Deed information -Help 23 September at 3:10AM in House buying, renting & selling 3 replies 122 views

a1931

Need some advice we are buying a house and are married , we have been told by a solicitor that my husbands name cannot go on the new properties deeds as the mortgage is just in my name , we are putting down 85% of the new property cost from the sale of our jointly owned home but need to have the small mortgage- (my husband couldn’t be included on the mortgage application as he was newly self employed so the lender wouldn’t take his earnings into account ) we just need a second opinion on this as seems odd that he can’t now be down as a joint home owner - can this be correct ?

anselld

It is a stipulation of the mortgage lender rather than a universal law.  Most lenders require everyone who is on the deeds to be party to the mortgage.  There are a few who don't which a mortgage adviser may direct you to.   Alternatively there should be no reason why the current lender could not add him, even though his income makes no difference to the lending limit.

donutandbeer

We were told by our broker that if my husband (employed) and I (unemployed) have a joint mortgage, for the sake of having both our names on the deed, then the maximum we can borrow will be less than if only my husband is taking out the mortgage. I think it’s like I’ll be counted as a dependent of some sort?? Something like that. But I’ve also seen old posts in this forum that suggested that’s not always the case, and some people affordability don’t seem be affected by adding their unemployed spouse’s name on the mortgage. 

Also not all lenders insist to have all names on deed to be on the mortgage. But most do. If there’s other people’s name on the deed, then it will be difficult for them to take over the property when you (person on mortgage) is unable to pay the mortgage.

mobilejo

If thats a requirement of your particular lender, then yes his name cannot be on the title. Most lenders do have this stipulation. Its not odd once you understand the reasoning -  if an owner isn't a party to the mortgage, and the mortgage is not paid, its harder for the lender to repossess the property as they would technically be repossessing from one person who was never a party to the mortgage agreement in the first place. Its not an impossible situation to deal with, but just not ideal for a lender so most don't give the option.

Your options would be (1) to add him as a borrower on the mortgage, even though his income doesn't count. This may lead to less borrowing though if he has zero income that can be counted, but he has expenses that would have to be counted. 
 
Or (2) try and find a lender that allows single borrow/joint proprietor which is going to be difficult and unlikely to lead to a competitive interest rate. More lenders offer joint borrower/sole proprietor mortgages than single borrow/joint proprietor ones.