Rising house prices and a fear of being left behind without access to even the lowest rung of the property ladder are forcing first-time buyers to rush into arranging joint mortgages with people they hardly know, it has been claimed.

Skipton Building Society found that one in five people who bought their first home with someone other than their spouse admitted they had known the person for less than 12 months.

Financial factors tended to be the driving force in these purchases, with 56% saying they bought jointly because it made financial sense, while a quarter said they would have been unable to get a place on their own and 22% admitted they were desperate to get on to the property ladder.

Unsurprisingly, a quarter of these arrangements broke down quickly after the borrowers split up or fell out.

About 18% took out a joint mortgage with a new partner and one in four bought a place with someone they had not previously lived with.

Approximately 37% of those who ended a joint mortgage admitted that in the rush to buy somewhere, they had failed to agree what would happen if they split up. This was despite the fact that in more than half of cases they contributed an unequal amount to the purchase.

Nearly two out of five admitted buying somewhere together too soon, while a third regretted buying a home with the person they did.

A total of 28% said they should have spent more time getting to know each other before they bought a property and 25% said they should have lived together first.

Overall, 48% who took out a joint mortgage with a non-spouse bought with their partner, while 24% took out a home loan with friends, 10% with siblings, 7% with their parents and 5% with other members of their family.

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