Married first-time buyer

P

Pablo

Registered User
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Hello -

I am married and considering buying a new house for my family. My wife bought our current place before we met, deeds are on her name and mortage payments go to her current a/c.

I personally have enough savings and income to get a mortage for a new place; the plan is for my wife to keep and rent our current place.

I would like to purchase our new home as a first-time buyer to avoid stamp duty, being "just me" who purchases the home (my wife's income contributing to her own mortage and our family living costs rather than the new house mortage).

I am not getting good or consistent advice from either banks or mortage brokers (they just have their own interest in mind I guess), and I don't want to make a mistake that would force me to pay stamp duty.

I'm assuming my wife (1) cannot be in the deeds for the new place, that seems pretty obvious. But can she :
(2) Contribute to the purchase of the house / repayments, if not initially, in the future
(3) Be in the mortage loan application (just to show the bank we have the income and guarantees)

According to advice from brokers / bank personnel, it's just (1) - whoever is on the deeds. Previous posts on these forums suggest that (2) may also make stamp duty applicable. I am not sure about (3), would it cause trouble? All banks and the brokers insist I add my wife to the application.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,
Pablo
 
Revenue are clear about (2) and (3)

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To qualify for the relief the entirety of the purchase monies, including any borrowings, must be provided by the first time buyer. Any person, who provides part of the purchase monies or who is a party to any borrowings relating to such purchase, is also regarded as a buyer of the house and the relief will not be available unless that other person is also a first time buyer.
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Thank you. I called the stamp duty office and they confirmed that if I'm the only person in the deeds and in the mortage, then I qualify as first-time buyer.

This contrast with the "advice" given by the mortage broker and the bank, which insisted I could and I should add my wife to the application, as long as she's not in the deeds. While I understand banks have their own agenda, I was hoping the broker would be more helpful / competent.

Thank you.
 
Pablo said:
Thank you. I called the stamp duty office and they confirmed that if I'm the only person in the deeds and in the mortage, then I qualify as first-time buyer.

This contrast with the "advice" given by the mortage broker and the bank, which insisted I could and I should add my wife to the application, as long as she's not in the deeds. While I understand banks have their own agenda, I was hoping the broker would be more helpful / competent.

Thank you.
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They are not Tax advisors.

mf
 
Thanks for the help so far.

I contacted my broker about this, asking them to look for a mortage on my name and using solely my means.

But my broker now claims that, since I'm married, no bank will give me a mortage, regardless of my means, if my wife is not in the mortage as well.

I'll check with a couple of banks on my own but, in anybody's experience, is that really the case?
 
In my experience banks insist on both parties going on a mortgage for the family home. I presume this is due to the Family Home Protection Act.


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NorfBank said:
In my experience banks insist on both parties going on a mortgage for the family home. I presume this is due to the Family Home Protection Act.
/QUOTE]

I would have thought so too. My understanding is that any property you buy while married, your spouse automatically has a claim on it.
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I explored this a while ago and was given different info.
I was given to understand that when you marry, your wife and yourself jointly own all assets regardless whether you put names on deeds etc..
Apparently the law changed a few years ago and if 2 people are buying a house, both must never have bought a property before. Therefore, your wife owning a house means you have lost your eligibility for exemption of stamp duty... you are viewed as a unit and one of the parties is not a first time buyer so the other person cant be a first time buyer either. You cannot buy a house on your own if you're married- I was told.
Also, with regard to mortgage interest relief, you wont be able to claim this on both mortgages-as you would own 2 houses between you- you will both have to nominate one as your principle residence.
This may not be right but it is what we were told...so make sure you have correct info before you go ahead....good luck
 
You cant do it. Forget about it now. Someone I know did this and the Revenue chased him years after and presented him with a bill for 20k. The day you married a non-first time buyer you lost your own FTB status.
 
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