Getting a mortgage in husbands name only due to bad credit

[MortifiedinAsda]

Hi, I'm hoping someone can clear this up for me?
My sister is seeking to move from rented accommodation with her DH. They do have a joint bank account and he has a good credit score and record whilst hers are littered with missed payments ( probably 5 in the last year) for not other reason than she just forgot to pay them.
This however has ruined her credit score and she maintains that they are still going to go ahead in buying a house but that the mortgage will be in her DH's name only. I said to her that this isn't possible anymore I thought as with all applications for credit if you live together and are financially linked you have to always make a joint application, she maintains this is not the case and that she has several acquaintances who are in this situation and have mortgages in their partners/dh's name only.
Could someone clear this up for me, I would like to be able to give her the correct info to proceed on. Tia

I always thought the same - joint bank acct means joint credit rating its what Martin Lewis always says.

she - they need to do proper credit check join noddle and have a look at their actual score and then has he tried to get a mort yet>? It alls looks dandy until bank does credit check - then there could be a problem...if there is - they may still give mortgage however will be at inflated rate.

It is possible to get a mortgage in one persons name only however

• the other person cannot be named on the deeds therefore has no legal claim on the house
• the fact they are already financially linked means her poor credit rating can and might have an adverse affect on his application anyway
• if she isn't on the mortgage but is living in the house, she'd probably be classed as a dependant, thus reducing the amount he could borrow.

People can't be blasé about forgetting to pay credit commitments nowadays because the impact of this is massive and long lasting.

Thanks for the info - Yes I did say that to her, she has a long term chronic illness and forgot to pay a few times then made it up the next month. Do you know how far back lenders look? For example if she has a perfect history for say 18 months will that help at all? Timelines would be good to know. She could be classed as a dependent as she stays at home due to her illness, the children are all grown up so it's just be her and I think he brings in well over 100k so they are hoping to get something within eighteen months to two years as no point doing it at the moment if the missed payments are still fairly fresh.

DH got a mortgage in his name only. I have very poor credit as I went bankrupt. I am not on the deeds (although I believe that it is possible for a spouse to go on the deeds even though the mortgage is only in one name). I do have a legal claim on the house though as we're married. We have no joint bank accounts so his credit rating isn't affected by mine at all. OP's sister will be financially linked to her DH though as they have a joint account. I'm not sure if I was classed as a dependent, and whether that affected the amount DH could borrow - in the end we were offered more than we needed to borrow as he had a large deposit.
Any defaults stay on the credit record for 6 years. Missed payments more than 12 months old would not look as bad but they can still be seen by lenders.

Do you know how far back lenders look?

I believe (I could be wrong) that they look at your entire credit history, which goes back six years.

If he earns well over £100k then he should have no problem getting a mortgage, but your sister won't be able to be on the deeds, and therefore won't have any claim to the house in the event of divorce etc. The reason is that if they default on the mortgage, the bank won't be able to repossess the house because your sister will be on the deeds as well. After the mortgage has been repaid, the deeds can be transferred.

You have all been really helpful thank you :-) I'll pass it on.

We've recently seen a mortgage advisor, both did the noodle credit report and while mine is excellent [preen] DH's is poor having missed 2 payments in the last year.

Mortgage guy said we wouldn't be able to get a mortgage for a year or so - we have been saving for years but still only have around £12,000. Not a lot, we are not particularly high earners either. Sounds like it would be different for your sister if her H is a high earner.

DH here is a SAHD with no income beyond CA. We got offered more on a mortgage in my sole name/income + him as a dependent, than we did on a joint mortgage in both names. It was something to do with the income multipliers being less on a joint application.

So the mortgage and house is in my name. As someone else said, he's still got a claim on the house if we split through any finance proceedings on divorce. We have both taken out life insurance so that, if one dies, the other has sufficient money to pay off the balance. To us it's a joint mortgage, it just doesn't say that on paper.

Some of the advice you've been given here isn't correct.

