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If my partner or spouse has bad credit does it affect my credit rating or our ability to get a loan or credit card?
While it will not hurt your actual credit rating, there are a few ways that your spouse’s bad credit can affect you. It may even cause people to take a closer look into the backgrounds of people they are going to marry.
If you are married to someone with really poor credit, it could cause you problems when you are in the market to buy a new home. If your credit is excellent, then you probably will not get denied for a home loan, although there is a good chance that your interest rates could be higher. This could cause higher monthly payments and, in the long term, you will have paid a lot more for your house than a couple with great credit.
As for personal or car loans, if you put everything under your own name, then you shouldn’t have any problems. This is especially true if you have gone through your bank several times in the past for loans and have always made your payments on time.
If your spouse has debts that have yet to be paid off, then it is possible you may even receive collection calls. This is because you are now listed as a spouse and are the best way for collection companies to get to the actual person who owes the money. That’s if they cannot get a hold of that person directly.
One thing that should be taken into account is that, even though your score is not directly affected when you marry, your spouse now has a certain amount of access to your credit.
If they know your information, then they could potentially get credit in your name, such as by responding to credit offers that you receive in the mail. They could add themselves as authorized users and run up your credit without you even knowing about it. In that case, you are not only liable for the money, but your credit score would definitely be in jeopardy, as well as any future loans or credit extensions.
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