Common general reasons that a couple may want to buy a house under one name are ensuring that lenders only consider the spouse that has better financials or ensuring that one spouse has full ownership of the house.
The general process for buying a house is the same whether you’re a single buyer or a married couple. You’ll need to understand how much house you can afford, review your mortgage and financing options, and then choose a real estate agent to help you through the process of searching for and buying a home.
There are some special considerations for married couples, though. For example, applying for a mortgage under one name could help you get better mortgage rates, and putting both names on a house’s deed may not be the best option for everyone.
Buying a house under one name can refer to two different things: taking out a mortgage under one person's name or putting only one spouse's name on the title deed.
In most states, a married couple can apply for mortgages, pay for a house, and title a house under the name of just one spouse. That also means it's technically possible to buy a house without your spouse and without them knowing.
The key exception is in community property states, which consider both spouses equally on a mortgage application and for home ownership — regardless of the married couple’s wishes. (We discuss community property states and marital property in a later section.)
In certain cases, having one spouse take out the mortgage loan, and/or one spouse's name on the title, can be a good option for a couple.
Unless you're making a cash offer on a house, most people need to take out mortgage, so the first step for couples will be to decide whether to put one or both names on the mortgage loan application. This usually comes down to your personal financial situation.
→ Learn how much you should save to buy a house
Related: Learn about buying a house with a friend
Getting married doesn’t affect your credit score, so if one spouse has a much stronger credit history or much less debt, you might get better loan options by using just that spouse’s name. This could include cases where one spouse has high debt but low or inconsistent income (like if they’re self-employed and payments are irregular).
→ Related: What's the ideal credit score for buying a home?
Even if one spouse is on the mortgage loan, you can still put both spouses on the deed, ensuring they both own the property.
A deed is the physical document that shows who owns the title, or the legal right to the property. (Learn more in depth about title vs deed). Having the title, which proves ownership interest, reflect a married person's name is what will matter for spouses if they ever come to disagreements about who owns what, such as in divorce proceedings.
Many married couples choose to own their homes jointly and have the deed reflect both spouse's ownership. Reasons you may want to put a house under both of your names include:
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You can add a spouse (or someone else) to the deed when you buy a house, or even later down the road. However, if you opt to do this and still have a mortgage, it’s possible your mortgage lender will require all people on the title to be responsible for the mortgage.
Speak with your mortgage lender to see if you can add a spouse to the deed, but not the mortgage. If it is possible, then using a quitclaim deed is likely your cheapest option to get your spouse on the title.
If you’re trying to add someone to the deed to make ownership easier to transfer after you die, you may also want to consider putting your house in a trust or using a transfer-on-death deed if your state allows them.
It is possible to remove someone from your deed, regardless of whether you’re getting a divorce or simply want to change who owns the house. If title owners (people named on the deed) agree to remove someone, then the easiest and cheapest option is usually to use a quitclaim deed.
The documents for quitclaim deeds are often available for free online, but state laws vary so check your local laws to find notarization rules and where exactly you need to file the deed. Living in community property states will also make it difficult to remove a spouse’s ownership of the home, so it’s best to seek legal advice for your situation.
States generally operate as either common law or community property states. In common law states, which is most states, ownership of a property belongs to whomever bought it. So if one spouse buys a house under their own name, they completely own that house. Applying alone during the mortgage process will also mean the lender only considers the applying spouse’s financial situation.
In the dozen states that have community property laws, any property purchased by a married couple is equally owned by the spouses. Importantly, even if only one spouse is applying for a mortgage, community property law can allow a lender to consider the financials of both spouses - incomes, debts, credit scores, etc. -during mortgage underwriting. Both spouses will also ultimately co-own the property, so having one spouse try to buy or claim sole ownership of a house may not be possible.
Community property laws don’t affect property purchased by two individuals before marriage. A house purchased before marriage will still belong to the person who purchased it. (However, rules can get tricky around death, with a surviving spouse usually having rights to the property even if it was purchased solely by the deceased spouse.) Speak with a lawyer if you want to buy or own property apart from your spouse or prevent a spouse from getting your property after you die.
There are currently 9 community property states:
There are also 3 states that allow you to opt in to community property law:
Not all community property states will recognize domestic partners the same way they would a spouse, but California, Nevada, and Washington may depending on your situation.
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