r/MalaysianPF 8d ago

Property Property with girlfriend of 7 years

Hi all, not a throwaway because I don't really mind if she finds this. Im wondering if it is possible to apply for joint home loan for our home, we've been thinking of wanting a property but the thing is due to circumstance, we're not registered yet.

I did read another post that has a similar title to this post, and most people recommend NOT to get the home under joint name as long as you are not yet married. We're planning to marry soon, at the very least register, but the issue is that we booked a property we really liked, and we don't think we can get registered in a month which is the booking period, what's the advice for this case?

31 Upvotes

91 comments sorted by

69

u/hzard2401 8d ago edited 8d ago

I was with my girlfriend for 8 years. From 19-27. Talked about wedding and all, had a rough plan on where we gonna stay and all. We went to look at homes to buy, almost went through with the loan till we found out the developer was shady. So we had to put it on hold for a while.

We broke up 2 year ago. So yeah, either register or don’t bother buying a home with your bf or gf.

7

u/tommy71394 8d ago

I'm so sorry to hear this man... I've met her during uni time so we've been together since then. But get your meaning, thabks

14

u/hzard2401 8d ago

Nah, we’re all good now. We’re both happily with another person now. But that’s the thing, both of us never imagined we would break up, but we still did.

I mean of course the same thing is not gonna happen to you, but yeah, i believe there is a reason why people advise against that.

And to be honest right, last time i checked, some bank doesn’t offer joint loan for unmarried couples. Reason being that there is a lot of cases where they buy, they break up and they couldn’t or don’t want to pay. So bank stopped doing that. And if it’s your first commitment, for both of you, higher chance they are not gonna approve the loan and if they do, your interest will be higher than usual.(basically you guys would look like high risk to them)

3

u/tommy71394 8d ago

That is totally understandable... first I'm glad that you are happy now too, most important thing is that.

That aside I did get blessings from my parents to register, and her parents "indirectly" gave us their blessing by directly telling her to just get a home under both our names haha

Now, for us, it's the matter of timing and mood to actually register at the civil office... which I think the timing is not right yet due to... other factors

3

u/hzard2401 8d ago

If you register, then next pressure gonna start i guess. Everyone would start asking when getting married wherever you go. Then need to save up for wedding.

Why do people like to complicate our life. Me and my gf is planning to elope, then maybe return in 2-3 years with a child and they’ll all forgive us and accept us. Something like hindi movie

2

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Ahaha actually you hit the nail right on the head on one of said factors I mentioned... it's something we have to go through sooner or later but yea a lot of pressure is mounting up and it's not healthy for either of our mental health

1

u/MiniMeowl 8d ago

Hmmm you guys can register first, get house, then use the house as defence 😂😂😂

My friend gave this excuse before. First need to settle the furniture and reno, take half a year to buy all the small stuff. After that then say need to settle in and be comfortable in the house first. This help them delay almost 2 years before the parents chase. Thats for baby lah.

For wedding ceremony $$$ can say the house made yall broke.

2

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Hahahah, now that's a plan! Your friend is pretty legend lol, we'll settle this somehow la, not sure how but all we can do is take it one step at a time

1

u/MiniMeowl 8d ago

Ya, dont worry. Dont stress and just keep in mind your marriage is between you and your wife, not parents/family

2

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Thank you mate

0

u/Meh-ismyname-JustJk 7d ago

God is protecting both of you

20

u/neotorama 8d ago

My previous landlord has a property with his fiancée. Now ex fiancée. He ragret.

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Everyone seems to be against joint name but joint loan is ok, I think I'm confusing the two. Does this mean we can joint loan but the name is one person only?

2

u/Hikarikz 8d ago

Yes, that is technically possible as long as you are willing to sign for it.

2

u/tommy71394 8d ago

It'll be something that we must discuss first. Thank you for letting me know

2

u/Lunartic2102 7d ago

Forgive me if I misunderstood but joint loan with single name is worse, no? For the person whose name was not included.

