Benefits of single or joint mortgage

I am in the process of taking out a mortgage. My personal circumstances are:
Getting married next year
Getting site transferred from my father
Can afford the mortgage on my own
Currently have no life / mortgage insurance
First time buyer / self builder
This will be my principal place of residence

What are the advantages / disadvantages / cost benefits of taking out the mortgage in my own name or as a couple?

Would both of us need mortgage cover?
If I take it out in my name would I benefit from the increased interest relief when married?

If I get the site into both our names would there be any tax implications on the transfer as opposed to being a treated as a gift

Assuming your fiancee is also a First Time Buyer, I'd say the simplest approach is to get the mortgage in both names, thus obtaining joint tax relief on the mortgage repayments. Yes she'll have to be named on the Mortgage Protection life assurance, but the tax relief is likely to be far more than the extra cost of the life assurance.

Your mortgage can be in joint names but the site can be just in yours.

Liam D. Ferguson
www.ferga.com

Hi. I hope I am posting in the right thread as the query is along the same lines. I am a first time buyer going to apply for mortgage soon (offer has been accepted on a house)..going to see a mortgage broker this Saturday. My wife doesn't work (she's a housewife), and I am the sole breadwinner. I want her to be joint owner of the house, whereas I want a sole mortgage. Does anyone know if it is possible to have joint ownership but sole mortgage? I don't want the lender to search her credit history because it will be blank (although clean), plus joint income will seem less than sole income

You can't have joint ownership of the property with just you on the mortgage as this undermines the lender's security. Your wife will have to be jointly named on the mortgage. A blank credit history is not an issue for mortgage applications. Don't worry about your income appearing less for a joint application - if you can afford the mortgage, you can afford the mortgage. Your broker should be able to tell you what you can qualify for on Saturday.

www.ferga.com

Thanks LDFerguson for the reply. I was a bit concerned because my wife does not have any credit cards etc in her name and has just one current account. We have checked her file with Experian, and as expected there is nothing unusual. So we're going to see how the visit to the broker goes!