Upsizing and adding partner to mortgage

hedgeflapjacks

Hi 👋

I solely "own" a house worth £240k and have £120k and 25 years remaining on the mortgage. I live with my girlfriend but she is not on the mortgage, she just pays me "rent" each month.

We are looking at moving to a larger home worth 400k and want to:

– Port my existing mortgage, not borrowing any more.
– Pay the £160k difference in cash.
– Add my girlfriend to the mortgage.

Is this possible? And what complications may arise from such a scenario? 

Thank you!

Emmia

If your girlfriend is paying rent - she's probably already got a beneficial interest in your existing property, so if you split up she has a claim over some of the value. How long have you had this arrangement?

The best way is probably to contact your existing lender to find out what their process is - you may need to do a fresh application, so they can assess both of you.

gwynlas

If you  are not getting married then you need to enter a deed of trust to protect your deposit on the next property. It would depend on the length of your relationship as to whether she already as a beneficial interest. You call it rent as though she is a lodger which is fine if her money contributes to utilities and food bills rather than mortgage and ongoing maintenance

kingstreet

You are simply applying for a new joint mortgage and porting the terms from the old one. You can't transfer a mortgage from one property to another; so when you sell, the old mortgage is repaid and when you buy, the new mortgage starts.

bigstevex

The answer to this is as kingstreet says however, please have a deed of trust to protect each others interest in the property if it's imbalanced as you don't say if the 160K is coming from your girlfriend or yourself/mix.  Too many relationships end without one in place because at the time of purchase you're in love and happy and then when you part ways it becomes a legal battle and spoken agreements mean nothing that aren't on paper...  A solicitor should advise you of all this anyway as part of the purchase.

hedgeflapjacks

Thank you all for your comments. I understand it better now, especially thanks to kingstreet's description of what actually happens when moving+porting.

And thank you for warnings about not having a deed of trust. The 160k cash is coming from my girlfriend and the ~120k from the sale of my current house is coming from me, so there is a difference there. I'll be sure to talk this through with her, and as you say, solicitors will likely flag this when we get into it.

Thank you all!