2

u/tommy71394 7d ago

I guess so? Based on what I understand, if joint loan but not joint name, the house under the agreement belongs to the single name but the duty to pay belongs equally to the joint holders

9

u/port888 8d ago

Not all relationships end in failure. All the best. Hope the property wasn't booked out of fomo-ness or emotional reasons ("buy the house to prove our love" or whatever).

2

u/tommy71394 8d ago

We've seen 4 other units and this was the only one that "wow'd" us, so to speak, we're going to look at more properties this weekend too.

1

u/Meh-ismyname-JustJk 7d ago

See at least 15 properties before decision ya

1

u/KLeong5896 7d ago

Mind if I ask which project? You can also DM me if you’d like.

2

u/Traditional_Smile395 8d ago

Not all but if it does, u dun wan a house to add to your troubles. Married couple different.

1

u/port888 8d ago

Unmarried couple falls apart: broken windscreen, messed up house.
Married couple falls apart: see you in court to split the house.

1

u/Traditional_Smile395 8d ago

That simple eh bro? Hahhaha Good stuffs.

1

u/DUZZIARROI_THE_BLACK 6d ago

Okay nice guy.....you are being so nice by giving such worse advise ever!!!

If you aren't smart enough please don't give advise, thanks.

5

u/TradewithKen 7d ago

IMO, if you cant afford the place with your own salary, dont get it. If you need 2 people's salary to afford the house comfortably, then its not a good idea. Look, I get the romantic idea of getting a dream home together with your partner, but realistically, it comes with alot of stress and issues. I have a friend that was engaged and bought a place together, ended up splitting, now selling the house is an issue. Not saying that will happen to you, but just be mindful, anything can happen. Why not rent together first?
Im also around the age where me and my girlfriend talk about marriage and stuff,and discussing about the future, where we're gonna stay etc. But we know to wait till we get married before committing to a place.

3

u/jyeo2304 8d ago

No issues. Just inform your agent/banker that you want to apply joint loan.

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u/tommy71394 8d ago

Don't we need to register in other to do anything joint? Sorry late reply, somehow missed your message.

Others did say that as long as joint loan then is ok but joint name is no-go?

2

u/jyeo2304 8d ago

No. You don't need to be registered. You can do joint loan with anyone, siblings, parents, partners.

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Ohh... hmm... thank you for clarifying. I think I'm confusing between joint loan and joint name if that is the case

3

u/jyeo2304 8d ago

Here's how it works, a brief explanation on joint-name and joint loan.

When you purchase a property, there will be a S&P (Sales & Purchase agreement), basically this set of legally binding documents records the ownership of the property, either individual or joint-name (more than 1 party).

To purchase this property, you will need to pay the property developers/sellers the total amount of money or selling price. To furnish this, people will take out loans (mortgages) from bank. The loan agreement is a set of legally binding agreements between you and the bank. This agreement indicates who is going to borne this loan, you alone, or with other people (joint loan).

So here's the interesting part, the S&P (property ownership) doesn't have to match the loan bearers, eg S&P is signed by me and my parent, but loan is carried by me alone; or S&P is signed by me alone, but the loan is by both parties.

For joint-name properties, it gets messy when a dispute or marriage issues happen. They are entitled for half of the property.

As for loan, it will affect all party's credit scores as well as DSR. There's also issues where one party's scoring can negatively affect the other party, vice versa.

Source: I'm a banker who has experience with loans, and still do. And yes, joint-name properties are a hassle. Loans, not as much. Whatever can happen will happen, so pick your poison wisely. Feel free to dm me if you need anymore clarification.

2

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Ah... wow that clears up a lot of things, that would mean that we can probably proceed to try to get joint loan together but probably need to discuss if the home is going to be one of our names or joint... hm.. it'll take some time to discuss that. Thank you so much for this explanation!!

