Pros and Cons of adding spouse to mortgage & deeds?

avuncular

Hello all.

My wife is a homemaker and I was about to apply for a mortgage just in my name since it's based solely on my income.

However, I'm now wondering if there's a compelling reason to include her on the mortgage and deeds -- can anyone help me with this? So far...

Pros of adding spouse:

• Adding her to the mortgage or remortgaging in the future may be costly and incur stamp duty
• In the event of my death, the transfer of estate to her name would be smoother
• I have the deposit in a joint a/c; certain lenders require both of us named on mortgage in this case (so, wider choice of lenders).

Cons:

• Credit risk/risk of application being rejected. Wife has never owned credit cards; although credit file is "clean" her rating is slightly lower than mine due to no prior cards etc.

Are there any additional factors we should consider? Are any of my assumptions incorrect?

Many thanks!

Thrugelmir

Your wife will be a dependent so will be factored into the affordability calculation irrespective of whether she's on the mortgage or not.

avuncular

Right, but wouldn't there be additional scrutiny (checking bank statements, credit file) if she's actually named on the mortgage rather than just being listed as a dependent?

Thrugelmir

Your finances will be treated as joint if she has no income. Likewise the deposit is hers as well as yours.

dimbo61

You already have a JOINT Financial association with your wife!
If you do not put her name on the mortgage application this might ring alarm bells with your lender.
Question on mortgage application is who over 16 will live in the property!

Goldiegirl

Putting aside all affordability and credit issues, why shouldn't she be on the mortgage?

You are a partnership, so surely both members of the partnership should be on the mortgage and jointly own the property.

If I wasn't earning, it wouldn't even cross my mind that I should be excluded from owning the martial home, just because I didn't have an income.

Let_Us_See

Avuncular you sound a bungle of laughs? Stop prevaricating and add your wife as not all decisions should be purely financially based.:T