Our mortgage is in my name only as DH has a poor credit history. We are not financially linked in any way.

He is not on the deeds as my mortgage lender would not allow this unless we made a joint application, taking into account his credit history too. He couldn't be added at a later date either without it being considered a joint mortgage.

As we are married he has a 'claim' on the house should we separate, as any married people do, it doesn't matter that he's not on the mortgage. All it means should we split up is that I could sell the house without his agreement, but I would still have to split any equity with him. And he is not bound to make mortgage payments as legally I am solely responsible for them.

DH is not considered a dependant as he is an adult so this had no effect on what I could borrow (not sure why it would unless I was his carer). My lender didn't ask anything about him so they have no idea if I support him financially or not (I don't, he works full time).

Your sister's poor credit history may have an adverse effect on her DH's credit rating as they are financially linked. I'd suggest they close their joint account, or remove one of them from it before he applies. If she contributes to the deposit then a note should be made of that with their solicitor. That's important should they split further down the line.
She shouldn't be concerned, but her DH should be looking to do all he can to maximise his borrowing potential, starting with removing financial links. She should of course be much more responsible with money as it could affect their future borrowing plans.

When we looked into mortgages (prob about 4 years ago now) we got a joint mortgage even though I am a SAHM, both on the deeds but they did count me and DD as dependents (and I am an adult and he's not my carer either!). So it was one wage covering three people, IYSWIM.

Perhaps the dependent issue is a more recent one with mortgages based on the affordability more than a straight multiple now.

ninja no one on here professes to be experts (if they were experts on they wouldn't be allowed to post about mortgages) but it's a bit unfair to dismiss other comments as incorrect when they're actually not.

To then go on and say they should just 'remove any financial links', as if it's that simple, is also very misleading.

Different lenders treat the same circumstances in different ways so only a broker/ financial advisor furnished with the full details can make a fully informed decision.

I had a chat with her over the weekend and she is worried about separating bank accounts as he is their only source of income and as she stay at home due to her illness she is not sure how they would be able to function with one bank card plus the lender would be able to see her purchases as well as his ( for example ladies clothing shops ect ). I did wonder if they should not be financially linked through a bank account but like her I don't see how when it's their money she can spend it as even putting an allowance into a separate one for her will show to the lender or if his bank account shows multiple withdrawals into her account they would see? Thanks again for the advice all.

Bear apologies if I came across as dismissive, I'm no expert either and can only comment on my own experience. For me it was as simple as separating our bank accounts. However, my DH is not financially dependant on me so that was probably apparent from the bank statements I gave my mortgage lender.
OP, It will be relevant that your sister is financially dependant on her DH as the banks have to consider whether her DH can meet the mortgage repayments while supporting someone else. That doesn't mean he can't put money into another account for her to use though, I'd guess that would be considered an outgoing. If they remain financially linked they may find it very difficult to get a mortgage at all. As has been suggested, it would be best if they speak to a financial advisor.

Ok, so they have spoken to a specialist contractor mortgage adviser this morning who has said that it differs from lender to lender but they have three who will be happy do do a mortgage in his name only.

They also said given his daily rate and the fact that he has been earning that for 2.5 years will really help too. He said he has done this personally for quite a few of his clients and Clydesdale, Halifax and nationwide are the lenders that he uses for cases like this ( he spoke personally to Clydesdale this morning on their behalf ).

Her DH will also qualify for a first time mortgage as he hasn't had one for a while and they only require someone who hasn't had a mortgage for 12 months.

Thanks again for all of your advice - hope this thread is beneficial to anyone else in the same position.

We just moved into our new house last week. I was on a dmp(debt management plan for 36k sole debt) with stepchange for 6 years and it was all paid off last year. Hubbie took the mortgage in his name only and there were no issues. They didn't even ask for any if my details. We will look at adding me back in in a few years once my rating improves. I learned a hard lesson, I'll never face debt again! Just make sure your life insurance and wills are up to date, although if you are married it's classed as the matrimonial home anyway x