how mortgage companies look at credit for couples?

Question

my wifes credit is good mines not how will they look at that.

Answer 1

Well I'm not yet married, but will soon be buying my first home. Anyway, my fiance and I were going apply for a mortgage together. However his credit isn't all that great. I was approved based on mine though, so we are just going to put it in my name until we are married.

Answer 2

More offen then not they will average them. Unless you wife has much higher income then you. Then perhaps they can make her the lead signer and put your name on the house and not the morgage. But more often then not they will have to average the scores to get your credit score.

I have heard that banks will sometimes put more emphasis on the higher score if its a "close all". Meaning that if your combined score falls just a little short then might make an exception if your wife has very good credit.

Answer 3

If you both apply, they look at both of you.

If you have bad credit, you wife may need to get the mortgage herself. It's worth trying with both of you, though. Then compare the interest rate with what it could be if she applied on her own.

Of course, when she's on her own, only her income and assets can be used to qualify, so the loan amount may be lower.

Answer 4

different companies go by different things. so companies will go by the person who makes the most money and so will go buy the person credit score that is the highest. different lenders look at in different ways. i'm a loan officer. shot me an email i maybe able to help depending on what state you live in.