The Client
A mother and daughter applying jointly. The mother had recently sold her property and wanted to buy somewhere new as her main residence. The daughter lived with her partner some distance away, and the plan was for the mother to relocate closer to her daughter’s home.
The Objective
Buying somewhere close to her daughter’s home meant the mother would move, while the daughter carried on living exactly as she was, with her partner, in her own household. The application needed the daughter’s backing without pulling her own arrangement into it.
The Situation
A suitable property turned up close to where the daughter lives. The proceeds from the mother’s previous sale weren’t quite enough to buy it outright, leaving a £90,000 shortfall to fund through a mortgage.
The Challenge
Raising that £90,000 on the mother’s own income and age proved difficult. Standard affordability and maximum lending age rules at most lenders weren’t going to stretch far enough to make the numbers work for her alone.
What We Did
We put forward a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor mortgage. Both names went on the borrowing and both carried responsibility for the payments, but ownership of the property sat with the mother alone. That let the daughter add her income to the case while her own home life carried on exactly as before.
The Solution
The lender was prepared to lend against the mother up to age 99, and looked at the daughter’s bank statements to confirm she wasn’t paying toward her partner’s household costs, which settled the affordability question. Before anything went ahead, the daughter took her own legal advice to make sure her position in the arrangement was properly understood.
The Outcome
The mortgage completed without complications. The mother is now settled in her new home, living close to her daughter as planned.
Conclusion
Most lenders draw the maximum-age line well before it stops being sensible for the client, and that’s what turns an otherwise workable case into one the numbers won’t support. As a whole-of-market broker, a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor structure gave us a way through the age and affordability problem, without either party having to change how they were actually living.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor mortgage?
It’s a mortgage where more than one person is named as a borrower and shares responsibility for the payments, but only one of them is registered as the legal owner of the property. It’s commonly used when family members want to support each other financially without becoming joint owners.
Can a lender go up to age 99 on a mortgage?
Some will, particularly on a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor case where more than one income supports the affordability figure. Maximum age policies vary a good deal from lender to lender, so it’s really a question of matching the case to the right one.
Does the second borrower need to live in the property?
No. In a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor arrangement, the second borrower is often supporting the application financially without living in or owning the property themselves, as was the case here.
Should the non-owning borrower get independent legal advice?
It’s strongly recommended. Because the non-owning borrower is financially responsible for the mortgage without holding legal ownership, independent legal advice helps make sure their interests are properly understood and protected before the mortgage completes.
Final Thoughts
UK Mortgage Broker is a whole-of-market broker helping clients throughout the UK and globally to secure funding on UK property. We are directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Call: 01628 969 500
Email: info@uk-mortgagebroker.co.uk
Related Pages
- Residential Mortgages – whole-of-market advice for main home purchases across the UK.
- Can I Get a Mortgage in the UK? – how deposit, income and credit profile determine eligibility.
- How Lenders Actually Check Your Income – how different income types and multiple applicants get assessed together.
- Buy to Let Mortgages – whole-of-market advice for landlords and property investors across the UK.