Adding someone to existing mortgage
Discussion
Hi all,
I own my own place & live on my own. At some point soon I'm going to have to admit defeat & the long-term girlfriend will be moving in.
Is it possible for her to 'join' the existing mortgage or would it mean remortgaging altogether? I'm 2 years into a 5 year deal (1.9%) so wouldn't really want to remortgage yet.
The reason for looking into this is I wouldn't feel comfortable with her contributing but not really having anything to show for it. My plan would be for her contribuition to be over-payments on the mortgage.
I know there is the risk that we could do this & then she buggers off with half the equity or whatever but I'm not concerned about this as we're pretty solid & been together a good while (famous last words!)
I'm not very clued up on such matters so just wanted to know if my thinking is feasible or a complete non starter.
Thanks,
Ben
I own my own place & live on my own. At some point soon I'm going to have to admit defeat & the long-term girlfriend will be moving in.
Is it possible for her to 'join' the existing mortgage or would it mean remortgaging altogether? I'm 2 years into a 5 year deal (1.9%) so wouldn't really want to remortgage yet.
The reason for looking into this is I wouldn't feel comfortable with her contributing but not really having anything to show for it. My plan would be for her contribuition to be over-payments on the mortgage.
I know there is the risk that we could do this & then she buggers off with half the equity or whatever but I'm not concerned about this as we're pretty solid & been together a good while (famous last words!)
I'm not very clued up on such matters so just wanted to know if my thinking is feasible or a complete non starter.
Thanks,
Ben
An easier option might be for them to pay into a savings account with a higher rate of interest than your mortgage then when it's time to move/remortgage you could add her one with a big lump sum from the savings.
If she needs to dip in the mean time, she has her savings fund to rely on.
This relies on you being comfortable with them not paying any rent or mortgage payments but they can help with bills etc
As someone who's just broken up with someone who was on the shared mortgage with me, if you're thinking of the possibility of breaking up, it's far easier to keep things separate. Took 6 months and some hefty fees to unwind and I had to find £xxk to pay her off in cash
If she needs to dip in the mean time, she has her savings fund to rely on.
This relies on you being comfortable with them not paying any rent or mortgage payments but they can help with bills etc
As someone who's just broken up with someone who was on the shared mortgage with me, if you're thinking of the possibility of breaking up, it's far easier to keep things separate. Took 6 months and some hefty fees to unwind and I had to find £xxk to pay her off in cash
You have two options. You could add her to the deeds in which case she'll jointly own the property. Fee's around £280 from memory. You don't have to add her to the mortgage however, you would just need to inform your lender. Do this first to ensure they have no issue before adding her to the deeds just in case. The mortgage debt remains in your name meaning she's not liable for it but she could pay you whatever portion of the monthly payment you decide.
The second option is to have the mortgage transferred to joint names, which will involve a new application and basically remortgage so you may not get the same terms as you're on. New affordability checks etc will need doing, potentially new booking fees or other fees from the lender. With this you'll both be liable for the debt and as long as you both get added to the deeds, both own the property.
First option is probably cheaper but riskier as you said because she'll own half the property with no link to the debt, second option more secure but potentially much more costly.
It's worth perhaps thinking about waiting to do the second option once any rate terms you're tied into end, depending on how long away that is. Perhaps you open a joint account, you continue with the mortgage payments and she pays her portion into the joint account for the time being until you're able to transfer the mortgage over properly then you put that lump sum towards the mortgage once it's in both names?
Either way, independent legal advice is probably (for both) essential.
The second option is to have the mortgage transferred to joint names, which will involve a new application and basically remortgage so you may not get the same terms as you're on. New affordability checks etc will need doing, potentially new booking fees or other fees from the lender. With this you'll both be liable for the debt and as long as you both get added to the deeds, both own the property.
First option is probably cheaper but riskier as you said because she'll own half the property with no link to the debt, second option more secure but potentially much more costly.
It's worth perhaps thinking about waiting to do the second option once any rate terms you're tied into end, depending on how long away that is. Perhaps you open a joint account, you continue with the mortgage payments and she pays her portion into the joint account for the time being until you're able to transfer the mortgage over properly then you put that lump sum towards the mortgage once it's in both names?
Either way, independent legal advice is probably (for both) essential.
Thanks for the replies, very useful info & much appreciated.
