5 Common Mortgage Questions When You Are Married
Have you ever gone to a lender who seems to ask you a lot of personal questions, and you’re left wondering how nosy they sounded? Or do you ignore them and assume it’s the norm for every house lender before putting their house on mortgage.
Well, don’t worry because we are going to exclusively explain some of the questions that are common with most lenders.
People have added taxes from previous divorced marriages, so knowing their marital status before getting into an agreement is detrimental for a secure transaction. It is not all about loan eligibility, other factors count.
We will look at five common questions that house lenders ask before approving a mortgage when you are married.
Questions House Lenders Ask a Married Couple before Mortgaging
It’s normal for a lender to ask questions before lending a house because they might be dealing with frauds. Married couples have a lot of answered questions that the lender will need answers to ascertain their credibility of owning the house.
Examples of items that they ask include:
What’s your current marital status as a couple?
It might sound absurd or rude for a lender to be intruding on your privacy as a married couple, but that is part of the law in most states. People might live in your house but are not legally married, making it difficult to know who will pay the mortgage.
It’s necessary to see the status before signing the house contract, and you should not take any offense to this question.
There are many cases where people live together but sign the form as a married couple, which is prohibited by the law. Lying about the status of your marriage might put the lender in trouble for incorrect information.
The lender might ask for a marriage certificate so that it will be easier to sue the couple in case of property mishandling before ownership.
Have you been divorced before?
This is a crucial question because, in most countries, the divorcee with the least net worth is given alimony, or the person that earns more money gives maintenance.
Asking this question is essential for the lender to understand the couple’s financial status because they don’t need to force themselves into evicting the couple because of failure to pay rent.
They will also soliloquize the couple if they had kids in their previous marriage to understand whether they are paying or receiving child support. In the case one of the individuals is paying child support, they are forced to bring a decree of divorce to calculate the residual income for the possibility of being given the house.
What’s your credit score as a couple?
One person’s debts in most states affect the couple and might be a subject of denial to mortgage the house. The question of the status of your credit score is vital for the lender since all they need is compensation for their property.
When the couple has a low credit score, they can’t pay the mortgage since their credibility of getting a loan is close to zero. In countries like Mexico, or states such as California, Texas, and others, it’s a strict rule, and the couple shares the debts even when the individuals had them before getting married.
How old are you?
This is a discriminating question which is prohibited by ECOA, which states that everyone is entitled to equal treatment in ownership of a house. However, the lender will want to know if your age is eligible for the purchase of a home.
Most couples will not appreciate this question because it’s prohibited in most countries to get married under the age of eighteen, and it sounds so obvious. The lenders will also have access to your credit score report for eligibility in ownership of their property if you are past a certain age.
Are you criminals, or do you have any ongoing cases?
This is a very vital question to know who you are dealing with. You won’t be pleased as a lender, to get your property taken by the government after mortgaging your house on loan to a fraud criminal.
A couple is asked these questions so that a lender can fill in a declaration form of whether you are a plaintiff or a defendant in an ongoing case. They access how much you will spend in an example when you are the plaintiff.
They will also know how much you are prone to losing as a defendant. The amount of money you get annually is also essential for the lender to understand. This will give an insight into the intensity of your case by knowing the amount of money to spend, the claims, and the possibility of losing the case.
It would help if you did not get thrown off by these common questions because it helps access risks the lender needs to weigh in order to keep from losing the property.
How many kids do you have and how old are they?
This is an essential question because it helps the lender understand the possibility of getting the mortgage paid.
For instance, if a family has more than five kids all under the age of ten, their expense might supersede the income. This is a bad sign for the residual income and a huge sign that payment is not secure.
However, a family composed of two children, the financial status is high, and the family can comfortably pay their bills. The underwriters will be interested in knowing the kids’ ages because if they are past eighteen, they are eligible for signing a loan approval file for the parent.
In Summary
Whether you are looking for a house alone or as a couple, the lender may ask questions that leave you gazing at them in amazement. As mentioned, we’ve tackled the most common questions that homeowners often ask married couples to see the legibility of mortgaging their house.
Visit Loan Advisor and learn more on mortgage comparisons.
Don’t turn down an offer and risk not getting your home because you feel that your privacy is being compromised. The above questions are common, and although they might sound nosy but , they are a normal requirement in signing a contract.
Also, it would help to compare loans before striking a deal with a lender so you feel more secure about the transaction.