Posted about this a while back but I am still confused/puzzled. In a community property state, I know that the spouse has to be on the title, but not necessarily on the mortgage application. The problem? I have checked a dozen or so mortgage applications and all of them say, include spouse information if you live or intend to buy property in a community property state. A few other applications just ask to list spousal debts if it is an individual application, but in this case they will not consider the spouse's income-- well, that stinks. So real estate experts... how do you get around putting spouse on the application? Is there a specific company which is "friendly" to this type of situation?
I don't know how this works anywhere but here -- sorry. In California, a community property state, you can hold title as "a married woman (or man) as her (or his) sole and separate property." The spouse has to sign a quitclaim deed relinquishing any ownership interest in the property. If you do it this way, you just leave the spouse off the application. Some lenders will allow you to put the spouse on the deed without putting them on the note, and you can leave spouse off application in that case as well. What are you trying to accomplish? Do you need to leave your spouse off on account of bad credit, or is there some other reason?
Sorry I wasn't clear-- I have a cold and the actifed is scrambling my brain-- so I will attempt to clear-up. It appears that I will have my credit clean within the year... this is probably not going to happen for my husband whose credit is a total wreck. Furthermore, he has child support and associated obligations which take essentially 50% of his monthly income-- this can't look good on a mortgage application. Once I finish school, we will be moving and are considering several states with community property laws. We want to buy a house, but obviously it is better if I can get a mortgage by myself without consideration of his income OR debts. I've been asking around and some people suggest that it is possible to accomplish this, but have yet to find a lender which concurs. Concerning a quitclaim, does anyone know if this is true for other community property states (TX, WA, NM especially)?
The problem in trying to keep your husband off the mortgage application is that if he is on the deed and not the mortgage, the mortgage is not valid.If he is NOT on the deed or the mortgage then in ALL States. not just community property States, if you are purchasing the home while you are married, the spouse has legal rights to the home even if they are NOT on the deed. So no mortgage company will go for such a deal. Now, it may be, that they will not consider his credit history in terms of your qualifying for the mortgage,especally if you have a good enough down payment.
I see your point, but in previous threads at least 3 people claim to have obtained home loans without there spouse (hoping for some detailed information from those who have done this?). In any case... In your opinion WhyChat , what would be a good enough down payment?
3 years ago we obtained a mortgage in one spouse's name. One name on the deed also. The other spouse had unpaid IRS liens so there really was no option for putting everything in both names at that time. We had been buying an owner financed house for about 18 months. (Newly self employed can be a bear.) The bank was running some kind of special promotional deal at the time and we were finally able to get the house financed through the bank at that point. We only financed for 10 years, but could have gone for 15. Longer was not an option. From what we understood, the loan was not a traditional mortgage and since it was our first and only experience in that arena we had no basis for comparison. It didn't seem to require a lot of the documentation and paperwork we had heard others talk about and it closed about 10 days after applying. To my knowledge, we never provided any proof of anything other than the original note, an appraisal and survey of the property. We had about 20% equity in the house at the time we got the bank loan. I don't know if this is helpful or not. We're in SC and it is not a community property state. DemPooches
I respectfully beg to differ with you. I can't speak as to how it works in the other 49 states, however, in California, you can take title as a married person as his/her sole and separate property and leave your spouse off the deed and the note (the spouse has to sign a quitclaim deed). This is often done when someone already owns property when they get married and wants to keep it separate from community property. Some lenders will allow you to put your spouse on the deed and NOT on the note (sorry, I can't, off the top of my head, say which ones; if someone really wants to know, I will find out and post it Monday). For lenders that don't allow that, you simply take title as sole and separate, then later on grant deed your spouse onto title. This is basically the same thing as putting a newly acquired spouse onto the title of a property you owned before you were married.
Gib- are you in a cp state? If so, did you have to disclose spouse info (debts, etc.) on the loan application?
