Sam Dunn: 'Can we take out separate mortgages on the same house?'

Question: In these very nervous times for house prices, my partner and I are selling both our individual homes and buying one together. Do we need to have a joint mortgage, or can we each raise a mortgage individually on the property? Peta Murphy, via email

Answer: Your choice here is illusory, I'm afraid: it's a joint mortgage or nothing. While it may well suit you and your partner's finances to take out separate home loans for one house, lenders will have none of it.

Why? For one major reason: in a worst-case scenario, where a property has to be repossessed and swiftly sold, no bank or building society will tolerate a tussle over bricks and mortar with a rival lender.

Andrew Montlake of mortgage broker Cobalt Capital warns that it could get very messy if each of you took out a mortgage with different lenders on the same house.

"All lenders will want the first claim or 'charge' on the property in case of any default," he says. "The last thing they want is to be fighting with another lender as to who gets the first share of the money if they have to repossess and sell the property quickly – especially in this market."

Although this might sound like a rule for use only in Domesday scenarios, it actually underpins every UK housing transaction.

A mortgage is only ever possible because a lender has crunched the numbers and is happy with the bottom-line, worst possible situation – ie that the property can be easily repossessed and sold on in a crisis, without worry of a battle for the cash with a rival bank.

One alternative, says Melanie Bien of Savills Private Finance, is for you to apply for a loan in just one of your names, although you probably won't be able to borrow as much.

As a rule of thumb, borrowing two-and-a-half times your salary usually permits a bigger loan than multiples of three or even four times a single income.

If you do pick a joint mortgage, however, you take on a new responsibility, warns David Hollingworth at London & Country: "If you do get into trouble, the mortgage lender will be able to chase either one or both of you for the full mortgage payment as you will be liable jointly and separately."

Question: Desperate to save money, I've thought about skipping the home contents and buildings insurance on my flat, saving nearly £1,000 a year. It'd only be a short-term move; should I? DK, Bedfordshire

Answer: In a word, no. That £1,000 might seem like a lot to spare from today's outgoings, but it would be nothing compared to the potentially ruinous bill for tens – if not hundreds – of thousands of pounds to repair your home from a major fire, flood or storm damage. "It's hugely risky and could end in financial ruin," warns Lana Clements, spokeswoman for More Than insurer. Of course, you'd expect an insurer to say that, but a lack of home cover is a massive gamble: I strongly advise you don't take it.