My property may destroy my relationship

[Eva Henry]

Hello community. So my problem isn't necessarily with a spouse. It is with my boyfriend. I have been looking for my first rental property for about a year and have been dating this guy for 7 months. When I was about to take the wait and see approach to my property search I decided with my mate to move in together instead. While he started looking for apartments I tailored my multi-property search to places that meet our needs. 

Quickly that change produced a property that would produce 13% cash on cash return with no major work needed. The place would even be move in ready by the time we actually need to move. When I bring up the idea of me buying a place he flips out about he is not ready to buy a house ..... and I wasn't  asking him to be. For a lower down payment i need to occupy a unit. Is there any ideas for me being able to occupy the property without losing my relationship?

[James Masotti]

@Eva Henry - First try to explain that YOU would be the one buying the property and HE would be paying you rent, complete with a signed lease agreement. Nothing says "We are not moving that fast" like being told you are a tenant to your significant other and they have the legal right to evict you if you're a jerk. If that doesn't clear things up and he is still being difficult, it's time to do some soul searching.

How important is real estate investing to you? 

You live in Chicago. If this boyfriend doesn't like the idea of investing...I promise there are thousands more who would love to have a girlfriend that's an active real estate investor. 

If you'd rather set aside your real estate dreams in the short term to see if he's "The One" for the long term...than again...be clear on that and give yourself a timeline. Then figure out how big a deal it will be for you if you never get to do real estate, and spell this out to him. Ask him at what point he'll be comfortable with real estate investing, that way you both are clear on the criteria. 

Best of luck!