Help with divorce mortgage

tbourner

Hi guys, need some help please as I don't know anything about the current mortgage situation in the UK.

This isn't about me, so to keep it private I'll call them Dave, Vicki and their daughter Jo. Dave and Vicki are 43, Jo is 14.
Dave earns around £35K and Vicki £20K.
Their house is worth an estimated £170K, mortgage remains owing about £70K, other smaller debts amount to maybe £5K.
They're getting divorced and seem to have agreed on 55%/45% split in favour of Vicki.
Jo doesn't want to move because of GCSEs and her friends, she also wants to live with her mum. Their current mortgage provider said she can't take over the mortgage.

So, will Vicki need a mortgage of £115K to be able to buy out Dave? Dave's fine with moving out but obviously won't continue to pay for the house and wants his cut of the equity.
Will Vicki be able to get a mortgage for that amount? Is it a simple process or is there something we're missing with remortgaging the house without moving and changing names on the mortgage etc.?

She said she's going to banks some time in the next few weeks but TBH they're both slacking on the whole thing so I thought I'd try and get some help and ideas from here and let them know. Trying to keep on the fence here so not looking to help one over the other - mostly worried for Jo and just want her to be as comfortable as possible through it all.

herbiesjp

Unless Vicki earns more money or has another source of income i.e. benefits/maintenance/second job etc she will not be able to get a mortgage that high on her own.

She may be able to with a guarantor though.

tbourner

Well she can claim child support of some kind being a single mum? Jo is still in full time education obviously and she only needs the mortgage until Jo leaves for Uni, at which time she'll sell the house anyway and take the equity away - do mortgage companies take that sort of thing into account?
I don't know if Dave would be a guarantor - I would guess not though.

Caz3121

some mortgage companies will take tax credits and maintenance into account. does Vicki work? salary?

Thrugelmir

They're getting divorced and seem to have agreed on 55%/45% split in favour of Vicki.

As Jo wishes to live with her mother, and Vicki has a lower earnings potential in the future. The split of assets could be open to debate.

A court will put the interests of a dependent child first.

So there may be further negotiation to be had.

tbourner

Vicki's being very nice in this case (so far), she's turning down a lot of suggestions by her solicitor to be ruthless and take whatever she can. She's mentioned being able to get 60/40, but would that really make that much difference?

herbiesjp

A guarantor would be parents - not the ex partner.

The bigger split in Vicki's favour could make the difference, along with any extra income she has, in being able to get a mortgage.

So if her ex wants to be off the mortgage and free, he may have to accept that route.

dimbo61

Vicki would get 15% of Dave,s net pay ( CSA)until JO is 19 or finishes full time education and Dave would be lucky if he got 25/30% of equity in house if it goes to court.YBS take into account wages, CB,CTC, WTC, maintence ( CSA or court).

Thrugelmir

tbourner wrote: »

Vicki's being very nice in this case (so far), she's turning down a lot of suggestions by her solicitor to be ruthless and take whatever she can. She's mentioned being able to get 60/40, but would that really make that much difference?

Maybe Vicki is a very nice person. However divorce is often a difficult stressful time. Once she realises the amount of equity / income that she'll require to secure a home, she may start listening to her solicitor.

kissjenn

They will probably be entitled to shares of each others pensions too. As dave earns almost twice what Vicki does and presumably had no time off for maternity leave etc then he is probably sitting on a far more valuable asset than Vicki. The solicitors can factor that in as well and off reliquishment of future pension claims against more house equity now.

Given Vicki's issues in securing a mortgage for THEIR child she would be well advised to listen to the solicitors now. Dave can secure a far higher mortgage for his new place based on his current earnings and he only needs room for himself and for Jo to visit occasionally.

surreybased

kissjenn wrote: »

Dave can secure a far higher mortgage for his new place based on his current earnings and he only needs room for himself and for Jo to visit occasionally.

Not sure if that is a valid assumption - where possible both parents should be actively involved in their child's life and it's likely the dad will need a separate room for his daughter. Family courts support shared residence if possible where both parents are equally involved. However even where the parenting is 50/50 the parent getting the child benefit has to pay child maintenance to the other parent..mostly that's the dad (which isn't fair).

Could the mum downsize, in the same area and enable both parents to have a home?
Good to hear that they are being amicable, this is the best outcome of their child (moreso than not moving house)