Ex not paying mortgage

Marshallj

I split from my ex in May this year. He moved out of our jointly owned home and hasn't paid a penny towards anything since. I have made sure all payments have been paid, so there are no arrears. We are tied in to our current mortgage until July 2012 so I won't look to do anything about the house until then. But where do I stand with getting him off the mortgage? My current salary times 3 will cover the mortgage amount. Will that be enough to take it on solely? And does he have to agree to be taken off? He refuses to discuss anything with me (like a child) so I don't know how I would get him to agree to it.

Any suggestions would be a great help.

Thanks

ACG

Your income alone should be fine to cover the mortgage. Although your best double checking with the lender - however even if they say no im sure there will be others.
Its not just a case of taking his name off the mortgage - what about all the collateral in the property, anything he has paid into the home, is he prepared to just walk away from that? You will need his permission. You may end up having to re-mortgage with some extra borrowing if its possible to "pay him off" - sorry thats the best the simplest way i could think to explain it.

Its not great when people are being awkward life is too short and i know how your feeling, my mum was in a similar position with her husband a couple of years back.

I think your best bet is to try and speak to him about it, even if its only via texts or emails (just keeping to the point) at least then its unlikely to get to an argument. If he isnt forthcoming with either having his name taken off, allowing you to buy out his share or if it comes to it - selling the house. Then you would need to speak to a solicitor with regards to looking to take him to court to cover half the mortgage payments (not the bills though as hes not running them up).

I know the position your in and do feel for you. The good thing though is that you can atleast afford it so its not like your going into arrears or anything.

Marshallj

Thanks for that. There is no equity in the property. It's still the same price we paid for it and we have an interest only mortgage at the moment so we're not bringing it down. He didn't put anything in, so I don't think he has an argument really for taking money from it.

Meeper

Whether he put anything into it or not is largely irrelevant. If the property is jointly owned, then it is jointly owned and half of any equity is his, unless you put an agreement in place at the time of the purchase that £x of the equity was yours and £y was his.

cantcope

You might find the lender will want a deposit as you will in effect be getting a new mortgage in your name alone. My husbands ex got refused as she didnt have a 10% deposit and now she's refusing to sell....long frustrating ongoing saga.........

Marshallj

That's what I'm saying. There is no equity in the property

ACG

He probably still does to soem extent. So long as he can prove some of his money has gone towards it.

However.... Its still best to get him onside to let you take his name off it. Otherwise you will have to go through solicitors and that can really add up. You might even be best speaking to a solicitor first, most will give you an hour to discuss your options free of charge. Or speak to the lender, see what they need, then speak to a solicitor and you will be seeing him with a bit more knowledge behind you so you can make the most of the hour.

Sorry its probably not the answer you were after.

As for it being interest only, unless you have some sort of ISA, Pension or investment type product you might struggle to get an Interest Only mortgage anymore.

EDIT: If there is no equity and its interest only, you will not be able to re-mortgage. You will have to stay on the SVR rate once your deal ends - which in the current market probably isnt too bad.