Can a married woman apply for a mortgage as a single person?

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

michaelg

Registered User
Messages
173
Question for a friend.

She's a first time buyer and about to approach a bank for a mortgage to buy as a single person.

Thing is she's recently married but they keep their finances separately.

When applying should she tell the bank that she is married and if she does will it change how they might view her or the property?

Thanks for any help.
 
Assuming this is for a PPR rather than a buy to let?

It is extremely difficult to get a PPR mortgage in a single name when married. A family home declaration would provide the spouse with more rights than the bank.
To not let the bank know you're married is a form of fraud.

The only lender that I'm aware of that would consider it is Haven, but not only would she need enough income to solely pay the mortgage, but also to financially support her spouse if they lost their job.
 
As above, if it's going to be a home for both of them she will have to tick the married box! If a Buy To Let then it's different and you usually can get a mortgage in a sole name for that whether you are married or not but for family home it's almost always joint mortgage and even if the bank agreed to sole mortgage she still needs to fess up unless intending lying to everyone including the solicitor when it comes to signing family home declaration. Not advisable!
 
Thanks for the replies.

That will be really very bad news for her and seems very unfair. She's never owned a house before and has been saving a 10% deposit for years and is finally ready to go with that.

How much of a mortgage could she get after calculating financially supporting her husband ?

One crazy solution seems that she would have to divorce, then buy a house and then get re-marry to get round this ?

Any other options available to her ? Would rebuildingIreland loan to her ?
 
Last edited:
Monbretia said:
As above, if it's going to be a home for both of them she will have to tick the married box! If a Buy To Let then it's different and you usually can get a mortgage in a sole name for that whether you are married or not but for family home it's almost always joint mortgage and even if the bank agreed to sole mortgage she still needs to fess up unless intending lying to everyone including the solicitor when it comes to signing family home declaration. Not advisable!
Click to expand...

But a buy to let is not for the buyer to live in .
 
michaelg said:
That will be really bad news for both of them and seems very unfair. She's been saving a 10% deposit for years and is finally ready to go with that.

How much of a mortgage could she get after calculating financially supporting her husband ?
Click to expand...
Has her husband previously been declared bankrupt or something?
 
michaelg said:
But a buy to let is not for the buyer to live in
Click to expand...


No it isn't but it wasn't clear whether this was a house for them as a couple or just buying a house.

Why is it such bad news? If it is a house for both of them to live in as a family home then what is the issue with putting both names on it, even if she finances it totally and pays for it all it doesn't mean he has no rights over the home so she may as well spread the risk and put him on the mortgage!

Maybe if we knew the reasoning behind the decision it might be easier advise.
 
Monbretia said:
No it isn't but it wasn't clear whether this was a house for them as a couple or just buying a house.

Why is it such bad news? If it is a house for both of them to live in as a family home then what is the issue with putting both names on it, even if she finances it totally and pays for it all it doesn't mean he has no rights over the home so she may as well spread the risk and put him on the mortgage!

Maybe if we knew the reasoning behind the decision it might be easier advise.
Click to expand...
He was discharged from bankruptcy last year so I doubt any Bank would have anything to do with him for a good few years.
 
michaelg said:
Yes , previously declared bankrupt and discharged last year.
Click to expand...
Ah. It all makes sense now.

Re Rebuilding Ireland Homeloan, the rules are you cannot make a single application if married.

In terms of affordability in a single name, it'd be the same as a sole income application. She'd need to have c. 2,000 per month left after paying the mortgage, and any other commitments, at stressed levels. I don't have the exact figures used.

Don't give up hope completely on how long it'll take before banks consider lending post bankruptcy.

There are a few threads around about people getting mortgages post bankruptcy if you've time to do a search. Here's an example, but the timelines are different because it used to take 3 years to get discharged.

Success! I got a mortgage 4 1/2 years after being declared bankrupt

So folks after over 2 years of applying, we got mortgage approval back in July and we'll finally be getting the keys to our new home next week. For the doubters out there (@Brendan Burgess being one - couldn't find the quote where we hadn't a hope of getting credit)........I'll be raising a...
www.askaboutmoney.com

Once all previous debts have been marked cleared on credit records, after 6 more months some of the lenders will be open to discussing. I've heard of success with all the main lenders, but nothing in a very short time frame. I'd suggest they aim to save up 20% deposit between them (assuming he's not a first time buyer?), and start appkyung to banks once he's at least 2 years discharged, if earlier conversations haven't been fruitful. But they'd both need to have perfect credit and savings records for the 2 years. Banks are getting more used to dealing with people that have had financial issues in the past.
 
Last edited:
@deanpark - only bonkers if you don't know what you're talking about.

They don't need a JS and it doesn't need to involve expensive legal fees.

A Separation Agreement will be acceptable for this purpose; the only requirement will be to establish that they have been living separate lives for at least one year.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
I hate to be the cynical one, but why not just apply as a single person?
Click to expand...

You'd want to be comfortable with signing a bunch of stuff while telling fibs, be one thing for a small personal loan to tick the single box instead of married as it's simple enough to get the funds but when it comes to drawing down the mortgage there is a family home declaration as part of the legal pack to be completed where you are signing confirming you are single and it is not a family home or words to that effect, can't remember exactly what it says. I'm not a solicitor so not sure what other bits need signing and don't know what would happen if you did go through with it all while sticking to the lie.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
I hate to be the cynical one, but why not just apply as a single person?
Click to expand...
Technically, you can. There was even an equality case taken a few years ago against AIB on the very topic. So, they'll just come up with another reason to reject the application, unless you've enough income.

The biggest problem, and where it'll unravel, is the family home declaration.

michaelg said:
Apparently its considered fraud. Not sure what the implications of that would be.
Click to expand...
I've no first hand experience with this, but 2 practical things:
If the bank discovers during their underwriting, you'll be rejected, and possibly blacklisted.
If you do draw down the mortgage, and run into financial difficulty in future, the bank could technically exclude you from the protection of MARP, etc, and start repossession much more quickly.

She really needs to talk to a bank. This is an evolving area, and banks are open to look at them on a case by case basis. The volumes are too small for you to get opinions from a representative sample in the internet.

Maybe initially avoid a lender he had debts with that were written off.

Make sure everything is correct in ICB.

I understand KBC won't look at it for 5 years, but any of the others will.
 
The title change on the thread now makes it look like an equality issue but it would more accurate if it read a 'married person' as it doesn't matter a toss whether it is a man or a woman, in general it's bank policy that mortgage for the family home is in joint names if married. The bank is always looking at the worst case scenario, there is no such thing as a good loan only a good risk (a quote I have always remembered from a training session with Michael Kealy for anyone who came across him in their career) , so if it all went belly up it is simpler for them if both are on the mortgage rather than having to deal with a non owning/mortgaged spouse and any complications that might throw up.

That's not to say they will never do it but it is general policy so it will need to be an exception by some lender.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top