Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think the house should be in my name too

248 replies

CharlotteCollinsneeLucas · 27/01/2020 17:12

DP and I are buying a house. We're each contributing deposits of about 35% of the value, with the final 30% being DP's mortgage which he's moving over from his current house.

The solicitor's just said the legal title has to match the mortgage offer. So since the mortgage is in his name, the house has to be, too.

I feel really insulted! I'm paying for a third of this house, but I can't have my name on the deeds?

I fully admit to knowing almost nothing about house-buying, but I wasn't expecting this. It seems so unfair!

OP posts:
CoolCarrie · 27/01/2020 19:52

Good to hear you are getting married and hope you get sorted with a house.

CoolCarrie · 27/01/2020 19:53

The house that should read!

sassbott · 27/01/2020 19:54

As soon as he tries to add you to the mortgage it triggers a new mortgage application. He will not be able to port his existing mortgage as I understand it.

When I was divorcing, I bought my exDH out of the marital home and wanted the pre-approved joint mortgage (on superb terms) moved into my name. It was explained to me that any change in a financial contract (adding or removing someone) is considered a new mortgage application and is tested as such (and is part of the tightened laws around lending post the banking crash).

Now if he has a mortgage on superb terms it may be that you don’t want to be added to the mortgage but your investment into the property must be protected (and it can be protected as many others have explained). Lots of my friends parents put money into their children’s properties and their investments are reflected in the house deeds. Taking into account % of any appreciation etc upon the house being sold. The mortgage lender simply needs to be aware. HSBC definitely has mortgages that allow for this.

Thank the lord you posted asking for advice. You simply have to get up to speed on finances OP and don’t be so naive with your and your children’s money.

Original poster
CharlotteCollinsneeLucas · 27/01/2020 19:56

There are already two solicitors I'm paying - one with my ex to sell our old house and one with DP to sell his house and buy ours. But if necessary I'll get a third to add to the mix!

OP posts:
Original poster
CharlotteCollinsneeLucas · 27/01/2020 19:57

Sorry, not paying for the solicitors by myself. I should've said two solicitors involved in the house purchase already.

OP posts:
Original poster
CharlotteCollinsneeLucas · 27/01/2020 20:01

You simply have to get up to speed on finances OP

Noted!

OP posts:
champagneandfromage50 · 27/01/2020 20:05

The whole thread is bizarre.... so he can get a mortgage on his own but you would be a liability even though you work? I make less than my OH and wouldn't have been able to get the mortgage we have on my own. However as joint applicants both incomes were considered and supported. All that needs to happen is you do a joint application together and given your contributing 35% I have no idea why you think it wouldn't be accepted?

Original poster
CharlotteCollinsneeLucas · 27/01/2020 20:11

Because my income is low and my outgoings are high. I'm only going to be able to make ends meet because I'll be paying very little of the mortgage.

OP posts:
Singlenotsingle · 27/01/2020 20:15

You risk losing all your money if things go wrong. Get a deed drawn up to protect your money or get the house put in joint names.

Twolittlebears · 27/01/2020 20:25

Hi OP
If the mortgage provider won't do it try going via a broker who find a company that can do what you need. My broker is amazing! Has sorted all sorts mortgage wise for me and DH. Small cost is so worth it.

DogInATent · 27/01/2020 20:53

Because my income is low and my outgoings are high. I'm only going to be able to make ends meet because I'll be paying very little of the mortgage.
A responsible lender looks at the household income and expenses, the entire household. Your DP is withholding information from the mortgage provider and misleading them if he's not registering your financial interest in the property (your 35% deposit) and the fact that you intend to have a legal right to live in the property and a say in it's disposal.

Of course, your financial interest isn't being recognised and protected by not including you on the deeds or having a supporting legal document noting that financial interest. You risk losing it unless you protect it. Don't assume getting married before completion will solve everything, it won't.

champagneandfromage50 · 27/01/2020 21:20

My outgoings were high as I earned less so on paper wasn't as rosy as my OH. We were not married when we bought but I am on the mortgage and deeds and I didn't put forward 35%! That would be taking into account

Original poster
CharlotteCollinsneeLucas · 27/01/2020 21:24

I didn't realise the mortgage company would be remotely interested in my deposit, because it's nothing to do with being able to pay the mortgage. I still don't quite understand why it's relevant to them.

OP posts:
GreenTulips · 27/01/2020 21:30

The mortgage works on %

So a joint mortgage will be say x3 joint income but it could be X4 of the higher salary.

The mortgage advisors will do comparisons for you.

DogInATent · 27/01/2020 21:44

I didn't realise the mortgage company would be remotely interested in my deposit, because it's nothing to do with being able to pay the mortgage. I still don't quite understand why it's relevant to them.

