Leaving Spouse off the Mortgages to reduce DTI Ratio?

[Martha Daisley]

Hi guys

My husband and I own a couple of rental properties and the loans are in both our names.  It occurred to me that having outstanding loans on multiple rental properties may negatively affect our debt to income ratio and our ability to qualify for another primary residence loan should we decide to buy another primary home in the near future. 

I am currently in the middle of refinancing the two rentals we have and I thought  maybe it would be a good idea to see if i can get the refi loans in my name only when they close rather than having my husband on them.  My thought process behind this was to reduce his debt to income ratio so that when we go to buy another primary residence, he can apply for that loan by himself and have a lower debt to income ratio without multiple rental properties on his credit.  He has great credit and the higher income too.   Are there any drawbacks to what im thinking? Is it worth making this change or is it a none-issue?   Would lenders still include the rental property debt as part of his debt to income ratio even if the loans are not in his name if they see those properties on our joint tax return?  

thanks!

Martha