Joint Mortgage Applications

Welcome to our guide to joint mortgages. Here you will learn all you need to know about taking out home finance with other people, including how it works, how it is different to a solo application, and how we can help you get approved.

How do joint mortgage applications work?

A joint mortgage application works in largely the same way as a sole mortgage application, except they are based on the combined income and deposit funds of every applicant who will be named on the title deeds and all applicants’ credit profiles will be assessed.

Here are the key points you need to know about joint mortgages:

• Most lenders limit them to two applicants, but some consider up to four
• You can get one with a spouse, family member or even a friend
• You must decide how the ownership of the property is split
• All applicants named on the deeds must meet the lending criteria
• All applicants are jointly responsible for the debt

We will now explore each of the points in more depth, but if you are ready to take your first steps towards a joint mortgage application, you can get started below:

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Who can get a joint mortgage?

They are available for between two and four people to purchase a home in joint names, although some lenders only allow two applicants to be named on the mortgage deeds.

You don’t need to be a couple to get a joint mortgage, as they are available for:

• Couples
• Family members
• Friends
• Business partners (more common for investment properties)

Joint mortgages are most commonly taken out by couples who are married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting, but the majority of mortgage providers will lend to non-couples.

How the property ownership can be split

If you are applying for a joint mortgage, the ownership of the property you are buying can be divided up in two different ways, which we have outlined below:

Joint tenants: This is a 50/50 split of the property ownership. When one partner passes away, their half automatically goes to the surviving homeowner. Neither applicant can sell their share independently or leave to someone else in their will.

Tenants in common: Some joint applicants choose this option if one is contributing a larger deposit than the other. It allows them to own different percentages of the property that can be sold independently or left to another person in a will. Joint tenants is, however, still an option for two applicants with unequal deposits.

Whether you choose joint tenants or tenants in common, all parties named on a joint mortgage have a shared liability for the debt. This means that if one person misses their share of a payment, the other homeowner(s) are responsible for making up the shortfall.

How eligibility is assessed for a joint mortgage

Joint mortgages are assessed in the same way as solo mortgage applications but the lender will subject all of the applicants who will be named on the deeds to their eligibility checks.

Mortgage lenders will review the following to determine your eligibility:

Deposit amount

The amount of deposit all applicants are submitting for the joint mortgage will be combined to work out your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. The minimum amount you would usually need between you to get approved is 5% of the property’s value, or 95% LTV.

Borrowers who are submitting more deposit than an applicant they are buying jointly with have the option to agree a tenants in common agreement with the other person, but many couples with unequal deposits enter a joint tenants arrangement regardless.

Credit history

All applicants’ credit history will be assessed for a joint mortgage application. If either one of you has bad credit, this will be factored into the mortgage provider’s lending decision, which will be influenced by the age, severity and reason for your adverse credit.

If only one of the applicants on a joint mortgage application has bad credit, the other person’s clean credit will help your cause by increasing the overall strength of the application, but all borrowers must be able to meet the lender’s eligibility criteria individually.

Read more in our guide to joint mortgages with one bad credit applicant.

Employment situation

The way your application will be assessed will be different if one or both applicants are self-employed. While lenders will base affordability for applicants in full-time employment on their annual salary, they will use average earnings over a set period for self-employed.

It is possible to get a joint mortgage where one applicant is employed and the other is self-employed. The lender will take the annual income of the employed applicant and add it to the average earnings of the self-employed borrower over 2-3 years. This will typically be multiplied by 4-4.5 to work out the maximum you can borrow on a joint mortgage.

If both applicants are employed, the same income multiple will be applied to the total of both salaries. If both are self-employed, it will be the combined sum of average earnings.

Other factors

Other factors can add to the overall risk involved in a joint mortgage application. These include one or both applicants being aged 75 or over at any point during the term, buying a non-standard property or being self-employed with less than two years’ accounts.

In these circumstances, it is recommended that you apply through a mortgage broker. There could well be options available, but mortgage approval could be more difficult.

Joint mortgage calculator

You can work out how much you can potentially borrow on a joint mortgage by entering the combined income of all applicants into our calculator below:

For any self-employed applicants, take an average of their earnings over 2-3 years (if possible) and enter that figure. You can also include any supplemental income you like, such as benefits or freelance work, although not all lenders will let you declare 100% of those.

Documents you will need for your application

All applicants will need to provide the following documents for a joint mortgage application:

• Passport or driver's licence: You will both need valid photo ID as a starting point. Check it’s in date, and it can help avoid complications if your current address is listed.
• Utility bills: These are acceptable as proof of address, but it will need to be your most recent bill. Gas, water, electricity or any other household utility will suffice.
• Bank statements: Will also help verify your ID, address and finances. They will need to be dated within the last three months for the lender to accept them.
• Proof of income: You will need three months’ wage slips, and if you are new to your job roles, your P60s. If any of the applicants are self-employed, they will need to provide their self-assessed tax return forms (SA302) and tax year overviews, which can be requested from HMRC. They will also need an accountant's certificate.

How to apply for a joint mortgage

Now that you have a better idea of the criteria and the amount you can borrow on a joint mortgage, you can get started on your homeownership journey with Teito.

Here we provide everything you need to take those first important steps towards a successful mortgage application. You can compare the latest rates for FREE and take advantage of a free, no-obligation chat with one of our mortgage advisers.

Here are just some of the reasons people choose us for their joint mortgage:

• You can access the latest rates for joint mortgages in seconds
• Our brokers can secure exclusive deals
• We are 5-star rated on leading review websites
• You can secure a joint mortgage in principle in minutes

Ready to compare rates and speak to a whole-of-market broker? Get started here.