The mortgage is in myex-husband's name and I can't add it

flossie1968

Hi
I don't know if anybody out there can help me but I would be grateful for any advice!!

I have lived at a property for the last six years after my husband bought the property with mine and my father's help in 2007.
The property was bought for £250,000 with a £157,000 mortgage and the rest coming from a cash deposit, made up of money from my father and cash from the sale of property which I owned.
For some reason at the time we decided not to put my name on the mortgage (probably as I couldn't get a mortgage because of bad credit rating) but agreed it would be in my husband's name.
We paid the mortgage from a joint bank account and I should also point out at this time that my husband applied for a second mortgage of £10,000 on the property without my knowledge but that is not the issue here.
We moved in with our two young children, who are now 13 and nine respectively.
Last year, on July 29 2012, after ten years together and two years marriage, he annouced he was leaving me, that our marriage was over and he no longer loved me swearing there was nobody else involved.
Of course, there was another woman, which I discovered two weeks later, and promptly threw him out along with all his belongings, took the key of him and told him to sling his hook.
Since then I have remained in the house, paid the mortgage every month without fail and am managing to keep a roof over mine and my two children's heads.
Now we are in the final throes of divorce and obviously the question of the property has come up. My husband is happy to sign the house over to me and obviously can sign a deed of trust/ consent order to this effect. I am also going to sign something to say I will make every endeavour to get his name removed from the mortgage in the not too distant future.
But, and this is where the problem lies, I am unable to get my name added to the mortgage because a) I have a bad credit report and b) on my wages I couldn't get a mortgage on a small garden shed.
I spoke to a lovely gent at the mortgage company the Halifax who sympathised with me but pointed out that it is done on computer approval/ credit checks etc, and if the computer says no, the answer is no. There is no appeal process and the days of bank managers agreeing something because they knew you were a trustworthy soul are long gone.
Despite the fact that with my name on the mortgage, it reduces the element of risk to the Halifax, it's just not possible - beause the computer says no.
So, where does that leave me? I have obviously regsitered a charge with the Land Registry on my solicitor's advice and rathert unfortunately there is no evidence of a deed of occupation for myself and unsurprisingly it cannot be done now - because the computer says no.....
I will continue paying the mortgage. I have no intention of defaulting on the mortgage. I have worked far too hard to go down that road and I wasn't brought up in a world of repossessions although admittedly I have had some credit issues which I am now addressing. I have a debt management plan with Stepchange (again, all down to the husband's irresponsible spending) but I am managing it well.
Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated. The crux is that at present I am unable to get my name added to the mortgage.
PS. It probably doesn't help that we had a joint account with the Halifax that he ran up a £2,500 overdraft on which remains unpaid and with a debt recovery agency. As the account is in both our names, I pay £45 a month to pay this debt off and he pays £5. I rest my case.

RAS

I've put in some paragraph breaks so I can read it better.

flossie1968 wrote: »

I have lived at a property for the last six years after my husband bought the property with mine and my father's help in 2007.

But no deed noting the value of your financial contribution?

The property was bought for £250,000 with a £157,000 mortgage and the rest coming from a cash deposit, made up of money from my father and cash from the sale of property which I owned. -
Do you have any evidence of the sale and transfer of cash transfers?

For some reason at the time we decided not to put my name on the mortgage (probably as I couldn't get a mortgage because of bad credit rating) but agreed it would be in my husband's name.
We paid the mortgage from a joint bank account and I should also point out at this time that my husband applied for a second mortgage of £10,000 on the property without my knowledge but that is not the issue here.

We moved in with our two young children, who are now 13 and nine respectively.

Last year, on July 29 2012, after ten years together and two years marriage, he annouced he was leaving me, that our marriage was over and he no longer loved me swearing there was nobody else involved.

Of course, there was another woman, which I discovered two weeks later, and promptly threw him out along with all his belongings, took the key of him and told him to sling his hook.

Wow! Legally you are required to let him have a key and he can come in anytime he wants.

Since then I have remained in the house, paid the mortgage every month without fail and am managing to keep a roof over mine and my two children's heads.

Am amazed that they are agreeing this.

Now we are in the final throes of divorce and obviously the question of the property has come up. My husband is happy to sign the house over to me and obviously can sign a deed of trust/ consent order to this effect. I am also going to sign something to say I will make every endeavour to get his name removed from the mortgage in the not too distant future.

He cannot sign the house over to you. Any transfer needs the agreement of the mortgage provider. Given the current wreckage of the OD, it is going to be at least 6 years before your credit rating starts to improve. So it is completely unrealistic for either of you to think that you can take on the mortgage inside that timetable.


