Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey
Real estate
My wife and I are purchasing a house. her credit being stronger we decided it best for her to buy and add me to the title as a spouse but i would not be a co-applicant. Should there be anything preventing me from being added, even though we are married and I am the responsible person for the mortgage?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Real estate
The lender will probably not allow that for reasons that you will understand. If your wife adds you to the title, then she has effectively given away half of her interest in the property to you. She has also created a marital interest in the property which cannot be reached by her creditors. From the lender's standpoint, at worst is halves the value of its security and, at best, it interjects the possiblity of additional litigation to prove its interests. The lenders protect themselves against this. You will find that the mortgage will contain a clause that makes the sale or transfer of any ownership interest in the property an act of default permitting the lender to foreclose. This is not an idle threat. They will foreclose to protect their interests and you will either lose the property or have to reverse the transaction at your own cost and reimburse them for their costs.
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