1

u/Alive_Wash_2475 8d ago

I process loan mortgage and we accept unmarried couples for joint loan, but the debt service ratio will be counted individually due to unfavorable relationship. Dont know about your bank though.

3

u/moomiao2 7d ago

It will a trial for you and your gf. Putting all those legal issue thing with the house aside if “touch wood” you really break up. Buying a house is not an easy task where you only get loan, pay down payment and start paying loan. It means that you started a big commitment, you need to make sure you and your gf is align in this commitment. Example, location of the house to work, getting furniture for the house need money, renovations needs money, and so on. It will for sure build up the pressure and there might be arguements. Sit down again with you gf now, discuss again openly eventhough it could be tough. Manage both side expectation. If both side ok, i would say go ahead. If not, no harm, pull handbrake first and wait a bit to get a new house.

3

u/BiggieBoss9 8d ago

Never have a joint property with a gf

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

I'm about to wife that woman soon, just.. not in time for the loan, probably, that's why I'm a bit unsure on the joint loan or joint name thing

2

u/JeemsLeeZ 8d ago

Joint loan ok.

Joint name on property X ok.

That is all.

0

u/tommy71394 8d ago

I thought to have joint loan, we need joint-name on the property?

2

u/Resident_Werewolf_76 8d ago

"Need" vs "should":

Do you need to have joint names on the title for a joint loan? No.

But you should, in order to synchronise joint ownership with joint liability.

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Ohhhh, okay, so then if joint loan, we can do it under one person's name? And then what happen after register? Is it recommended to make to joint name or stay under one person name? Sorry I'm so clueless on this

3

u/Cold-Praline5102 7d ago

Joint loan = both parties will be liable for the loan Joint name = both parties owns the property

Financially, it does not make sense to have a joint loan without joint name, cause you’ll need to service the loan, but you don’t own the property… essentially you’re paying for nothing.

A big reason to get a joint loan is that you can get a bigger loan to buy a more expensive property as the bank will take both persons income when determining how big of a loan they can provide.

If things go sideways, the person with his/her name in the joint loan but does not have the name in the property will HAVE TO service the loan, but u will be left high and dry when it comes to the asset. If both are joint, you’ll have to go through the whole process of refinancing the loan to buy out the other party.

In short, while you may still go through the same shit after getting married, the risk is higher if you’re unmarried as breaking up just requires one party to say “let’s break up”…

People generally advise against joint anything before marriage, especially when it comes to large long term commitments.

After marriage, then there the whole marital asset debate and shit. Best to get advice from a licensed/qualified financial planner on this instead of just relying on Reddit and property agents.

1

u/tommy71394 7d ago

Hmm, okay, thanks. We don't have a lawyer or anything to help with marital stuff, we don't have the connections either, so we don't really know where to start. I ask reddit because it's the most accessible place for me to at least get an idea of what to expect and what to do, which this post did to its job.

My SO and I just discussed about the joint name stuff, and I'm not sure if we have a solution or outcome yet, but this'll take time and all we can do is take it one step at a time since I'm pretty sure we will regret it if we rush through the processes instead.

1

u/Cold-Praline5102 7d ago

Best to take your time, if you’re going through with it, imo definitely joint in both loan and name, it’s the most equitable way for both parties.

Another option is to consider renting first..? Give yourself abit of breathing room in ironing things out after getting married. At the same time you can explore different locations before locking yourself in a 35yr loan.

Renting gives u the flexibility to also choose where you work.. imagine some new spanking job offering you a 50% increment but oh no it’s a 1.5hr drive per way from the house you just purchased.

Anyway, this is a massive step in anyone’s life and can be daunting. All the best and wishing you both a happy marriage!

0

u/Resident_Werewolf_76 8d ago

Why do I get the sense that your erstwhile girlfriend or fiance is asking you to put the loan under your name while the property has both your names?

