A scam ruined my credit score: Can I put our mortgage in my wife’s name? DAVID HOLLINGWORTH RESPONDS

I bought my apartment several years ago. I live with my wife and our children, but the property was purchased solely in my name.

I remortgaged about two years ago to free up some equity.

Unfortunately, I recently fell victim to a scammer. They persuaded me to send them money with the promise that they would invest it and told me I could get a good return. I ended up losing everything and ruining my credit rating.

I feel stupid and I have let my wife and children down.

I am still paying the mortgage and have not defaulted. However, I am worried that my poor credit rating will prevent me from remortgaging to a new fixed deal in the future and that we could end up with a high interest rate.

Given these issues, I want to transfer the apartment to my wife’s name.

Is this something the lender would consider and what things should I keep in mind?

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David Hollingworth replies: This is a stark reminder of how many financial scams there are and how easy it can be to get lured in by their promise of quickly increasing your wealth.

All too often, these schemes can be outright scams or carry extreme risks that are not adequately highlighted.

Either way, you shouldn’t feel stupid and you certainly won’t be the last person affected.

If you have been a victim of fraud, there is a lot of useful information on the Action Fraud website that can help you and will let you know that you are not alone.

Lenders may allow capital to be raised through remortgaging, although they will ask what the additional funds will be used for.

While something like home improvements will be acceptable to lenders, purposes like financing a business or investments may not be as widely accepted.

He may not have intended to inject those funds into the scheme at the time, but it appears that whatever was involved soon gobbled up the cash.

That may have affected your credit, as you chased down any losses and subsequently fell behind on any other loans.

Can you keep up with your mortgage payments?

The best news is that you have managed to stay current on your mortgage payments, so your payment record with the lender remains intact.

Remortgaging would have required you to prove that you could pay the mortgage based on your income and expenses, which would have hopefully been of great help to you.

Hopefully, you’ll be able to stay that way and manage your debt overall, but if you’re having trouble making your mortgage payments, it’ll be important to talk to your lender as soon as possible.

They will look at options that could help you manage the mortgage and avoid falling into greater difficulties. Remember that repossession is a last resort for the lender.

If you can keep up with your mortgage payments, you’ll likely still have standard rate options similarly available with your current lender when your current deal ends.

Switching to a new lender would require a full affordability assessment and, if your credit file has been damaged, you may need a more specialist lender.

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Transfer a mortgage to your spouse

Transferring the apartment into his wife’s name would effectively mean “selling” the property to her.

You need to think carefully about what you hope to achieve by doing this, as well as how you can achieve it.

Legal advice for both would make sense and be aware that there could be a land tax liability for stamp duty.

Lenders may consider making loans in one name when the couple resides in the property, but they may wonder why a married couple is not a joint owner.

They may also have issues with the previous owner remaining in the property, due to the rights that might entail.

If the reason is to avoid a deteriorated credit history on the mortgage, then they may refuse to proceed.

If you and your wife are already financially associated, for example through a joint bank account, it will be evident in credit searches.

The lender may take a closer look at your credit situation as part of the evaluation process.

It is possible to transfer the property at concessional value rather than full market value, but presumably your wife will need to at least take over the existing mortgage.

You would have to meet a lender’s affordability assessment based on your income and other commitments.

I think you should focus on your overall situation with your wife and consider how to best manage the mortgage and other debt commitments.

Debt charities will be able to help you understand your options and how to cope.

Hopefully, this will help you both get back on track as soon as possible, which will improve your situation in the long run.

It should also help clarify the correct approach when it comes to ownership.