Both of their names are on the deed, but her husband applied for the mortgage in his name only. I’m guessing he did this because he had the higher credit score, so financing in his name alone could get them a better interest rate. But this seems like something you should obviously talk about with your spouse.
That said, if anything, it seems mostly a positive to be on the deed but not the mortgage. You’re the owner, though you’re not responsible for the debt. The only major drawback I can see is that her credit score won’t benefit from building payment history, even if she’s contributing to the payments.
Has anyone else here been in a similar situation? Are there any consequences for the letter writer that I’m not thinking of? Would you be angry at your spouse if they put your name on the deed but left you off the mortgage?
Everything you mentioned makes sense to me. If his credit score for housing is better than hers, yes I’d leave her off the loan. At least she is on the title. Also not obligated on the loan is another plus, should they divorce.
My home loan credit score is 802, (different wording same basis) which is different than what my credit card scores are, as per the lender, Navy Federal Credit Union when I applied for a home loan in Feb. 2020. Still was an Excellent score. Whereas my 3 credit cards are between the range of 829 to 868.
They should just go online together and add her name to the loan if she thinks it will help her to feel better in the long run.
Every time I pay my credit card bills online I get the notice, Would you like to add another person as an authorized user to your account ? I just click no or ignore it all together.
I think only having one person on the mortgage is actually smart. Especially if this couple would like to have any rentals or something like that under their name in their future.
I believe you can only have up to 10 loans from Fannie Mae per person, which means if they wanted to get a buncha real estate properties together, it’s best they split the mortgages so they can max out at 20 houses.
They might not be looking into building a real estate empire; however, I think having the option is strictly better than not having it.
I don’t see any disadvantages of having the deed as your upside and no downside on your mortgage. It’s like free half-a-house.
There doesn’t seem to be many drawbacks for her not being on the mortgage and seems like she can be added easily enough if that’s what she desires. The looming issue is her husband making a big decision without her knowing. That type of behavior could very well resurface in other areas of their relationship in the future.
Good question! When I bought our house some 20+ years ago, I was not married and the mortgage was in my name alone. The mortgage company does not care who makes the payments, just make them on time. I bought the house in 1996 and married in 2004, when it came time to refinance, I asked my husband if he wanted to be on the deed and he said yes. In actuality it did not matter to him if he was on the deed or not. To me I thought it was a big step in the marriage as far as security as a property owner. Sometimes I cannot understand his logic.
It seems that she was left in the dark about this decision. Her husband should’ve discussed with her before he applied for a mortgage in his own name. If he informed her the benefits of his better credit score, may she would’ve understood and possibly agreed. But if she was expected to contribute to the mortgage, then I feel that her name should be on the mortgage as well. Maybe they can refinance in the near future so both names are on the mortgage. It’s great that both are included on the deed!
This happened to me and then he divorced me. Thankfully, the courts were very clear about ownership and though he wanted 70% of the value of the home he walked away with 40% due to back child support payments.
Her husband can put her on the deed - but it costs a fee. Still - banks should see her as legal owner.
And tell her to get a will because she doesn’t want the house to go into Probate if he dies… If she is the Joint owner with rights of survivorship - which is what usually occurs when both partners are on the deed - there is no danger of the home going to probate. Since she is not on the deed - if there is no will - she’ll be stuck.
While married, my ex had a secret do it yourself will I didn’t know anything about until a year before he divorced me. If he died he was leaving everything to his mother - not even our kids - My lawyer laughed and said the court would throw it out.
You have to protect yourself from your spouse… they don’t always have your best interest at heart.
@redcatcec - I reread your message - sorry I first read it as she was off the deed and the mortgage. Which can cause a lot of problems if the marriage goes sour or if the one who is on the deed dies. But as long as she’s on the deed the property will pass to her and he won’t be able to sell it without her knowledge.
I wish I wasnt added to Our mortgage,this is why,We bought a house,he was the main person,and they added me but I wasnt working,I was an at home parent, so years later my Husband has multiple surgeries on his brain,it changed him dramatically, they call it Organic Brain Damage,he couldnt work anymore,so he signed up for disability but in the meantime our bills arent getting paid,we received a little bit of help,but not enough sadly,he won his case,so his retro check went to catch us up on the arrears, but it wasnt enough and his check wasnt enough to cover everything so I started cleaning homes while he tried scraping metal but sadly we ended up going into foreclosure, long story short a couple years later my husband passed from complications due to his disability. Since that they sold the house and now want me to pay the remainder of that balance, they have taken my license and want 200 to get it back,they have accepted my hardship paperwork, but are still charging me interest so the balance keeps increasing. Im on disability myself so i dint know how the expect me to pay this money back.
