Joint or Solo application?

Lennon

We are in a little bit of a strange situation and i'm not sure if im doing this wrong..

Basically I work in Leeds, my GF works in Manchester and we live between the two paying for it in travel. She is now pregnant and we are planning to relocate to Leeds. We currently rent and will be FTBs.

My plan was to get a mortgage based on just my income and I have spoken with a broker and had an agreement in principle for the figure I was expecting. Funds for deposit etc are all in place so everything is good on that front too.

But I was reading about other people living at the property having to sign the mortgage agreement too ? The thing is she does have an income but we are not including this because we don't know how this is going to pan out.

She will be receiving maternity pay from her employer and there is also the chance she can transfer and get a new position at the end of the maternity period. As this depends on vacancies at the time, it is not guaranteed so I assumed it was best to just exclude her from the application process all together.

Am I doing this wrong? Should she be on the application with some sort of income? or on the application without?

kingstreet

Someone who will occupy the property on completion is required to sign a consent to mortgage form. This allows the lender to establish they are ware of the mortgage and that no implied tenancy is created in the event of repossession. This confers no right or obligation to the consentor to pay the mortgage, or accept any other liability.

If you wish to make a joint application, do so. If your partner is contributing any of the deposit, you may be unable to apply solely, as the lender will not be happy with such a plan.

In the worst case scenario, the lender will treat an applicant with no income as a dependent and reduce your maximum borrowing accordingly. Your broker is best placed to advise on the impact of sole v joint purchase.

Lennon

Thanks, makes sense.

As far as contributing to the deposit, we have a pot of cash between us and who specifically pays for the deposit and who contributes to other things such as solicitors fees may blur into one.

I'll have a chat with the broker. Is it likely that having her on the application, presumably with her maternity income, would be mean a better chance of it being accepted as opposed to just a solo application ? I don't really envisage any problems with just me applying but just in case i suppose.

Goldiegirl

If she isn't on the mortgage the house won't be in her name either - would she be happy with that situation?

I wouldn't be. It doesn't matter who earns what, you are a team now - is it fair that one has the benefit of owning the home and the other one doesn't?

Just because she earns less than you it doesn't mean that she's not an equal partner in the relationship