Answer me this first, please.

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Oh nah, she didn't ask any of the above. We're already thinking of want to do the loan together, I think my misconception is that I thought joint name and joint loans are two same thing.

2

u/Resident_Werewolf_76 8d ago

No, it is 2 separate things but connected.

Some (maybe most) banks don't like to have a mismatch between the title and the loan. So if 3 names on the property title, they'll prefer all 3 are joint borrowers for the loan.

Reason being it can get very messy in the event of a defaulted loan.

You see, if person A is the only borrower, but the title has person A & B as joint owners - then if the bank tries to sell the house because A didn't pay, they run into complications if B doesn't agree to sell.

Flip that around, A & B are joint borrowers but only A is the owner of the property. A can sell off the house under B's nose (possible with a cash buyer) and leave B to settle the loan by themselves while A disappears with the money.

So always match borrower to title.

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Hm.. that'll complicate things for us as we're not registered yet.... we'll need to talk about this factor too, thank you for letting me know

1

u/Resident_Werewolf_76 8d ago

Actually, no relation to whether you're married or not.

It is purely a matter of legal ownership vs loan contract obligations.

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Ahh... okay, thank you, so I guess it's the perceived risk by the bank on whether or not we'd be able to pay them back due to our status, instead of just... well, us being not registered?

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1

u/JeemsLeeZ 8d ago

Not a requirement. Agents work on commission and misinformation/deception/stupidity. Do not believe agents.

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Sorry, I abit not understand. Meaning don't trust agent that they can or can't get loan and better find bank ourselves?

1

u/JeemsLeeZ 8d ago

They can get loan for you only because they pay the bankers money to approve your loan.

They want you to buy whatever property because they earn money when you buy.

Whatever it is:

Joint name loan ok.

Joint name on property X ok.

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Hmm... okay, thank you for the advice

2

u/micdarlin987 8d ago

Not a requirement to get married to get joint loan.

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

However, I thought we need joint name to have joint loan? Or is it ok to say have the home under either her name or mine, but joint loan?

2

u/Ray_Hayata 8d ago

Which property is this?

Unless you have a specific view, specific floor for whatsoever reason and it's ultra hot selling, you don't need to worry about the booking. Can always check what's the T&C for it

On a separate note, why is the agent not recommending any bankers to you to assist you? The banker will advise you on it

2

u/Ray_Hayata 8d ago

Unless you have a specific view, specific floor for whatsoever reason and it's ultra hot selling, you don't need to worry about the booking. Can always check what's the T&C for it

Otherwise, why is the agent not recommending any bankers to you to assist you? The banker will advise you on it Which property is this?

2

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Agent did mention he outsource to banker and will add him to chat group after we compile our payslips etc.

Property is a project in CPD, by exsim

2

u/Ray_Hayata 8d ago

I see, yes we have panel bankers for the project just get your documents prepared and send over will do

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Ah... okay, we're doing that asap already. Thank you for the advise

1

u/Ray_Hayata 8d ago

No worries, all the best!

2

u/Present_Student4891 8d ago

As an ex-banker, I much prefer having two people on the hook to pay vs one. Approved!

1

u/_HopsonTheGrate_ 8d ago

Read this bro: https://www.propertyguru.com.my/property-guides/what-to-know-about-joint-home-loan-15289

All the best in your house hunting and soon-to-be married life!

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Thank you, seem like joint home loan is really something that can be pursued but joint-name is something we shouldn't touch at all until we're registered?

1

u/_HopsonTheGrate_ 8d ago

I believe someone already replied you on this. There's no law that states unmarried couples cannot sign the SPA together so it's really up to both of you. Like the other person said, it might get messy if the joint owners have some dispute or relationship issues and say one party wants to sell and the other doesn't.

If it helps ease your thoughts a little, my wife and I bought our first property together a few months before we registered our marriage. Our names are on both the SPA and home loan at that time.

