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I'd be really careful here because if things go south, you're dealing with a messier situation than marriage - there's no standard legal framework for splitting assets in most places.
Before you sign anything, get a lawyer to draw up a cohabitation agreement that spells out who owns what percentage, what happens if one person wants out, and how you'd handle a breakup. It's not romantic to think about, but it protects both of you way better than just assuming you'll figure it out later. Plenty of people do this successfully, but only when they've actually documented the details beforehand.
Getting a cohabitation agreement drafted before you buy is the move that actually protects both of you - it spells out who owns what percentage, what happens if one person wants out, how the sale proceeds get divided, all that stuff. The legal messiness people worry about mostly evaporates once you've got that paperwork in place. Beyond that, joint ownership itself works fine; it's just the exit strategy that matters when you're not married.
The cohabitation agreement route works, but you also need to nail down *how* you're holding title - as joint tenants, tenants in common, or whatever your jurisdiction allows - because that legally determines what happens to your share if one of you dies or bails. People skip that detail and end up in probate nightmares or forced sales.
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