Because the house is security on the mortgage. The fact that you have a 35% interest in the house makes it harder for them to realise that security if your DP defaults on the mortgage. Or it would, if you took the trouble to get it legally recognised.

Jumpingforgin · 27/01/2020 21:50

Of course you can be on the mortgage! I'm a sahm, and dp pays the mortgage and bills, while I stay home and look after our children. Joint mortgage, both on deeds. We're a team, a family unit, and we may not contribute financially equally, but together we contribute the right amounts of everything to make our family work. No way would I ever in a million years have agreed to not be on the mortgage or deeds.

@fairenuff... We moved last year and ported our existing mortgage across to the new property and took out a sub mortgage for the added money we needed to borrow, this isn't unusual at all, and highly recommended to avoid any fees you could face by switching whilst being locked into a current fixed term.

Not once was it suggested by any parties that my name shouldn't be included, equally alongside his. Mortgage advisor, solicitors etc didn't comment once about my lack of earning potential. We were seen and treated as a unit.

sneakythecat49 · 27/01/2020 22:09

"I'm not sure he would get a mortgage with me: I work part-time and I have four dcs, so I'm a bit of a liability, I think"

I have a small eBay shop that only earns about 6k a year but that didn't matter as we were only borrowing 30k. Our previous house was in DPs name. We applied for a joint mortgage and the other one that was in his name was carried over no problem

Ellisandra · 27/01/2020 22:09

If you own 35% of the house, and he stops paying his mortgage, it’s much much harder for the mortgage lender to repossess!

I’d expect a solicitor to have some professional pride and be better informed - but to be fair, this isn’t about property law so much as it is about lender policy. Many won’t do it - some will. That’s a question for a mortgage adviser, not a solicitor. The solicitor is there to know how to protect your 35% - which the mortgage adviser wouldn’t (beyond general knowledge related to their role).

Did the solicitor say “you cannot ever have 2 of you on the deeds” or “you cannot both be on the deeds, in the scenario you have presented” (with lender X? It’s not their job to give you mortgage advice.

KTJean · 27/01/2020 22:30

Hi Charlotte - you won’t recognise my name but I think you used to be on the EA threads. Sorry if I am wrong.

The point about legal advice is that you need independent legal advice for you - at the moment, you and your xH are paying one to sell your old house; you and your new partner are paying one to advise on the new house purchase - who is advising YOU as an independent person?

You probably have got the point already that you simply cannot invest 35k in a property without taking independent legal advice on how to protect that investment. It would be madness and leave you and your DC very vulnerable. The money for your own legal representation and advice now will be worth it in the long run.

I am not a lawyer, nor a mortgage person or anything like that, and I am planning on staying single so that is all I have to add here. All the best Flowers

FloreanFortescue · 27/01/2020 22:33

HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL NO.

xtinak · 27/01/2020 22:37

In 2015 my then boyfriend and I bought a house roughly 50-50 but my half was all deposit and his was all mortgage. HSBC were happy to have two names on the deeds as tenants in common but just his on the mortgage. They were the only lender we could find to do this. I have to say that both our mortgage broker and our solicitor were totally clueless and I essentially had to take matters into my own hands. We then had a minute of agreement drawn up by another solicitor to clarify our stakes and also what would happen in the event of marriage i.e.a prenuptial.

Be careful.

Original poster
CharlotteCollinsneeLucas · 27/01/2020 22:38

Did the solicitor say “you cannot ever have 2 of you on the deeds” or “you cannot both be on the deeds, in the scenario you have presented” (with lender X?)

It's not clear, and as is always the way with these things, it was a message sent at the end of the working day! I will find out tomorrow!

OP posts:
Original poster
CharlotteCollinsneeLucas · 27/01/2020 22:43

Hi @KTJean - don't recognise the name, no, but yes, I was on those threads - and it's always nice to pause and reflect how far we've come! I enjoyed six years of singleness before meeting DP... Glad you're also free and enjoying singledom!

OP posts:
Original poster
CharlotteCollinsneeLucas · 27/01/2020 22:48

I have to say that both our mortgage broker and our solicitor were totally clueless and I essentially had to take matters into my own hands.

I aspire to be like this! At least I now have a clearer idea what's possible and how it all works.

OP posts:
xtinak · 27/01/2020 22:58

Also if you plan to own different stakes in a property you need to be tenants in common. That also means that your share would pass to your children if something were to happen to you, rather than to your partner. You still need a minute of agreement to show what your shares are and what happens eg if you sell and how the gains or losses accrue if the value has gone up or down. You would want to calculate your share based on your deposit and what you contribute to the mortage.

Swipe left for the next trending thread