Can a house purchased in the United States be registered under two names? Can two people who are not married apply for a loan together?

When it comes to co-owning, the first reaction is that the two people must be married. In fact, brothers and sisters, parents, lovers, and even friends can all take out loans together to buy a house. Many people cannot afford a house on their own, and buying a house together can share the financial pressure and make the dream of buying a house a reality faster. Of course, even if two people take out a loan to buy a house together, it is still a loan and they have to bear long-term financial responsibilities, so they still have to think twice before doing so.

Advantages of buying a house with a joint loan

There are many indicators that need to be met when applying for a mortgage, such as credit score, debt-to-income ratio, etc. If two people buy a house together, these indicators will be easier to meet. The sooner you buy a house, the faster you can accumulate equity for yourself.

In addition, buying a house together means that everyone shares the relevant expenses, such as water and electricity bills, etc. The interest paid on the loan can be used for tax deduction after being amortized, so the cost-effectiveness is still very high.

Disadvantages of buying a house with a joint loan

The biggest fear of a joint loan for a home is that one party will back out of the loan agreement, which will lead to a series of headaches such as hiring a lawyer and going to court. It is difficult to get out of a joint loan without any problems. As long as one party cannot pay the loan, both parties will face serious consequences, such as a drop in credit score and the house being auctioned.

When you first sign the agreement to get a loan to buy a house, the mortgage interest rate will be determined by the lower credit score of the two parties, so if one party has a poor credit score, the loan interest rate will be higher.

How to distribute property rights

A joint loan to buy a house is equivalent to jointly holding the property rights of the house. When one party dies unexpectedly (this situation should be very rare 😂), the other party can take over the other party’s property rights, but the problem is that if the deceased party chooses to transfer the property rights to someone else (which is legal), then the “partner” who is still alive may face the situation of owning a house with a stranger. If this happens, you need to consult a real estate lawyer for legal advice.