Can more than one person have a mortgage on the same property?

Question

Me and my sisters want to buy a home together, theres three of us .problem is they both want to claim the rite off.Any suggestions

Answer 1

1) Yes, more than one person can be party to a mortgage on the same property. First, decide how you want to hold title (as joint tenants, tenants-in-common, members of an LLC, etc.)  If title is not held by you as individuals, you'll most likely be asked to provide a repayment guarantee.

2) No, you cannot all claim the entire amount of the tax deduction.  However, you can share a portion of the deduction.  This doesn't necessarily have to be split evenly, however.

Let's say you buy a house for $200,000 and get a 30-yr. loan for $160,000 fixed at 6.375%.  Principal & interest payments would be about $998 per month, for which the first month $850 would be interest. You could decide that you want to share the deduction evenly ($850 divided by 3); you could have one person claim it all and the other two not get any deduction; or you could split it up any way you want.  It just can't exceed the total amount of interest actually paid.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

Yes.  However, the last part of your question says, "they both want to claim the rite off".  I assume you mean they each want to claim 1/2 the write off.  

Also, before doing this you should make sure you understand where the "write off" applies.  It's only useful if you itemize deductions.  Make sure after splitting the mortgage deduction, that they each will have enough other itemized deductions to make it feasible.

Answer 3

As long as all three names are on the title, you will all have to be on the mortgage. If that is not the case, it is unlikely you three will be able to be on a mortgage, and only the person who pays the mortgage should get the tax deduction. If you all pay, you will have to have a binding agreement as to how to allot the tax deduction. Have it done by a local lawyer or suffer the consequences down the line.

Answer 4

Yes, multiple persons may have their names on the title to build equity and have a legal claim to the property. Same with the mortgage loan, multiple persons may have names on it and have access to the account.