Buying a Home Before Marriage or After?
It’s an age-old question – should you buy a home before or after you get married? Unfortunately, there’s no hard-and-fast answer; it will depend almost entirely on your situation. That said, there are some questions that anybody facing this situation can ask themselves that will help them arrive at a good solution! Also, you might like our guide to a stress-free home buying experience – whether you choose to marry or buy a home first, this will take some of the hassles out of buying.
Consider Credit Scores
First of all, if either of your credit scores is too low, then the question of buying before or after marriage could be a moot point. For the best chance of getting a mortgage, you both need to have credit scores over 600. If getting married is going to damage your credit scores, then you should consider buying your home first. You need to make sure you understand your partner’s financial situation fully, so if you haven’t already, sit down and have an honest talk about money.
Add up Savings
Both your savings can help you put down a payment on a home, but if you’re relying on those savings to pay for your wedding, then you may have to put off buying a house until you can build them back up. Buying houses and holding weddings are two of the most expensive things you will do in your life, and both are likely to decimate savings. As a rule, when buying a house, you ideally need to have around 20% of the mortgage amount for the down payment.
Marriage doesn’t affect Mortgage Rates
This is the good news about mortgage rates! Being unmarried will not hurt your chances of getting a mortgage, so it frees you up to make a decision that makes sense for you. The bank will typically underwrite each of you as individuals, as your credit scores will be taken into account separately. This also means that if you are married first, it will not convey any special privileges or considerations! With this in mind, don’t hesitate to contact a provider like this mortgage broker Pakenham to find out what rates will be available to you and your spouse.
Title Matters
If you will be getting married after you buy your home, will one of you be changing your name and title? As long as you keep everyone in the loop who is responsible for producing documentation for your house, you should be fine. Once you’ve changed your name officially, you can file a quitclaim deed, which transfers the title of the property from you to yourself, from your old name to your married one.
Prepare for Commitment
And this means committing to your mortgage repayments and each other. Before you even get started, you will need to figure out what you’re going to be paying every month. A broker like Propillo can help you calculate how much you can afford with their free, easy-to-use mortgage calculator. Bear in mind, too, that if both of you are on the mortgage and your divorce before it’s paid off, one of you will have to buy the other out. It’s worth taking your time to make this decision, as it can affect the rest of both of your lives!
