Guest post by Loqbox, the award-winning credit-building tool helping people take confident steps towards their financial goals. All data is taken from Loqbox member surveys in 2025, and independent UK surveys carried out by Loqbox via Attest and OnePulse.

You and your partner might know how mortgages work and feel confident about how to apply for one, but are you really on the same page? Here are 10 questions to ask your partner before you approach a mortgage broker.

Mortgages are stressful. Almost one in two (47%) Loqbox members say they don’t talk about money at all. No wonder mortgages feel so daunting!

What takes the pressure off is knowing you and your partner have looked each other in the eye, asked the hard questions, and made a money plan you both believe in.

Save the headaches and heartaches by asking the important questions.

10 questions that prove you’re in it together

1. What can you comfortably pay?

This is an emotional affordability check. 

What monthly payment would you be happy to pay that still lets you live well, not just scrape by? 

The point of this one is to find out how much you are comfortable spending on the mortgage. You don’t want to be up at night, worrying about how you’ll make repayments.

Consider all your other expenses and priorities, and set that non-negotiable number together. 

Just one in four (25%) Brits say they always think about whether they can afford repayments in the long term when borrowing money. Make sure you’re not part of the three-quarters who risk overcommitting. 

2. What are you bringing to the table?

How much can you each put towards the deposit? 

It’s not a full disclosure situation. It might be helpful to walk your partner through what you can take from savings, gifts, bonuses, or anywhere else, or not. It’s up to you.

Volunteer how much you can contribute, and if you want to keep some back, that’s okay, too.

3. Shall we go halves, or split it based on what we earn?

One of you might earn more than the other. 

Whoever earns the most might come home with extra top-up shops, pay a bit more when you go out, or fill the car up regularly. 

No reason that wouldn’t also apply to the mortgage, right? Well, maybe, but never assume. 

A mortgage will probably be your largest outgoing, so tipping the balance over 50% could be significant.

For fairness and transparency, it’s a critical ask for your partner. 

4. Oh no, we’ve stumbled! How do we keep going?

Things go wrong because life doesn’t go in a straight line.

Job loss, illness, or family emergencies can all stop you from going to work. You’re not alone if that feels scary. Unexpected expenses are the most common challenge that derails financial goals (27%). Planning for those bumps makes them easier to manage together. Talk now about how you’d handle spells of lower income or missed payments, so neither of you feels alone in a crisis.

Bonus questions might be:

• Would you be comfortable dipping into shared savings? 
• Should we get income protection insurance?
• What are the terms of our life insurance?
• In a deep crisis, who could we turn to for help?

5. Who pays when the boiler breaks?

You can buy almost any insurance policy to protect you when things go wrong (it’s home insurance and car insurance we’re thinking of particularly!) 

Regardless of the policy, the temptation is to set the excess high, to get an affordable monthly price.

If that sounds familiar, you need to do a little bit of planning. If something goes wrong and you do need to claim, ask:

• Which of us can afford to pay the excess?
• If the cost of the repair doesn’t exceed the excess, can we afford to pay it outright?
• Is this something we would use savings for instead?

We’ve given you three questions for the price of one. You’re welcome.

6. What if one of us wants to leave?

Again, life doesn’t go in a straight line, and you never know what’s around the corner. 

Let’s put this question through a gentle lens. Let’s say you want to quit your job and backpack around the world. But your partner has just landed the role of their dreams, and wants to stay.

How would you exit the mortgage swiftly? 

You could write an exit process and lock it away in a drawer. If it ever happens, all you’ve got to do is get the plan out and follow it, easy! 

But it does lead us neatly on to the next question…

7. Are we ‘joint tenants’ or ‘tenants in common’?

When you own a property together, you can be  ‘joint tenants’ or ‘tenants in common’. And yes, the distinction is interesting to think about.

The Gov says: “The type of ownership affects what you can do with the property if your relationship with a joint owner breaks down, or if one owner dies.”

Joint tenants have equal rights to your home, and the property automatically goes to your partner if you die (you wouldn’t be able to give it to someone else in your will).

Tenants in common are almost the opposite. You can own different shares of the property, and it won’t automatically pass on to your partner if you die. You could also give it to someone else in your will.

Now you know the overview, but if you want more information, definitely read this joint property ownership agreement guide.

8. Will this mortgage crowd out our other dreams?

Buying a home might shift priorities, but it shouldn’t block you. 

Six months in Japan? Going back to uni? Your partner might not know that’s what you need to happen, unless you say it out loud. 

Takeaways, tasty treats, and nights out are the top categories where people admit they overspend (26%). Add in impulse buys (21%) and failed budgeting (19%), and small habits can eat into big dreams if you don’t keep them in check. 

It’s about striking a balance. This question gives you room to budget, so you can pay the mortgage, plus save up for the things you need to live a richer life.

 (Notice we said ‘need’, not ‘want’).

9. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours?

Credit scores! High or low, it will affect what lenders are willing to let you borrow.

If one of you is quietly wondering what mortgage you’ll be offered if you have bad credit, for example, it’s better to chat about it before you’re sat in front of an unblinking broker. Yet just 29% of Brits feel comfortable starting money conversations. That makes it even more important to tackle credit scores openly — avoiding the chat only makes it harder later.

If you’re not sure where to start, tools like Loqbox can help you build your score in the background while you focus on having those conversations with confidence.

10. How do we keep talking about money once we move in?

Keep playing the game!

We’d encourage you to play ‘10 money questions’ with your partner frequently. The more you practise, the easier it becomes, and you could repurpose some well-known favourites too:

• Would you rather? Eat in, or fakeaway
• Never have I ever… spent £100 on a Labubu
• Most likely to… give to charity regularly
• This or that:  income protection insurance, or rainy day savings?

Tension-free talks

Talking about money is hard, so pick your moment:

• Pick a calm time and place, not when you’re trying to rest late at night, or mid-commute when you might be a bit stressed anyway
• Use “we” instead of “you” and “me”, to soften the edges and make the conversation welcoming and inclusiveTreat it as planning your future together. No judgment, only curiosity and kindness
• Pair your conversations with practical next steps, like booking a chat with a mortgage broker, or even using a comparison site to scope out just how much remortgaging might cost later down the line

And right now? Go ahead, ask the questions, get your answers and clinch that mortgage! You’re confident and united, and well on your way to a new home.