Single Mortgage Joint ownership

nomeames

Hi All,

I know this question has been answered before but my query goes a little further.

I am working full time and my wife i a home maker (all along). She has never worked / paid taxes. No criminal records or anything but we never bothered to carry out a credit check as we never needed one. We are now buying our first property and the process is currently underway. I have a mortgage agreement in principle on my name (last year when I applied to HSBC they said I could get a mortgage only on my name but not a joint mortgage). My questions are:

1) Reading previous threads (from sometime back) it has been mentioned that perhaps HSBC will agree to a single mortgage / joint ownership type arrangement under certain conditions? Is this still true? Does anyone have any recent experience?

2) If I take out the mortgage / property deed only on my name and subsequently make a will to transfer property to my wife's name (backed up by a mortgage life insurance). Could this be a workaround to the scenario where bank refuses joint mortgage or if joint ownership is not possible at the outset?

3) If 2) above is a credible option whether my wife will have to pay any inheritance tax or any other taxes after my death (and becoming owner of the property)?

4) What (if any) are the tax implications for 1) and 2)?

Thanks all in advance.