Mortgage application when one person has existing debt

[Seabass]

Hi

In this scenario :

Person 1 : Permanent job, mid-50ks salary, no debt, ~30k savings
Person 2 (OH, not married) : Permanent state job, mid 40ks salary, has about 200k of mortgage debt on a property that is rented out, no other debt but no savings

If they want to buy a house together would person 2's financials help or hinder the mortgage application process. ie would it be better if person 1 made the mortgage application and add person 2 at a later time ? Or what is the best way to approach the process based on above ?

Many Thanks

 

[Brendan Burgess]

If person 2 is in deep negative equity, it's probably much better for them to keep their financial affairs as separate as possible.

If things go wrong for Person 2, Person 1 may end up carrying the can. Person 2 should probably focus on paying down their mortgage to build up some equity in their existing property.

 

[Bronte]

add person 2 at a later time ?

Agree that it's best if person 1 makes the application. Would not advice that person 2 be added unless there is a watertight legal agreement between them in the event of a split and that they are not added until out of NE on their property.