craft up documents stating that the house was purchased together and that I will be added to the deed at a later time.

Also, are there any fees associated with this process that I am overlooking? I want to make sure there are no surprises.
Any advice on the best way to do this deal in a partnership is much appreciated. We want to protect both parties, have an equal share, and take full advantage homebuying perks.