Mortgage Co asking why Partners name is not on the mortgage? She is gifting

conormacleod1987

Hi

I am setting up a mortgage currently with Bank of Ireland.

The question has been asked why is my partner not being added to the mortgage? The question is aasked because she is gifting towards the deposit.

The reason she is not on the mortgage is because she currently has another house in London and stamp duty would have jumped up had she been on the mortgage.

Her name is coming off the london house in the coming year at which point she will come onto my mortgage.

What is my least harmful answer to the lender?

Thanks

ACG

Im not sure they will accept it. Not many lenders will.
A gift needs to be a true gift, with no strings attached and this has strings attached to it.

I think you may need a new lender. Alternatively, would you not be able to get the extra stamp duty back when the other property sells? Obviously that means finding the stamp duty initially.

mrginge

Erm....the truth?

conormacleod1987

mrginge wrote: »

Erm....the truth?

Yes I will give the truth, and it is a true gift with no strings attached. But I am just wondering will there be issues if that is the main reason...higher stamp duty.

GarthThomas

conormacleod1987 wrote: »

Hi

I am setting up a mortgage currently with Bank of Ireland.

The question has been asked why is my partner not being added to the mortgage? The question is aasked because she is gifting towards the deposit.

The reason she is not on the mortgage is because she currently has another house in London and stamp duty would have jumped up had she been on the mortgage.

Her name is coming off the london house in the coming year at which point she will come onto my mortgage.

What is my least harmful answer to the lender?

Thanks

Least harmful is the truth, as this has zero possibility of a conviction for fraud.

Thrugelmir

conormacleod1987 wrote: »

Yes I will give the truth, and it is a true gift with no strings attached. But I am just wondering will there be issues if that is the main reason...higher stamp duty.

The nature of the relationship to the mortgage applicant may well have a bearing on the outcome. Lenders will have fairly defined policies for good reason.

Glbooth3

On ours we had to confirm the gifters had no interest in the property and would not be living there, i answered that on your previous post. Boyfriends mum and grandma have gifted it to us, but my boyfriend is joint mortgage applicant with me. They won't let you get round the stamp duty issue, as that's in same boat as tax evasion etc

ACG

conormacleod1987 wrote: »

Yes I will give the truth, and it is a true gift with no strings attached. But I am just wondering will there be issues if that is the main reason...higher stamp duty.

So if you split up your partner would not want the money back?
If you told your partner they can not and never will be on the Mortgage they would be fine with that?
They are not expecting to live in the property?

I suspect it is not a true gift and so will the lender. You need to explain it to the lender and see what they say. If it does not fit criteria, you need to find a new lender. No point trying to shoe horn it through, if the truth comes out down the line you risk your Mortgage offer being pulled at the last minute.

Lilla_D

Coming back to ACG's first answer, I think you should focus on the last point. You should speak to a solicitor re the stamp duty, because if your partner's name is coming off the London property in a year or so, then you could potentially get the extra stamp duty back. In the meantime, your partner could be on this mortgage, so the lender is happy, your partner is happy and no need to fluff about with transfer of equity later. Yes, you "just" have to find the extra stamp duty amount for now...

Number75

It's really not a gift though, is it?
If you split up in 6 months time, your partner would want it back, no?

conormacleod1987

Lilla_D wrote: »

Coming back to ACG's first answer, I think you should focus on the last point. You should speak to a solicitor re the stamp duty, because if your partner's name is coming off the London property in a year or so, then you could potentially get the extra stamp duty back. In the meantime, your partner could be on this mortgage, so the lender is happy, your partner is happy and no need to fluff about with transfer of equity later. Yes, you "just" have to find the extra stamp duty amount for now...

ooooo Lilla I think youve cracked it! Thank you very much. In all of the drama of trying to avoid stamp duty it may just be possible to claim it back! GREAT SUGGESTION.