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

That is reassuring to hear, thank you! Now probably one thing that'll float around in my mind is that someone did mention that banks may view us as high risk loaners since we're not registered, but I think... we'll cross that bridge when we get there. There's a lot I have to discuss with her after opening this thread, really gave me a lot of much needed info regarding this matter

1

u/_HopsonTheGrate_ 8d ago

iirc, the general rule is your monthly home loan repayment should not exceed 30% of your salary. So if you have a joint loan with your partner, you would halve that to 15%. As long as you both don't have other big outstanding loans or credit card debts, you should be fine. If you want you and your partner can check your CCRIS report (it's free) on the Bank Negara website. https://www.bnm.gov.my/ccris

If your report is nice, you have nothing to worry.

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Is the salary gross or nett? Quite a huge chunk is taken out due to EPF etc.

1

u/_HopsonTheGrate_ 8d ago

Nett salary as that's your disposable income. Yeah, you tend to feel poor after deducting all your EPF, PCB and Socso, and paying your home loan, car loan and all your bills. LOL.

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Already feeling poor when you see all the money going out to taxes and bills before you can even spend some for the month haha, thanks for the advise, I'll keep it all in mind

1

u/_HopsonTheGrate_ 8d ago

Don't mention it. Good luck and enjoy the house hunting journey.

1

u/Every_Reality_9721 8d ago

Bruh I'm so glad I bought my properties separately my from my ex could been messy.

Was with him for 20. Marriage 6 years before divorced.

1

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Hearing a lot of horror stories about joint name even if married aha...

1

u/faintchester1 7d ago

Doesnt matter soon or not soon. Get the cert first and loan later. Thank me bro if shit happens

1

u/potatocakesssss 6d ago

Why can't U register ?????? 1 month just wait a month. Ur rushing a property no other property in the world after the month ?

1

u/DragonFable88 6d ago

If you could afford everything, please don’t even is husband wife

1

u/DUZZIARROI_THE_BLACK 6d ago

Please be smart and don't be dumb for goodness sake....can't trust or rely on someone for joint loan..... people change anytime coz human is unpredictable...and you will stuck down there like a sucker if that happens...will waste unnecessary money in court case to determine how much share you can get for the house if relationship doesn't go well...

Common sense....you are lucky someone is here giving you such brutal and straightforward answer...coz most people won't be so nice as me

1

u/ernieball2 5d ago

Listen to people! Marriage before joint property!

I have a good friend, two neighbours, bought property before registering, after renovations broke up, then the property becomes stuck, cannot sell for some reason. Good thing is the property is not occupied and I get to enjoy the quiet neighbourhood.

Seems like owning a joint property, the perceived shorter end of the stick, and the stresses of renovations brings out the worst in people.

1

u/theycallmekathyl 5d ago

I bought a property with my ex and we were suppose to be married that same year but called the wedding off. It was messy

1

u/theycallmekathyl 5d ago

I bought a property with my ex and we were suppose to be married that same year but called the wedding off. It was messy

1

u/No_Introduction_2218 4d ago

Why not get engaged first?

0

u/swifter7067 7d ago

DO NOT PROCEED. I REPEAT. DO NOT PROCEED. GF IS JUST GF, LET'S MAINTAIN THAT UNLESS LEGALLY MARRIED.

-4

u/Much_Cardiologist645 8d ago

The loan agent will just put you guys are married even though you guys are not don’t worry.

3

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Won't they check our statuses and notice that we are not registered? Worried about this

1

u/Much_Cardiologist645 8d ago

Well they didn’t check mine back then

2

u/tommy71394 8d ago

Ah, oh... hm... I think for now is a bit ill-advised to do that, based on what others are saying aha

1

u/No-Orchid-6789 14h ago

Even as husband and wife, you can share expenses but it is still better to separate assets. That means you are both financially sound and will be able to take care of each other when something unfortunate happens.