On title and not on the mortgage?

As this came up again today and is putting an extra damper on all parties involved, I thought I'd write a little blog about it.

When you're purchasing a home and you're married, have a common law, or a partner that you'd like to put on title remember one thing. They can not just go on title at the time of completion.

You can not be on the asset (the home) and not be on the liability (the mortgage). The opposite is allowed. This would be called a guarantor or co-signor.

You also want to make sure that you're mortgage approval and purchase contract is written up with the other persons name on it. This can cause big problems when you're about to complete as I'm experiencing today. All the documents need to be rewritten and there needs to be an addendum drawn up for the sellers to sign. They may not always be willing, which I've experienced.

Moral of the story, be up front right from the start and be certain of whom will go on title so no major hiccups happen later on.