This conversation happens before pre-approval, before Zillow searches, and before any conversation with a real estate agent. It covers every variable that will affect the transaction and the ongoing ownership: each partner’s credit score, income, debt obligations, savings available for down payment and reserves, and what each person’s contribution to the purchase will be.

Specifically: Will the down payment come from both partners equally, or will one contribute more? If contributions are unequal, does that translate to an unequal ownership split? Who will the mortgage payment come from — a joint account or individual accounts? What happens if one partner’s income situation changes after purchase?

None of these questions require a lawyer to answer at this stage. They require honesty. The answers feed directly into Step 3 (mortgage structure), Step 4 (ownership type), and Step 5 (co-ownership agreement). Couples who skip this conversation and try to sort it out mid-transaction create avoidable friction at exactly the wrong time.

When both partners apply for a joint mortgage in Arizona, the lender does not average the two middle credit scores. It uses the lower of the two. If one partner has a 780 and the other has a 640, the loan is underwritten at 640. The rate and terms reflect 640.

This is the variable that most couples discover too late — either when the pre-approval comes back with a rate higher than expected, or when one partner’s credit pulls a flag that delays the timeline. Pulling both credit reports through AnnualCreditReport.com before any lender contact gives the couple a full picture in advance. If one partner has derogatory items, old collection accounts, or a thin credit file, addressing those before applying can meaningfully improve the loan outcome.

The alternative calculation: if one partner has a strong credit score and sufficient income to qualify alone, running the mortgage in that partner’s name alone avoids the lower-score drag entirely. The other partner can still be on the deed. This is a documented strategy — but it has legal implications that must be addressed in the co-ownership agreement (see Step 5).

There are three configurations: both partners on the mortgage, one partner on the mortgage with both on the deed, or one partner on both the mortgage and the deed. Each produces a different legal and financial position.

Both on mortgage and deed: Maximum shared obligation and maximum shared ownership. Both incomes can be counted toward qualification, which increases buying power. Both credit scores are factored — the lower one drives the rate. Both partners are legally liable for every payment. A missed payment damages both credit profiles.

One on mortgage, both on deed: The borrowing partner alone is obligated on the loan. The non-borrowing partner holds ownership rights without loan liability. This can produce a better rate if the credit profile difference is material. The asymmetry between the legal obligation (one person) and the legal ownership (two people) must be addressed in the co-ownership agreement to prevent disputes later.

One on mortgage and deed: Clean legally, but the partner not on the deed has no property rights regardless of financial contributions. This structure is only appropriate when one partner is the sole buyer in every practical sense, and the other partner is a co-resident rather than a co-investor. If both partners are contributing financially, both partners should be on the deed.

Removing a name from the mortgage after closing requires a full refinance. Removing a name from the deed requires either a buyout or a sale. Choosing the wrong structure at closing is not a simple fix.

For unmarried co-buyers in Arizona, two ownership structures are available and relevant: Tenants in Common (TIC) and Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship (JTWROS). A third option — Community Property with Right of Survivorship — is available only to married couples and does not apply here.

Tenants in Common is the default. Each partner holds a defined percentage interest — which does not have to be 50/50. A couple where one partner contributed 70% of the down payment could hold title as 70/30 TIC, accurately reflecting the financial reality. Each partner can sell, mortgage, or transfer their individual interest without the other’s consent. At death, that interest passes by will or intestate succession — not to the surviving partner automatically. Creditors of one partner can attach to that partner’s interest. The surviving partner could end up co-owning the property with the deceased partner’s heirs.

Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship passes the property to the surviving partner automatically at death, outside of probate. It requires equal ownership shares. The deed must contain the specific phrase “joint tenants with right of survivorship” — anything less is insufficient under Arizona case law, per Jaburg Wilk. If one joint tenant transfers their interest during their lifetime, the joint tenancy is severed and converts to Tenants in Common.

A third option worth discussing with an estate planning attorney: each partner places their ownership interest into a revocable living trust. Each trust can specify survivorship provisions, protecting both the surviving partner and any children or heirs from prior relationships. This is the most flexible structure but adds administrative complexity.

The right answer is not universal. It depends on whether contributions are equal, whether either partner has children from a prior relationship, and what each partner’s estate planning goals are. This decision should involve an Arizona real estate attorney — not the escrow officer filling out the deed at closing.

A co-ownership agreement is a legally binding contract that documents the operational and financial terms of shared property ownership. In Arizona, where no statutory framework governs how unmarried co-owners divide property at separation, it is the document that controls every worst-case scenario. It is signed before or at closing — not afterward, when circumstances have changed and the conversation is harder.

