My brother had a car accident 24 years ago which left him with multiple problems including a head injury, resulting in him having no judgment in money and other matters, amongst other problems. He's already lost one house through borrowing money he couldn't keep up the payments on, and would have lost his current house if my parents hadn't bailed him out this year.

When my mum dies all her estate has been left in a discretionary trust to be administered for his benefit by my sister and myself. This includes her house, which is mortgage -free . If he does end up losing his own house in years to come he will at least have her house to live in, or we could sell that one and buy another, more suitable, for him to live in.

I 'm worried that somehow he might be able to borrow money against the house, even though he will not be the owner of it, merely living there rent-free. When applying for a secured loan, do lenders have stringent checks that the person actually owns the house? Would he have to provide documentary evidence such as the deeds to the house? Or is it possible to put some kind of 'Stop Notice' on an address to flag up a warning to lenders?

Hello there,

Rest assured that checks are done against all types of lending, and in the case of a secured loan there is no chance of your brother taking out a loan secured a property that he doesn't own. The only way in which he could do it is if he applied for the loan fraudulently (i.e. in the deed holder's name, though this is also highly unlikely due to the supporting evidence needed), but from what you mention above it seems like a problem with judgement, not character.

Rob