Mortgage and issue with ex partner

KatisFrench

Hi

Me and my ex-partner took out a Mortgage in July 2008 on a 3 years fixed term rate with Halifax which is ending in July. Me and my expartner split up in January 2010, and I moved back home with my parents while he continued to live there with his girlfriend and pay the mortgage whilst I had nothing to do with it but pay off a seperate loan we both had together.

It's now coming up to the point where I want to think about getting my name off the mortgage now that the 3 years is up (we were told we'd have to wait until now), however I'm not sure how to go about it. I have called the Halifax who have told me what needs to be done but i'm not having any response from my ex about doing it. He and his girlfriend are expecting a baby in the next few months or so which means money is going to be tight and it isn't likely that he is going to do it anytime soon which is extremely frustrating for me because I don't know where I stand.

He also has a bad credit rating so i'm not sure whether he would be accepted to remortgage with the girlfriend, so I don't know where that leaves me. Could I force him to sell the property so that he remortgages that way? I'm not necessarily looking for any money from him, I just want to put myself in a better position and try and cut ties with him. He has an overdraft aswell which use to be a joint account and he keeps going overdrawn so it's going against my credit rating even though I have good credit rating.

I really need some clairification with this as it's soooo confusing and complicated.

kingstreet

You are both jointly and severally liable for the mortgage and any other joint debts. That means the lender will come to all parties for payment, regardless of the situation. You could find yourself paying his mortgage if he fails to do so.

He could apply to have you removed from the mortgage and the deeds by approaching the lender and asking for a transfer of equity. He could go it alone, or have the new partner added. However, the lender may be unwilling to grant this if his credit history or payment record is poor. He/They will be "vetted" in a similar way to the application process when you first purchased the property.

If he won't explore these avenues voluntarily, the only option you have is to seek legal advice about the prospects for attempting to force the sale of the property.