Buying a house question: solicitor and contract for joint ownership

I am just in the beginning stages of buying a house here in Wales.  I arrived 6 weeks before DH is due to arrive to set up shop while he waits until our dog's 6-month waiting period for the PETS scheme is up.  I was told by a financial adviser that even though I will be applying for the mortgage in my name only, I can have a solicitor draw up the contract to say that DH and I have joint ownership of the house which is what I want.  However, the solicitor that the estate agent recommended to me has informed that this not possible.  Not only does the house have to be in the same name(s) the mortgage is in, but since I am the only name on the mortgage, I have to get DH to sign a form saying that he knows his name isn't on the contract!  This doesn't seem right to me, and I was wondering if anyone out there has had any similar experiences to mine.  Is what this solicitor telling me correct or should I go find someone else?

To my knowledge, lenders here won't allow you to put someone's name on the title/deed of the house, without that person's name also being on the mortgage.  It seems reasonable enough to me - why should a third party have a claim to any equity in the house, without them also being on the mortgage?

In any case, when we went to buy our house 3+ years ago, my DH (the native Brit) went through the whole loan approval process on his income & credit history - because I was new here & didn't have either in the UK yet.  When we told the solicitor and the lender that we wanted my name on the house - they said no problem, as long as we were willing to also put my name on the mortgage - which we did.  The last bit (putting my name on the mortgage) was pretty much just a formality with the lender we used, but your mileage may vary - with other lenders.

If anyone knows differently (only one name on the mortgage but two names on the house), I would be very surprised!

Thanks, Mrs R, for sharing your experience.  It honestly is totally puzzling to me.  The solicitor's job is to draw up a contract for us, and that contract can say whatever we want it to say, right?  If I wanted to buy a house and give it outright to my children, it seems like there are ways to put their names on the house deed in addition or in lieu of mine.  I'll ask my bank about putting DH's name on the mortgage.  We're moving here because of my job, and he doesn't have a job here yet, so my initial reaction was that having him on the mortgage would actually be worse for us.  I'll update once I find out more.

Yes, I suppose so on the solicitor bit, but the lender in our instance said 'no way!' to loaning us the money unless the names matched on both the deed/title and the mortgage loan.  Presumably, you could leave the house to the children, but the bank would still want their money first, before the children could have any claim to the house.  Maybe the property conveyancing system works differently here?  I don't know - I never owned property in the US. 

When you originally buy the house, you will need the transfer deed to match the mortgage deed, so that will be only your name.

Anybody living in the house that is over the age of 18 will have to sign a standard form as an occupier. This is a standard requirement from lenders..

Your standard sale / buy contract is exactly that, standard.  Whomever is buying the house (with the mortgage) is the person that is listed as owner.  Your children can have their interest in your house protected through a will, which you should draw up as well now that you will have a house.  If you wanted to buy a house for your children, if you pay cash, you can "gift" it to them, putting it in their name.

After you finish buying the house and registering it, you can do another transfer deed and with the mortgage lenders approval, add your husband as a proprietor only. There are usually covenants to add that he will take care of the mortgage if anything happens to you, wording to protect the bank's interest.

I am now a proprietor in our house and we didn't take out a new mortgage.  The mortgage is in my husband's sole name.

This is just what I've been through and what I've learned working for a solicitor.

Good luck!

~BEG