A properly drafted co-ownership agreement addresses: each partner’s ownership percentage and how it was calculated; each partner’s obligation for monthly mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs; the procedure for one partner buying out the other; what happens if one partner cannot or will not continue making payments; how a sale decision is made if partners disagree; and what constitutes a triggering event requiring dissolution of the co-ownership arrangement.

If one partner is on the mortgage and the other is only on the deed, the agreement should specify what the non-borrowing partner’s payment obligations are and what recourse the borrowing partner has if those obligations are not met. If down payment contributions were unequal, the agreement should reflect how that asymmetry is handled at sale or refinance.

This document is prepared by an Arizona real estate attorney. A template from a legal document website is not a substitute. The Provident Law firm’s Arizona School of Real Estate commentary specifically identifies the absence of a co-ownership agreement as the primary source of partition actions — court proceedings that are expensive, contentious, and entirely avoidable.

Arizona does not have a divorce process for unmarried couples. When a married couple separates, a body of family law governs asset division, spousal support, and property rights. When an unmarried couple separates, none of that applies. The rights of each partner are determined by the deed, the mortgage, and any written agreements in place at the time of separation.

The three scenarios the co-ownership agreement must address explicitly:

Separation: If the relationship ends, does one partner have the right to buy out the other? At what price — market value or an agreed formula? What is the timeline for a decision? If neither partner can or will buy out the other, when does the property go to market? If one partner vacates but refuses to agree to a sale, the other partner’s primary legal remedy is a partition action — a court-ordered sale of jointly owned property. This process typically costs $5,000 to $15,000 in legal fees and takes months to resolve. The co-ownership agreement can include a binding arbitration clause that avoids court entirely.

Death: If one partner dies without a will and the property is held as Tenants in Common, that partner’s interest passes by Arizona’s intestate succession laws — which prioritize legal heirs (children, parents, siblings) over an unmarried partner. The surviving partner may find themselves co-owning the home with their late partner’s family members. JTWROS structure or trust ownership eliminates this risk. If the couple chooses TIC, each partner should execute a will naming the other as beneficiary of their property interest, or record an Arizona Beneficiary Deed transferring the interest at death.

Default: If one partner stops contributing to mortgage payments, the other partner remains fully liable on the loan. Missed payments affect both credit profiles if both are on the mortgage. The co-ownership agreement should specify the cure period, the notification requirement, and the remedies available to the continuing partner — including the ability to accelerate a buyout or sale if one partner defaults on their payment obligations.

The co-ownership agreement governs the relationship between the two partners. Estate planning documents govern what happens when one partner is no longer present to participate in that relationship.

For unmarried couples, the baseline estate planning package after a home purchase includes: a will for each partner naming the other as beneficiary of their property interest (if TIC structure is used); durable power of attorney for each partner authorizing the other to make financial decisions if one becomes incapacitated; healthcare power of attorney and living will designating each partner as the healthcare decision-maker; and life insurance coverage sufficient to allow the surviving partner to continue mortgage payments without the deceased partner’s income contribution.

Arizona’s Beneficiary Deed statute (A.R.S. Section 33-405) provides an additional mechanism. Each partner can record a Beneficiary Deed transferring their ownership interest to the other partner at death, outside of probate and without requiring JTWROS on the title. This is a relatively low-cost tool that closes a significant gap for TIC co-owners who have not established trusts.

The life insurance calculation is straightforward: what is the monthly mortgage payment, and can the surviving partner cover it on their income alone? If not, term life insurance on each partner — with the other as beneficiary — is a direct solution. Premiums on 20-year term policies for buyers in their 30s are typically $20 to $50 per month per person for $500,000 in coverage. This is not a large expense relative to the risk it mitigates on a $480,000 asset.

The transaction team for an unmarried couple buying in Phoenix should include four professionals: a real estate agent familiar with co-buyer transactions in the target submarket; a lender who has run joint and single-applicant scenarios for unmarried couples and can lay out the rate and qualification differences clearly; an Arizona real estate attorney who drafts the co-ownership agreement and reviews the deed language before recording; and an estate planning attorney — or the same real estate attorney if they practice both — who handles the post-closing will, power of attorney, and beneficiary deed work.

The escrow officer at closing is not a substitute for the attorney. Title companies in Arizona are legally prohibited from providing legal advice. The escrow officer will execute whatever deed language the parties present — including language that creates JTWROS when TIC was intended, or TIC when JTWROS was intended. The language on the deed is a legal decision that should be made before arriving at the closing table, with counsel.

In the Peoria, Goodyear, and Surprise submarkets, the current buyer’s market conditions — active listings running 72 to 80 days on market, seller concessions in 56% of closings, sale-to-list ratios near 98.3% — give co-buyers time to work through these steps without rushed decisions. The market pressure that caused buyers to waive contingencies and skip due diligence in 2021-2022 does not exist right now. Use that time to build the legal and financial structure correctly before closing.