I hadn't even thought about her putting her contribution into a savings account; nor was I aware she could just have her name added to the deeds.
I will have a chat with her & see what she thinks & get some legal advice on the outcome of this.
Cheers,
Ben
I hadn't even thought about her putting her contribution into a savings account; nor was I aware she could just have her name added to the deeds.
I will have a chat with her & see what she thinks & get some legal advice on the outcome of this.
Cheers,
Ben
CheesecakeRunner said:
IANAL, you also need to decide on the type of joint ownership you want to have. Either Joint Tenants, or Tenants In Common as this affects how the property is dealt with should one or both of you die, or you split up.
https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership
Plus consider drawing up a Declaration of Trust that details who owns what portion of equity in the property, unless you’re happy with a default 50/50 split. As well as making sure your wills are updated to be clear and reflect the new situation.
Thanks. I've got some reading to do. I knew this kind of thing wouldn't be straight forward (for me anyway). Good info, thanks.https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership
Plus consider drawing up a Declaration of Trust that details who owns what portion of equity in the property, unless you’re happy with a default 50/50 split. As well as making sure your wills are updated to be clear and reflect the new situation.
Cheers,
Ben
Other options include drifting on with the property in your name and shock, horror...
Get married.
It's worth having serious thought about whether you're just moving the house into some sort of joint venture or merging your whole finances.
If you've invested in the house and she's invested more in her pension or something, maybe you need to think about the whole picture?
Whatever's right for both of you IMHO.
Get married.
It's worth having serious thought about whether you're just moving the house into some sort of joint venture or merging your whole finances.
If you've invested in the house and she's invested more in her pension or something, maybe you need to think about the whole picture?
Whatever's right for both of you IMHO.
Letting her live there for free might be a lot cheaper in the long run if you ever split up.
A really awkward situation to be in, obviously you need to protect yourself if you did split up, but I suspect your girlfriend is not going to happy if you do this as it implies you are worried about your relationship.
My advice, don't just add her to the mortgage and blindly think everything will just be OK.
My advice, always have a backup plan that leaves you protected should the worst ever happen. Never leave yourself open to being homeless and financially ruined on the whim of someone else.
A really awkward situation to be in, obviously you need to protect yourself if you did split up, but I suspect your girlfriend is not going to happy if you do this as it implies you are worried about your relationship.
My advice, don't just add her to the mortgage and blindly think everything will just be OK.
My advice, always have a backup plan that leaves you protected should the worst ever happen. Never leave yourself open to being homeless and financially ruined on the whim of someone else.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 26th July 11:23
I’d go with the option of bunging her contributions into a high interest saver locked until the end of the existing mortgage term. At that point all going well use the savings to reduce the term & add her to the new mortgage.
That way the moneys in her name should it not go to plan you get the longevity of seeing it work out before she’s attached financially, plus you’re not paying around £1000 of legals for nothing essentially.
That way the moneys in her name should it not go to plan you get the longevity of seeing it work out before she’s attached financially, plus you’re not paying around £1000 of legals for nothing essentially.
C5_Steve said:
You have two options. You could add her to the deeds in which case she'll jointly own the property. Fee's around £280 from memory. You don't have to add her to the mortgage however, you would just need to inform your lender. Do this first to ensure they have no issue before adding her to the deeds just in case. The mortgage debt remains in your name meaning she's not liable for it but she could pay you whatever portion of the monthly payment you decide.
The second option is to have the mortgage transferred to joint names, which will involve a new application and basically remortgage so you may not get the same terms as you're on. New affordability checks etc will need doing, potentially new booking fees or other fees from the lender. With this you'll both be liable for the debt and as long as you both get added to the deeds, both own the property.
Both options you have suggested are incorrect.The second option is to have the mortgage transferred to joint names, which will involve a new application and basically remortgage so you may not get the same terms as you're on. New affordability checks etc will need doing, potentially new booking fees or other fees from the lender. With this you'll both be liable for the debt and as long as you both get added to the deeds, both own the property.
The names on the deeds need to be the same as the names on the mortgage. Otherwise, if they had to evict the OP if he stopped paying the mortgage, they could evict the girlfriend as she would be named on the deeds but not the mortgage.
And he wouldn't need to remortgage, there would be no change to his current rate.