You may be correct about Cal. however, it is MY understanding that the situation you refer to is usully used when someone inherits property and needs to keep ther spouse off the chain of title. Yes, it is certaily possible to acquire a house and have a spouse quit claim or as in some States give up all dower rights,but in normal new purchase situations,it would be next to impossible to get title insurance on a transaction like that. As to financing a house with only one titled owner on the mortgage,it is possible, but most banks will not go for it,certainly not an FHA loan,(which is the original poster's best bet anyway) With 15-20% down she would have no problems.
I don't know what to tell you other than that I am in the mortgage business in California, and it is done that way all the time for a variety of reasons, and we don't have any trouble getting title insurance. The situation I see most often is where one spouse has credit problems and the other spouse can qualify on their own, or where one spouse has a lot of debt, but no income. Sometimes it is a case where the parties are divorcing, but it is not final yet. Whoever is keeping the house refinances to pull cash out to pay off their spouse. The spouse then takes that cash and puts it down on their new house. Both parties take title to their respective homes as married, sole and separate. Title insurance has not ever been a problem.
Since I'm in this business and deal with properties in several states, it depends how things are done in your state.
Why Chat Don't take this as an attack please,but there is a problem when you make definitive and blanket statements. Many times they are incorrect. There are multiple states that will allow a single spouse to be on the mortgage loan/note and have both spouses on the deed. In fact, there are some states that will NOT allow one spouse to be on the mortgage loan/note without the other spouse at least being on the deed. This is especially true in community property states. I have provided mortgages to people in several states where only a single spouse was on the mortgage note while both spouses were on the deed. Kit you should talk to a knowledgeable and qualified mortgage broker in the state that you are interested in moving to and see what they have to say. Good luck fla-tan
fla-tan, herauntis... thank you for your responses. I will try to find a mortgage broker that is willing to help me as that time approaches. At least their is a glimmer of hope in here.... thanks again.
Actually, before I leave this one for good I am going to confuse the situation a little more... how would it work if my parent wanted to be a co-borrow with me only? Also, my parents own the house we live in now, but we pay the mortgage and plan on splitting any profits on the house when it is sold. This money will be our down-payment... would this be considered a "gift"?
You are correct, I put my fingers in gear before my brain was engaged. I generally do not generalize, I do not know what got into me!! Sometimes I DO get into a time warp and forget that my real estate knowledge is somewhat, (like the rest of me) dated.
We are buying a house next month in my wife's name only. The title or deed will be in her name only as well. We live in Pennsylvania and the lender and mortgage broker have no problem with this. He only asked us why don't you both want to be on the deed? I stated 2 reasons for my not being on the deed or title. 1. I have some unpaid charge offs I am trying to straighten out and do not want to be sued and they find out I own any type of property for which they can claim or go after. 2. I work in Law Enforcement and I and my employer have been sued unsuccessfully several times in federal court for big money. Luckily as I said it was unsuccessful and we operated within the law each time. This is not to say in the future I could be sued and lose. I do not want them to take our home. We however do not live in a CP state. I just wanted to share this info with everyone. Tac
2. I work in Law Enforcement and I and my employer have been sued unsuccessfully several times in federal court for big money. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "BANK ROBBER POINTS GUN AT POLICE OFFICERS" (STRIKE 3) They take him "OUT". The bank robber survives. AMBULANCE CHASER LAWYER files against the POLICE, CITY,COUNTY, STATE, COURT, HOSPITAL, DOCTORS, GOVERNOR, AND ANYBODY ELSE THEY CAN FIND...INCLUDING THE BANK!!!
George, The family of two brother bank robbers in LA sued the LAPD (and who knows else) for "letting" one of the brothers bleed to death after they shot up several people and had a siege for about an hour straight. These guys were serious murderers (dressed in bulletproof from the neck down to the feet with Rambo ammunition), screwed up to the point they finally got killed, and now the family blames the LAPD. Unreal!
