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Processing Joint Home Loan Applications

Joint applications add complexity to every stage of the assessment. Clear processes prevent documents being misallocated and income being double counted across applicants.

Reconciling applicant names across documents

Documents for joint applicants often carry name variations. Full names appear on tax returns. Short forms appear on bank statements. Middle names are sometimes included and sometimes not. Establish a clear link between each document and the applicant it belongs to before starting the income assessment.

Allocating documents to the right applicant

Payslips, bank statements, and liabilities need to be assigned to the correct applicant. Errors here flow through to serviceability and can cause significant rework later. A simple applicant tagging step at the start of the file review pays back many times over.

Combining incomes correctly

Add each applicant income types separately before combining. Base salaries at full weight. Overtime and bonuses shaded per lender policy. Rental income after shading. Self employed income averaged over the required number of years. Document each component so the numbers can be audited against the source documents.

Handling shared liabilities

Shared liabilities like joint credit cards and joint home loans should only be counted once across the file. Reviewing the credit reports for both applicants side by side catches duplicates and undisclosed accounts in either name.

Key takeaways

  • Reconcile name variations before assigning documents
  • Tag every document to a specific applicant
  • Add income components separately and shade per lender policy
  • Count shared liabilities once across the joint file

How QualifyMate helps

QualifyMate includes automatic name reconciliation across documents and groups income, liabilities, and bank statements by applicant so joint files are ready to assess in minutes.

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