Adding Your Spouse to a Mortgage Without Refinancing
When you get married, you begin to meld your finances, which can mean taking equal ownership -- and responsibility -- for the home. If you bought your home before marriage, it's likely that your name is the only name on the mortgage payment. In most cases, it's not possible to add your spouse to a mortgage without refinancing, but if you talk to the lender, you may be able to do it.
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Benefits
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The main benefit of having a spouse listed on your mortgage is that it can improve her credit score. This is only applicable if your credit score is good and hers is poor or average. Additionally, having her name on the loan may give her a greater sense of responsibility when it comes to making the payments, or it will allow her to continue making payments should you lose your job or become too ill to work.
Mortgage Novation or Assumption
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Under certain cases, a mortgage plan may allow for mortgage novation, or for another person to assume the mortgage. In this case, though, your spouse wouldn't be added to the mortgage directly; rather, she'd assume full responsibility of the mortgage. Ask your lender if your mortgage is eligible for this. If so, your spouse will have to have the credit and financial means to qualify as though she were applying for the original loan.
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Personal Agreement
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Since most mortgage agreements don't allow you to place another person on the mortgage without refinancing, the best option may be to come up with a personal agreement between the two of you. This may be splitting the costs of the mortgage 50-50 or dividing your total payments up in some other way, such as saying that you'll take care of the mortgage payments, but she must be responsible for paying utilities.
Adding to the Title
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Your spouse may want to have a real stake in the home's ownership, and if you cannot simply add her to the mortgage, another alternative would be to add her to the title. This shows that she actually has part ownership in the home, whereas adding her to the mortgage would not necessarily mean that she legally owns the home. Note, though, that sometimes changing the ownership on the home's title could trigger a request for full repayment from your mortgage company. Before you do this, ask about any ramifications.
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