dependent issue when wife applies for mortgage on her own

[cornish simon]

Hi,

My wife is hoping to secure a mortgage for us on her own as I have retrained over the last 3 years and my credit rating is poor. She has the salary to take the mortgage on her own and our savings will give us a 40% deposit.

We are being advised by our broker that we should say I will not live at the property or I will be deemed a dependent, damaging the amount she can take.

Is this standard practice for married couples where one has a poor credit rating? and if not, what can be done short of getting a divorce!

Thanks for your help

[IFA]

Hi there,

This is symtomatic of the way that lenders calculate the maximum amount you can borrow these days. They assess affordability based on a number of different criteria, which does vary between lenders and which, in part, takes account of an applicant's financial commitments which includes non-working family members.

This normally means dependent children, but with many lenders a dependent spouse is considered as much of a financial liability as a child would be.

Therefore, stating that you will not live in the property can increase the borrowing potential of the sole applicant, but stating that you will not live there when in fact you will amounts to mortgage fraud.

With 40% deposit available you ought to have quite a large range of mortgage providers available to you (so long as there's nothing else unusual about your situation) so it may be worthwhile asking your broker if there are any other lenders that can help and who do not consider you as a financial dependent.

[Enness Private Clients]

I agree with the above post - never mis-represent your situation on an application form!

[The Mortgage Hut]

Great post from IFA.

It is however the case that not all lenders will take you into account as a dependant, if your adviser is not able to assist you find one that can lend I would simply get advise elsewhere.

If you need any help feel free to message me.

Regards,

Chris