Transfer of Equity & Consent Order

FatmanDaz

Hello, I'm looking for some advice in relation to a transfer of equity requirement. First, some background:

I'm a divorced father of 2 with my Ex & the children living in the family home. The split was amicable and the plan for the house was that we would not look to sell until the girls had finished full time education. In keeping with the requirements of the divorce we have a consent order, that amongst other things details the split of any equity from the sale of the house.

The house was on a fixed mortgage term (in joint names) which ended in October last year. At that time my Ex started to look for alternate products. Unfortunately she has struggled with this as most of the lenders she approached wouldn't give her sufficient mortgage but she has identified one, the Woolwich who will. All of them stipulated that a ToE was required to remove my name from the property, which we expected would have to happen.

My question relates to whether a ToE created now will supercede the Consent order and risk me losing my portion of any potential equity from a sale. This is something I cannot afford to do.

At the moment my Ex is considering selling the house, which would solve all these issues but in the current climate we have no idea how successful that would be. So she still needs to get into a position of having access to a mortgage product for at least 4 years (when our youngest reaches 18).

In addition I am looking at relocating with my wife and I know the ToE would be required to make any joint application we make easier and not weighed down with the debt of my old mortgage.

I've talked to a couple of mortgage advisors and the CAB but they haven't been able to provide anything solid as they see this as specialist information. One did suggest that with a ToE you can detail a subsequent equity payment but again, they weren't 100%.

Thanks in advance.

johnk

Either you or your ex needs to instruct a solicitor (with extra payment) to handle the ToE. Usually it is the party who is keeping the FMH (your ex in your case) that does this. The solicitor will need a copy of your consent order. For a clean break, the case is simple - he just sends out the TR1 forms to both of you to sign, together with a proposal based on the consent order (considerate, timeline etc). Your case is apparently more complicated - it's probably best for you to talk to a solicitor to hear what he/she suggests.

silvercar

My question relates to whether a ToE created now will supercede the Consent order and risk me losing my portion of any potential equity from a sale. This is something I cannot afford to do.

On ToE, your ex should give you the money or you should be able to put a charge on the property for your share of the equity. Be aware that the mortgage lender always has first charge, so if there was ever a situation where the difference between the sale price and what your ex owed more on the mortgage was less than your share of equity, you would lose out.

FatmanDaz

silvercar wrote: »

On ToE, your ex should give you the money or you should be able to put a charge on the property for your share of the equity. Be aware that the mortgage lender always has first charge, so if there was ever a situation where the difference between the sale price and what your ex owed more on the mortgage was less than your share of equity, you would lose out.

This sounds like the info I need, at least gives me a direction when I get to a solicitor.
My Ex can't afford to give me the cash, which we always knew.
At the moment the consent order stipulates I would get a 34% share of any remaining equity, once the mortgage had been serviced ( based on a mortgage value at the time of the divorce of £97k). The property is realistically worth in the current climate around £170k, so that would see my share in the low £20k's.
SoI assume I can use the same terms on the ToE for the charge i.e. 34% of equity based on £97k mortgage?

Thanks for the info, it makes sense and I'll go and find a solicitor.