Removing my ex from the mortgage...easy?

fizzgig_2

Hi folks,

My wife and I have been separated for about 6 months now after 3 years of marriage and are planning to divorce. We are very amicable and friendly about it all - it just seems better that way as we have no kids to complicate matters.

Our biggest problem is the house we own. We bought it about two and a half years ago and got a joint mortgage so it is in both our names. I always paid the majority of the mortgage and bills as I earnt more. The house's value has increased by around £80k in that time so obviously the ex would like a chunk of that equity at some point. I am still living in the house on my own and have been paying all mortgage and other costs since she left. She is happy for me to stay there and is in no hurry to be paid off or have her name removed from the mortgage.

What would be the easiest way to deal with all this? As we are still good friends (despite the fact she is now living with some other bloke!) we don't want to make life difficult for each other. I understand it's not a simple case of just phoning up Nationwide and asking for her name to be removed so should we just leave things as they are until I decide to sell it then deal with the splitting of equity then?

I guess the other option would be to re-mortgage now and get a new mortgage in just my own name. I actually re-mortgaged about 9 months ago to a 2 year fixed rate so I know I would probably be stung with some form of charge if I changed before this 2 years is up. I am also self-employed (my ex was full time employed) so this also may cause issues with getting a suitable mortgage to allow me to carry on in this house.

I don't really want to get lawyers involved until necessary so any advice on how we should proceed with this would be much appreciated. Is there anything legally wrong with us just leaving things as they are until I decide to sell as long as the ex isn't demanding any money from me?

wymondham

sorry to hear your news - hopefully it's all for the best...

As you remortgaged a short while ago, you may well get stung if you did this again before your 2 years is up - check with Nationwide. As this fee would come from both of you (as both of you are named on the current mortgage) I'd chat with your wife and if she agree's stay as you are until your tie-in comes to an end, then remortgage in your own name, at the same time sorting out her part of the built up equity...

I'm definately not an expert, but it's just an opinion!

etxec

I split with my OH a couple of years ago. He moved out and I took over the house and mortgage. I used a solicitor to get the deeds changed to my name only - this cost about £250 tops - and got the mortgage changed as part of this. I was with HSBC in the middle of a fixed term and they let me make the change no problem, no charge. I guess it depends on your bank though and I wasn't trying to change the amount owed or anything just have it in my name as I (just about) had enough savings to buy him out.

All the best.

fizzgig_2

Thanks for the replies - it sounds like I should speak to Nationwide and see if they're willing to just swap things over. I'm just a bit wary of them kicking up a fuss if they hear our circumstances have changed, even though I am keeping up the mortgage payments without any problem.

As long as the ex and I are still friends I think it's going to work out fine in the long run.

Gorgeous_George

I'd get a three valuations soonest. What you really need is an agreed value at the time of the split i.e., when she stopped contributing to the house. The problem is that unless you sell, you will not know what the equity would have been. Selling would incur larger costs and I believe these should be met or shared by the guilty party/ies along with any legal fees.

The equity split is usually 50/50 regadless of the different contributions that you both made - unless you can get her to agree a fairer split based on your individual contributions.

Personally, I'd sell the place and buy somewhere better that you and your future partner/wife can truely call 'yours'. Any costs can, at least, be shared with the ex.

p.s. funny how it's always amicable when the woman does the dirty (ok, not always perhaps)

The important thing is for YOU to put YOURSELF first. Decide what YOU want.



GG