Can I take over the mortgage?

jaklette

I think I already know the answer to this but here goes anyway...

I bought a house with my partner in Oct 04 for £134k. He paid a deposit of about £7k. Unfortunately we have now split up. The house was very run down and we have done a lot of work to it. Others in the area go for about £150-155k. In a truly ideal world I would love to take over the mortgage and keep the house and he is happy to get his deposit back and clear off and do something else.

Friends keep advising me one way or another and I am getting mixed responses - some say dont do it - its too much on your own, and others say, you've got equity now - have an interest only mortgage for a couple of years, get a lodger and stay on the property ladder.

My salary is only 26k so it makes it a large multiple of what I earn - the mortgage company may not touch me with a bargepole anyway.

I just wondered if anyone had any experience of this or any opinions about a way forward for me.

Very grateful
x

VH

Hi jaklette

I've been through the exact same situation, run down house, money spent etc. Only difference being I was the one who never kept the house!

I got my deposit back plus what I had invested for repairs so far. This was arranged with the mortgage company who increased the mortgage to cover what my girlfriend had to pay to me, and the actual details were put in writing by a solicitor. We had to both sign the solicitor's paperwork to release the money to me from the mortgage company.

Your first step should be to contact your mortgage provider to discuss the amounts involved etc. This will need to be added to your mortgage, unless you have the cash available to pay your partner off.

Like you say it is a big mortgage to pay on your salary, but I suppose it depends on how much equity you already have. Give your mortgage provider a ring first to discuss.

Hope this helps!

lady_noluck

For a minute I thought I'd written this post. I'm going through the exact same thing except my salary is £17,000.

Me and ex-boyf had joint morgage then split up. It's a bit of a long story but...... my morgage company advised me to pay the monthly payments myself. (Ex had moved out.) Then after, say, 6 months, apply for the morgage in my name only. First it would get refused cos on paper I only earn £17,000 and it looks like I can't afford it. Then it gets transferred to the collections team who prove I can afford it because I've paid it for the last 6 months. Ex boyf agrees to have his name removed, and bobs your uncle. I get the house! :j

That's the idea anyway. Unfortunately my ex-boyf being a pain in the butt has made it difficult. Thus I am now getting a declaration of Trust drawn up to state that he will leave his name on the morgage until I am approved on my own. He won't be allowed to make me sell and if I choose to sell whilst the morgage is in joint names, he won't receive a penny. All the equity will go to me.

What I think you should do is try your hardest to stay on the property ladder because once you fall off it's going to be extremely difficult to get back on.

Your morgage company won't let your ex take his name off unless you can prove you can afford the morgage on your own. Will your ex wait until you can? This could take 6 months to a year.
If he won't wait, can you afford the monthly payments on your own? Could you afford a loan? This isn't something I'd like to recommend but if you can afford it, take out a loan for the 7k BUT make him sign a Declaration of Trust saying if and when the house is sold, he will not receive any money from it.
This can be drawn up by a conveyancy solicitor. I can recommend a really good one if you need one.
Take in a lodger. This extra money could pay the loan each month.
Talk to your morgage company and explain the situation, they're usually very sympathtic and may be able to help more than you think.

(And before everyone starts screaming at me for suggesting a loan :eek: , in the long run it's sensible. It'd get your ex off your back and with the D.O.T if you can't get the morgage and there's equity in the house when you sell it's all yours.)

I hope it goes well for you. If you ever need to chat, just pm. I've been going through this for the past 8 months and could probably write an essay on it by now!