transfer of equity disallowed-why?

Diggerman

had my own mortgage in my name only got married last year and want to put my wifes name on the deeds of the house and the mortgage but mortgage company wont allow her on either, it cant understand why, surely if i die the house would go to her anyway. has anyone got any ideas what we could do, other than get another mortgage-the one i have at the moment has dropped really low so could do to keep it if possible? all i really want to do is secure my wife in our home if anything should happen to me. any advice gratefully received! :j

_Andy_

What reason have they given for the decline?
E.g. credit scoring / adverse credit / income / affordability etc?

Diggerman

hi not given any specific reason-just said its not their policy to allow it-i,ve always paid on time and got the cash backing to pay off more but dont know how to get around their policy and put my wifes name on the mortgage. mortgage is with Mortgage Agency Number 5. can they do this or do i have any rights cheers:j

Mrs_Bumble

Could just be because they are not lending presently and so won't make any changes to existing mortgages. Ask them the reason.

If your concern is leaving your wife in the property if you die, then as long as you have life insurance to cover the mortgage balance in that instance then why not just write a will? Putting her on the mortgage only means that you are sharing the debt with her and if you die she becomes solely responsible for it and so if there is not life insurance in place she would either have to maintain the mortgage payments or sell.

Debt_Free_Chick

Agree with Mrs Bumble.

It seems you want her on the deeds/title so that she has some "ownership" - which is understandable - but as you know, she has to be on the mortgage too, which then gives her responsibility for the debt, as well.

The ownership angle is already covered. As you are married, she has an interest in all your property and assets - and vice versa. This is the case in the event of your death and, of course, divorce.

To make the position clear, on death, simply leave the house to her in your will. You then get the benefit of sharing ownership with her whilst avoiding the issue of sharing the debt with her. But you will need life assurance to pay off the mortgage.

If divorce were ever a situation you had to address, her interest is only a share of the equity i.e. what's left over once the mortgage is paid, so don't think that she has an interest in the whole value of the property and none of the debt

opinions4u

Diggerman wrote: »

had my own mortgage in my name only got married last year and want to put my wifes name on the deeds of the house and the mortgage but mortgage company wont allow her on either

They are not obliged to. Even if they did agree to it, you would incur legal fees in addition to any fees charged by the lender. Typically a straight forward transaction would cost a total of around £500.

it cant understand why

Ask them the querstion. Your answer above seems vague. Is it because they don't like her credit risk? Is it because they simply don't employ staff to do this sort of administration these days?

surely if i die the house would go to her anyway.

Not automatically. It depends on what your will states. If you die without a will it is possible that only part of the house will transfer to your wife. I'd reckon you could make joint wills for around £125 that will put your minds at rest.

has anyone got any ideas what we could do, other than get another mortgage-the one i have at the moment has dropped really low so could do to keep it if possible? all i really want to do is secure my wife in our home if anything should happen to me. any advice gratefully received!

Remortgage or will.

What is your current rate?
How much is the house worth?
How much do you owe?

Diggerman

hi thanks for all information-gratefully received, wife has never owed a penny in her life (not spent many either!)will try to get to the bottom of why they wont allow transfer, and go down the route of will making thanks to all again:D