There are various reasons why you might want to transfer a mortgage to your spouse. For instance, you and your husband may be getting a divorce and have decided that he will keep the house. Or perhaps you’ve decided to refinance your home to get more affordable monthly payments, but since originally buying the home, your credit has taken a hit while your spouse’s has remained spotless, so he could get better terms than you could on the refinancing. Whatever the situation, the process of transferring a mortgage remains the same.
Ensure that your spouse has sufficient income and credit score to support the mortgage. Your mortgage company will not put the mortgage in his name unless it is sure that he will be able to meet monthly payments and his credit meets the company’s criteria. Direct your spouse to freecreditreport.com to pull his credit report.
Contact your lender. Tell the lender that you want to transfer the mortgage to your spouse’s name. The mortgage representative will ask you information about your spouse’s income and credit and will run some calculations to let you know whether this will be possible.
Submit a formal loan application with your spouse’s name and information. The mortgage company representative will provide you with the application and instructions for filling it out.
Wait for the mortgage company to underwrite the new loan under your spouse’s name. The company will likely request other financial information, such as past tax documents and pay stubs. During this process, it may also be necessary to get the house inspected or appraised. Your lender will advise you about this.
Close on the loan by signing the provided paperwork and having your spouse do the same. Pay any closing costs incurred. These closing costs should have been made known to you during the underwriting process through a good faith estimate. The mortgage note is now in your spouse’s name.
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Cynthia Gomez has been writing and editing professionally for more than a decade. She is currently an editor at a major publishing company, where she works on various trade journals. Gomez also spent many years working as a newspaper reporter. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northeastern University.