But, and this is where the problem lies, I am unable to get my name added to the mortgage because a) I have a bad credit report and b) on my wages I couldn't get a mortgage on a small garden shed.

I spoke to a lovely gent at the mortgage company the Halifax who sympathised with me but pointed out that it is done on computer approval/ credit checks etc, and if the computer says no, the answer is no. There is no appeal process and the days of bank managers agreeing something because they knew you were a trustworthy soul are long gone.

Despite the fact that with my name on the mortgage, it reduces the element of risk to the Halifax, it's just not possible - beause the computer says no.

So, where does that leave me? I have obviously regsitered a charge with the Land Registry on my solicitor's advice and rathert unfortunately there is no evidence of a deed of occupation for myself and unsurprisingly it cannot be done now - because the computer says no.....

I will continue paying the mortgage. I have no intention of defaulting on the mortgage. I have worked far too hard to go down that road and I wasn't brought up in a world of repossessions although admittedly I have had some credit issues which I am now addressing. I have a debt management plan with Stepchange (again, all down to the husband's irresponsible spending) but I am managing it well.

Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated. The crux is that at present I am unable to get my name added to the mortgage.

PS. It probably doesn't help that we had a joint account with the Halifax that he ran up a £2,500 overdraft on which remains unpaid and with a debt recovery agency. As the account is in both our names, I pay £45 a month to pay this debt off and he pays £5. I rest my case.

What proper legal advice are you gettign as you may be ablke to DIY the divorce but you need proper legal advice to protect yourself with regard to the financiual settlement. Trying to save money there will cost your tens of thousands in the future.

Since you are married, the actual ownership of the house is not an issue (in terms of who is on the deeds); it is an asset of the marriage.

You need to get quotes now for the house and an agreed valuation.

You also need to know how much is outstanding on the mortgage.

spamalot

RAS wrote: »

Since you are married, the actual ownership of the house is not an issue (in terms of who is on the deeds); it is an asset of the marriage.

Not necessarily. Since they've only been married for two years the courts may consider it a 'short marriage', in which case you go out of the marriage with the assets you brought in. However long you were together beforehand is not necessarily taken into account. This is exactly what happened in my divorce, we were married for three years.The two factors that could be argued in the OPs favour is the fact they have two children and have been living there for quite some time. She will need to have proof that her father and she helped out with the purchase of the house by providing the deposit.

It would in hindsight have been a good idea if her father had put a formal charge on the house so that if the property is sold then that portion goes back to him. This is what my step mum has done with my step sister and her partner to protect the deposit if they break up in the future and she needs to sell the house, they are not married.

It may well be that a judge orders that the OP and children can live there until the kids reach 18, at which point the property is sold and the OP receives a % share. How much will depend on how the solicitors fight it out and the judge on the day.

Good luck OP, it must be very frustrating paying the mortgage on a property that isn't yours

RAS

If they have been together as long as 10 years (possible 12) then the courts would probably consider this not to be a short marriage based on comments elsewhere on MSE.

LannieDuck

I hesitate to suggest this because I don't know if it's possible or what the legal pitfalls would be, but...

Would your parents be in a position to take over the mortgage (with you giving them the money to pay it each month)?

Kynthia

The house buying, renting and selling forum might have more suggestions on this subject. Also you should get proper legal advice as there's a lot of your money in this house which is not in your name at all. I definitely think it's best to do something while your ex is amenable, as who knows how he'll feel in a few years. I wonder whether a deed of trust could give you beneficial ownership even if you're not on the deeds.

pinkshoes

Ultimately you are living in a house that you can't afford.

How much equity does it have now, and could you not sell it and buy something smaller?

nom_de_plume

pinkshoes wrote: »

Ultimately you are living in a house that you can't afford.

How much equity does it have now, and could you not sell it and buy something smaller?

Last year, on July 29 2012,....he announced he was leaving me....
....took the key of him and told him to sling his hook.
Since then I have remained in the house, paid the mortgage every month without fail and am managing to keep a roof over mine and my two children's heads.

Sounds like the OP can afford it but simply does not stack up on paper for a mortgage in her own name.

OP. If you do want to stay put the suggestion of support from perhaps your parents is a sound idea. You do need to get yourself in a more secure position with regards to the ownership of the property asap as others have alluded.

flossie1968

Thank you so much for the replies, I really appreciate it. Thankfully things are very amicable at present with ex husband so it is easy to try and tackle things with him, but it is just the credit rating and battling with the Halifax that is the killer.
Yes, I can afford the mortgage which is handy as both my parents are now passed away.
non de plume, yes, you are so right, I need to get myself financially in a more attractive position.
pinkshoes: There is £130,000 equity in the property so the mortgage is only £120,000. