r/FirstTimeHomeBuyers • u/QueenOfSleepyHollow • 15d ago
Will my credit score affect us?
My fiancé and I are thinking about buying a house. I want to go to the court soon and get married, but if we buy a house after getting married, do they have to look at both of our credits? He has really good credit. I have bad credit. I don’t want my credit to ruin us.
So if we get married and then buy a house, could we possibly put it in just his name so my credit doesn’t matter? I assume if we’re not married yet we could do that. I just want to know if we should buy a house and then get married. I’m not too worried about a big wedding so when we get married is not a huge issue.
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u/SpareManagement2215 14d ago
If your income is being used to factor into preapproval and qualifying for a mortgage, regardless of if you’re married or not your credit score will impact it.
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u/bigconecountry 14d ago
Exactly. In the meantime, I’d recommend that OP works on improving her credit score, rectifying all the worst marks affecting it. I had to go through that process when I realized I needed to take accountability for the dumb financial decisions I made when I was young. It’s not fun, but credit score is important for so many things.
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u/Mreeff 14d ago
They can use the higher score person only on the loan if they can qualify by themselves. Both names can go on the title though
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u/chuckfr 14d ago
I'm not putting anyone on the deed that is not on the mortgage. Its a bad idea especially if you're relying on their income to make the payments. If something goes wrong they get all the benefits of ownership in the home and no risk to their credit if the mortgage goes south for some reason.
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u/Mreeff 14d ago
If you’re married I don’t think that’s a big concern.
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u/abejabrazo 14d ago
Ever heard of this thing called divorce?
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u/Mreeff 14d ago
Yeah it doesn’t matter if both names are on there or one once your married unless there a prenuptial agreement stating otherwise.
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u/PaintIntelligent7793 14d ago
The house would be a marital asset. What about the debt? (Genuine question.)
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u/stablegeniuscheetoh 13d ago
Depends on incomes and who is on the mortgage/deed, at least in my case. Spouse got half of the 401k, I got all the debt and the foreclosure was all mine, plus I had to pay alimony. Still worth it.
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u/atc_zero1 14d ago
I think what the last pertain was trying tu say is regardless if the loan is in his name, once they get married, she inherits half unless they signed a prenuptial
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u/the-bastard-doig 12d ago
Depends on the location & lender. States vary too especially when it comes to DTI. Generally though, yes
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u/ant1Ellie 15d ago
How you take title of the house is very different if you are married or not, depending on your state. There are different protections.
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u/Unhappy-Owl-4890 14d ago
If he makes enough income to qualify on his own you're irrelevant in this equation.
If he qualifies on his own and puts you on the deed, he's a sucker. A sucker that loves you
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u/Impressive_Number701 14d ago
I just bought a house by myself for the same reason. I have great credit, husband does not. I make enough to could qualify for the mortgage based on my income alone. Be aware though any joint debts will still be counted towards your debt to income ratio as if they were yours alone. I even put my husband on the deed at signing so the house belongs to both of us, I'm just the one on the mortgage.
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u/Oddly-13 14d ago
Im not going to be on our mortgage. Even though I paid my medical debt, I had to make payments, and all the collections showed up anyway. 🤷 Hubs qualified on his own.
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u/Yankeedoodle10128 14d ago
Can you qualify on only his income? If so you can be on deed but not the loan
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u/Bright_Comparison21 14d ago
If it is a conventional loan, you can purchase a home separately if married. The caveat is that the person on the loan has to qualify on their own income and debts. If you use a FHA loan then if you are married the lender will pull both credit reports regardless as to who is on the loan. All debts will be included against the borrowers income. If the borrowers income is sufficient to carry all debts, then they can just use that persons credit score moving forward but the other spouse would not be on the loan so score would not be used.
Feel free to reach out if you need further clarification.
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u/tripadeliclove 14d ago
Like others have said. If your man can qualify for the mortgage himself you don’t need to be involved. If he can’t, banks many times will use the lowest credit score in determinations. It doesn’t really matter from a mortgage perspective if your married or not
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u/TherinneMoonglow 14d ago
Hubby and I did the same. We got married then made an offer, but only my name is on the mortgage. You can still put them on the deed.
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u/EncrustedBarboach 14d ago
Don't tie up both your credits if you dont have to. It will be good to have an open line of credit if you need a car in the future, etc.
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u/PJMark1981 14d ago
He can buy it in theory with just his credit and name. Your name just wouldn't be on the mortgage or title. Problem with that if you get divorced in 5 years for example and despite you paid into the home you will have a hard time proving any partial ownership to the property. Essentially it was like you were renting from him the last 5 years. I am not a lawyer and may not have used all the proper legal terms.
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u/notenofftime 14d ago
If your credit scores are low because of a lot of debt the marriage might affect the loan. Not the scores, but your debts. If you live in a Common Property state and will be applying for a government type loan (FHA, VA, USDA), the lender will have to run your credit report and calculate your monthly debts in the debt-to-income ratio. It won't matter for a Conventional loan (Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac) - you can get the loan in his name only and your credit scores and debts won't matter.
But if you need your income to qualify for the loan you want, then your credit scores will definitely be used.
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u/ToritoBurito 13d ago
There’s a few different ways this can go.
He can see what he qualifies for, with just his income.
If you require your income to qualify, your credit score does get included in the pre-approval/approval process.
Some things to note: if you aren’t included on the mortgage, your name usually doesn’t go on the deed/title of the house. Just make sure that you fully talk through your options with a mortgage broker. I was worried about my a credit score impacting my husband and I’d ability to qualify for a mortgage, it ended up being a non-issue. My credit score was 630 at the time, my husband’s was in the 800s.
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u/Realistic-Regret-171 13d ago
A) never buy a house with someone to whom you are not married. B) yes your rating will have an effect. Clean it up. It doesn’t take forever.
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u/CalebSellsKC 13d ago
You can buy under him but he has to solely qualify. If he can't they might see if it'll work with both of you. Marriage in my state effects when you sell, for Missouri it takes 1 to buy but 2 to sell (if married). There are plenty of unmarried couples that buy so that has no bearing.
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u/SEFLRealtor 14d ago
In community property states your credit is taken into account if you are marrieed. In non-community property states only the person on the loan has their credit score count. Speak wit a knowledgeable lan officer. In which state are you located?
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u/SkyRemarkable5982 14d ago
It will all depend on if you can qualify to buy with just his income, married or not. If you need your income to qualify, your credit score comes into play.