Stupid question about applying for car loan!

RubyShoes

Really stupid question, but one I can't find any reliable answers to!

I need to buy a new car. One of my options is a loan. I have ran my details through a soft search on several sites. One sticking point I come across is what exactly is "my share of the rent or mortgage". I'm married. Have a joint account. All bills come in and our plus use it for all our spending. There's no his and hers money here. The mortgage is in my name only, as I bought it before we married and I recieved UC top up at the time. Now we are married, my personal income is my wage. No UC. So my affordability on paper looks crap. 2k monthly wage, but £1149 payment of mortgage. However, joint household income is much higher. Do I put my half of the mortgage because we have a joint account and both pay in to it. Or because the mortgage is in my name, put the whole amount. I can argue for both sides!

The reason I ask, is because it makes a big difference to the rate offered. 6.9 vs 12.9 APR. I've put both options in to the eligibility checkers and this is what it gives me.

I want to do the right thing, but I want to get the application right. But, I certainly don't want to be paying over the odds either! I've not been able to get any answer from anyone thus far... has anyone got any real life experience of this? Thanks!

marcia_

if you are sharing the mortgage payments I would write half the amount. Same with other household outgoings.

LukeB_92

Not a stupid question at all - the wording matters, and different lenders word it differently, which is why it is confusing.

The key is what the question is actually asking. If it asks for "your share" of the rent or mortgage, that generally means the share you actually pay, not necessarily whose name is on the mortgage. Where everything genuinely goes into and out of a joint account and the mortgage is paid from that joint pot, treating half as your share is a reasonable reading - and it is then consistent to treat the other household bills the same way, rather than picking whichever figure gives the better result each time.

Two cautions though. First, be consistent across the whole application: if you halve the mortgage, do not also claim the full household income as if it were all yours. Lenders may ask for household income separately from your own income, so answer each field as it is worded. Second, the rate shown by an eligibility checker is only the rate you might get - the APR offered after a full application can be different, so do not choose a figure just because it produces 6.9% rather than 12.9%. The figure needs to be one you could stand behind if asked, because the application is a statement of your circumstances.

If a particular lender's question is ambiguous, it is worth asking them before applying how they want a sole-name mortgage paid from a joint account treated, and keeping a note of the answer.

Nasqueron

Eligibility checkers flag up people tweaking their applications as can be done for fraudulent purposes.

Pick a number, stick with it

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6686923/stupid-question-about-applying-for-car-loan

Just because its in your name doesnt mean you have to say you pay for all of it.

If you both put the same fixed amount into a bills account then it sounds like you pay 50/50 so put half the bill.

If all the money goes into the same account but you put £250 in and they put £750 in then its 25% of the bill.