Help! Need advice on obtaining mortgage.

[newlywed2012]

My credit score is 800 and I just discovered my new husband's score is 603. I'm devastated. We aren't seriously looking at houses but there is a short sale near is that's an amazing price. We have $55,000 savings and no outstanding debts. My husband just acted very irresponsibly for a long time while I have not. He earns 55,000 a year and I earn 46,000 a year. Our lender said on my own I could get a loan to cover the kind of house we'd like. Would taking out a mortgage by myself be a terrible idea? I'm very practical and a lawyer and know I need to protect myself financially. If I could afford the mortgage on my own, is there anything else to worry about?

My husband wants to go to a different lender but I'm concerned about hurting both our credit to pull another credit report. I'm just so upset. I knew he did stupid things financially long ago but not this recently. He lets me (and insists) that I handle all our finances and just give him a small cash allowance. This has worked well for us and I'm comfortable with this arrangement, now that I control everything we earn.

[humandraydel]

My husband wants to go to a different lender but I'm concerned about hurting both our credit to pull another credit report.

Multiple credit checks within 30 days do not count as separate events, in order to allow people to shop around for a loan.

[bjl584]

It may be wise for you two to get on the same page financially before buying something as major as a house. his will allign your goals and prevent future surprises such as this.

[newlywed2012]

It may be wise for you two to get on the same page financially before buying something as major as a house. his will allign your goals and prevent future surprises such as this.

I feel very confident that we are on the same page since it was his idea to let me make all the financial decisions. Before we got married he used to say how he just wanted to someday get put on an allowance and once that was gone it was gone. So that's what we have done for 8 months and it's going well. He gets$100 of his paycheck direct deposited into his bank account and the rest gets direct deposited into mine. We had a lot of discussion about finances because his brother is a disaster and he didn't want us to wind up like his brother and SIL.

I hate to sound unromantic but I know divorce happens so if I buy a house on my own I know I should be able to afford it on my own. Are there other things I'm not thinking of? I also plan to get life insurance on both of us.

At the moment I'm not so serious about buying the house but this one home is so amazing that nothing else we've seen compares for that price. It's under contract but has been for four months so it could fall through so they're taking a backup offer. If this isn't going to work then there's no other place I'm interested in on the market now.

[kv968]

My credit score is 800 and I just discovered my new husband's score is 603. I'm devastated. We aren't seriously looking at houses but there is a short sale near is that's an amazing price. We have $55,000 savings and no outstanding debts. My husband just acted very irresponsibly for a long time while I have not. He earns 55,000 a year and I earn 46,000 a year. Our lender said on my own I could get a loan to cover the kind of house we'd like. Would taking out a mortgage by myself be a terrible idea? I'm very practical and a lawyer and know I need to protect myself financially. If I could afford the mortgage on my own, is there anything else to worry about?

Would you get a better rate if you both applied for the mortgage since that would be more reported income or would his score make it worse?

[newlywed2012]

The lender I liked and we were recommended to won't loan him anything. She said they would loan me upwards of 300k at 3.5%. The other lender that's a big box bank would lend to both of us at 4.6%. We aren't looking to borrow more than 250k, and hopefully closer to 175 or 200.

[humandraydel]

I hate to sound unromantic but I know divorce happens so if I buy a house on my own I know I should be able to afford it on my own. Are there other things I'm not thinking of? I also plan to get life insurance on both of us.

Well, you probably know the law better than me (you are a lawyer?), but I'm pretty sure the house is still half his if you are married when you buy the house.

[Max G]

If you take out a loan on your own, his responsibility for the loan (if any) and his rights to the house in case of divorce could vary state by state so you might want to consult a lawyer if you are not familiar with this yourself. In any case, it's good to see that he's taking responsibility for his prior (financial) indiscretions and lets you be in charge of your personal finances. At least he understands that he was wrong and trying to improve. That's a good sign.

[PetMom]

Law is so specialized - don't know what your specialty is. But do you have any divorce lawyer friends (are you in a community property state?, etc...) or real estate lawyers that you might ask these questions.

Even if you get the home in your name he probably has rights to his half if you ever ended up divorcing.

But again, a lawyer who specializes in this would know exactly your options.

[skydivingchic]

Like everyone said, contact a lawyer that specializes in real estate and/or family law to find out what particular laws will apply in your state.

We just re-fied our condo. Both our names are on the mortgage and the title, but we qualified for the mortgage on my income alone since DBF is self employed (which adds a layer of complication, so its just easier to use my income alone). Can you do something like that - qualify based on your info, but put his name on the mortgage as well?

A previous poster is correct that multiple credit pulls in a short time period will be counted as a single pull so that you can rate shop. You might also try calling several lenders, explaining the situation including giving them your credit scores, and asking them what the best they could do based on that info is. If you get a better offer, then give then permission to actually pull your credit.

If none of that works, it will come down to your own sense of risk and how comfortable you are with only your name on the mortgage.

[woodie96]

NewlyWed,
As others have alluded to, once married and you buy a house, it would seem that it becomes joint property.
with that said, if it benefitted us as a family to use only one income, then that is the route I would go.
My wife is self-employed making about 35K a year. We are in the process of refinancing and we are using my income only, because of all of the other paperwork her self-employment would entail.
I, like you am right around 800....775+
The difference in the 1% will make a huge difference in interest over the life of the loan.

JMHO

[Homebody]

I did not read all the replies...just going to say that we refinanced using only my husband's income since I was not working. We still hold the property jointly. Just because my name is not on the mortgage does not mean my name is not on the deed.

I had a bad rate because I cosigned my daughter and SIL's utilities and the water company claimed they didn't pay the final bill. I paid it without making them prove it, which was my mistake. It was in collection and already on my report, that is how I found it, from my credit report I order once a year. The kids told me they had paid the final bill....oh well......

As far as community property, being an attorney you would know more about that than most of us right? I live in California so it doesn't matter....community property.