Sarnie said:
C5_Steve said:
You have two options. You could add her to the deeds in which case she'll jointly own the property. Fee's around £280 from memory. You don't have to add her to the mortgage however, you would just need to inform your lender. Do this first to ensure they have no issue before adding her to the deeds just in case. The mortgage debt remains in your name meaning she's not liable for it but she could pay you whatever portion of the monthly payment you decide.
The second option is to have the mortgage transferred to joint names, which will involve a new application and basically remortgage so you may not get the same terms as you're on. New affordability checks etc will need doing, potentially new booking fees or other fees from the lender. With this you'll both be liable for the debt and as long as you both get added to the deeds, both own the property.
Both options you have suggested are incorrect.The second option is to have the mortgage transferred to joint names, which will involve a new application and basically remortgage so you may not get the same terms as you're on. New affordability checks etc will need doing, potentially new booking fees or other fees from the lender. With this you'll both be liable for the debt and as long as you both get added to the deeds, both own the property.
The names on the deeds need to be the same as the names on the mortgage. Otherwise, if they had to evict the OP if he stopped paying the mortgage, they could evict the girlfriend as she would be named on the deeds but not the mortgage.
And he wouldn't need to remortgage, there would be no change to his current rate.
I'm afraid that you're actually incorrect. The ownership of the property has nothing to do with the lending, aside from the lender needing to be notified and agree, which is exactly what I said. Your point about the girlfriend being evicted, if he stops paying the mortgage, is also correct, which is why I said they would both need to seek independent legal advice.
If the occupants of the property are under 18, they can't be evicted. However, over 18 they can be hence needing ILA which the lender will ask you to confirm you've sought in this situation. The person on the deeds not on the mortgage will also need to agree to the lending being taken out, again hence the ILA requirement.
In regards to losing the current rate, this is almost certain as a new lending application would be needed to take the new party on to the mortgage. You can't just add someone to existing lending without running a new application. It might be possible to port the rate, but I was speaking generally.
I speak from experience of exactly this situation.
C5_Steve said:
Wow, you said that with your whole chest didn't you
I'm afraid that you're actually incorrect. The ownership of the property has nothing to do with the lending, aside from the lender needing to be notified and agree, which is exactly what I said. Your point about the girlfriend being evicted, if he stops paying the mortgage, is also correct, which is why I said they would both need to seek independent legal advice.
If the occupants of the property are under 18, they can't be evicted. However, over 18 they can be hence needing ILA which the lender will ask you to confirm you've sought in this situation. The person on the deeds not on the mortgage will also need to agree to the lending being taken out, again hence the ILA requirement.
In regards to losing the current rate, this is almost certain as a new lending application would be needed to take the new party on to the mortgage. You can't just add someone to existing lending without running a new application. It might be possible to port the rate, but I was speaking generally.
I speak from experience of exactly this situation.
So was I, in doing this for clients for the last 25 years.....I'm afraid that you're actually incorrect. The ownership of the property has nothing to do with the lending, aside from the lender needing to be notified and agree, which is exactly what I said. Your point about the girlfriend being evicted, if he stops paying the mortgage, is also correct, which is why I said they would both need to seek independent legal advice.
If the occupants of the property are under 18, they can't be evicted. However, over 18 they can be hence needing ILA which the lender will ask you to confirm you've sought in this situation. The person on the deeds not on the mortgage will also need to agree to the lending being taken out, again hence the ILA requirement.
In regards to losing the current rate, this is almost certain as a new lending application would be needed to take the new party on to the mortgage. You can't just add someone to existing lending without running a new application. It might be possible to port the rate, but I was speaking generally.
I speak from experience of exactly this situation.
You do not have to rmeortgage to add someone to a mortgage.
Ownership of the property has nothing to do with the lender
Sarnie said:
C5_Steve said:
Wow, you said that with your whole chest didn't you
I'm afraid that you're actually incorrect. The ownership of the property has nothing to do with the lending, aside from the lender needing to be notified and agree, which is exactly what I said. Your point about the girlfriend being evicted, if he stops paying the mortgage, is also correct, which is why I said they would both need to seek independent legal advice.
If the occupants of the property are under 18, they can't be evicted. However, over 18 they can be hence needing ILA which the lender will ask you to confirm you've sought in this situation. The person on the deeds not on the mortgage will also need to agree to the lending being taken out, again hence the ILA requirement.
In regards to losing the current rate, this is almost certain as a new lending application would be needed to take the new party on to the mortgage. You can't just add someone to existing lending without running a new application. It might be possible to port the rate, but I was speaking generally.
