House Stamp Duty where one half of a couple has owned before?

The full SD is payable.

You don't get the exemption.

Buy the house in the unused name first, then assign half to the partner the next day?

"Fredxx" wrote

But what if the 'unused name' can't afford to buy on their own - eg cannot obtain a big enough mortgage in their sole name?

You can have the name of the house in one name, and the mortgage joint.

I only know of one instance, where there were 2 names on the mortgage and one on the deeds. I saw the relevant paperwork around 2008. This was where the boyfriend agreed to have his name on the mortgage. It did mean they could go after him if she defaulted.

Yes, but as a non-owner (or non-co-owner) he cannot be a mortgagor (or co-mortgagor) [because the gist of a mortgage is that all the co-owners of a property consent to the property being pledged as security for the loan - as a non-owner he cannot give that consent], so I suspect the role in which "his name was on the mortgage" paperwork was as a guarantor.

In terms of lending multiples, was her income borderline sufficient, so that his guarantee helped clinch the deal, or was it hopelessly insufficient, so that his guarantee was fundamentally essential? In the latter case, I would have thought that the lender would have needed more than a mere guarantee, but in addition a more formal pledge such as a (possibly second) mortgage on a property he owned.

I take your point, her income was insufficient, and to my knowledge he didn't have any other property and lived with his mother. None was mentioned in the paperwork.

I think it only works if you are both first time buyers, not previous home owners. It also doesn't apply if you owned a property years ago and then went back to renting...I know this for a fact because it applies to me!!

In message , kevdale writes

Lots of questions answered here: