Even if the other spouse is not on the loan, Florida requires them on the first or second mortgage. Is there any way around this?

Florida does require a married person to put their spouse on a new mortgage. For instance, when both the husband and wife are owners of the property but only one of them (let’s say the husband) is on the loan. It is the same with insurance rates with some companies. If you have a license and your spouse does not, then you may not qualify for some special insurance plans.

The mortgage is the security instrument for the loan. It says that the owners of the property acknowledge that if the loan is not paid then the lender has the right to foreclose on the property and sell it. In order for this security instrument to be effective, ALL owners of the property must sign.

By signing the mortgage the wife is not assuming responsibility to pay back the loan. She is merely giving her permission for the property to be sold to pay back the loan in the event her husband fails to pay. If the loan were for $100,000 and the husband did not pay it back, and if the bank foreclosed and was able to sell the property for only $80,000, the bank could sue the husband personally for the balance but could not sue the wife.

On the other hand if your name is on the part of the property like your spouse and you want would like to apply for the mortgage, you will need to be a title holder of the property (unless you are just acting as a guarantor of the loan). In order for you to be a title holder of the property, you need to be on the deed. As a practical matter, this should not be a problem. You should apply jointly for the mortgage and the seller should have no objection to either going through the process of consenting to the assignment of the contract or simply putting you on the deed. At the end of the day, he just wants to sell his house, and it doesn’t hurt him to add you to the deed or contract.

The only way possible to avoid this is if the wife gives her husband another deed giving up all of her ownership interest in the property. Then her husband would be the only owner and would be the only one required to sign the mortgage. But it is strongly recommend that you do not do this.


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