I speak from experience of exactly this situation.
So was I, in doing this for clients for the last 25 years.....I'm afraid that you're actually incorrect. The ownership of the property has nothing to do with the lending, aside from the lender needing to be notified and agree, which is exactly what I said. Your point about the girlfriend being evicted, if he stops paying the mortgage, is also correct, which is why I said they would both need to seek independent legal advice.
If the occupants of the property are under 18, they can't be evicted. However, over 18 they can be hence needing ILA which the lender will ask you to confirm you've sought in this situation. The person on the deeds not on the mortgage will also need to agree to the lending being taken out, again hence the ILA requirement.
In regards to losing the current rate, this is almost certain as a new lending application would be needed to take the new party on to the mortgage. You can't just add someone to existing lending without running a new application. It might be possible to port the rate, but I was speaking generally.
I speak from experience of exactly this situation.
You do not have to rmeortgage to add someone to a mortgage.
Ownership of the property has nothing to do with the lender
I guess we have very different experiences perhaps of providing a mortgage then. I can tell you that I have first hand experience of a mortgage where the girlfriend was the borrower, the boyfriend added to the deeds and not part of the lending application. GFs parents gifted the deposit as well so BF in for zero down. Year later, BF had to be bought out of the property by GF parents as the relationship broke down.
C5_Steve said:
Ownership has nothing to do with the lending, not the lender. You can quite clearly see I've stated the lender does need to know, it just doesn't affect the lending application....also it depends on the lender whether a new application has to be done. I did say probably.
It has EVERYTHING to do with the lender, it's their risk.And no new application is required, just a credit scoring and then the legal paperwork to be added to the deeds.
I've given the OP the correct info and corrected your incorrect info, no more from me, good luck OP!
bigandclever said:
She pays you rent as a lodger. You overpay your mortgage. When it comes to re-mortgage time, and if it's still the desire for both of you to be on it, do it all then.
Initially, that was my thinking but, as she's coming from living rent free with Parents, I kind of wanted her to feel her money was going on an 'official' investment if that makes sense. I know I'm potentially setting myself up here but she's absolutely not money motivated & I know she'd be fine with just paying me rent.Anyway, after reading the very helpful advice on here I'm swaying towards her sticking her contribution in a savings account & then sorting something out in 3 years when my current deal is up. We'd also look at possibly moving at this point too.
It also gives us a good trial period of living together & if it was to go pear shaped we both come out of it ok.
Cheers,
Ben
Sarnie said:
It has EVERYTHING to do with the lender, it's their risk.
And no new application is required, just a credit scoring and then the legal paperwork to be added to the deeds.
I've given the OP the correct info and corrected your incorrect info, no more from me, good luck OP!
Except you haven't, but good to see you're prepared to accept others may have more experience or knowledge than you. And no new application is required, just a credit scoring and then the legal paperwork to be added to the deeds.
I've given the OP the correct info and corrected your incorrect info, no more from me, good luck OP!
benm3evo said:
bigandclever said:
She pays you rent as a lodger. You overpay your mortgage. When it comes to re-mortgage time, and if it's still the desire for both of you to be on it, do it all then.
Initially, that was my thinking but, as she's coming from living rent free with Parents, I kind of wanted her to feel her money was going on an 'official' investment if that makes sense. I know I'm potentially setting myself up here but she's absolutely not money motivated & I know she'd be fine with just paying me rent.Anyway, after reading the very helpful advice on here I'm swaying towards her sticking her contribution in a savings account & then sorting something out in 3 years when my current deal is up. We'd also look at possibly moving at this point too.
It also gives us a good trial period of living together & if it was to go pear shaped we both come out of it ok.
Cheers,
Ben
C5_Steve said:
Sarnie said:
It has EVERYTHING to do with the lender, it's their risk.
And no new application is required, just a credit scoring and then the legal paperwork to be added to the deeds.
I've given the OP the correct info and corrected your incorrect info, no more from me, good luck OP!
Except you haven't, but good to see you're prepared to accept others may have more experience or knowledge than you. And no new application is required, just a credit scoring and then the legal paperwork to be added to the deeds.
I've given the OP the correct info and corrected your incorrect info, no more from me, good luck OP!
OP could do apply for a remortgage elsewhere to add the girlfriend too.
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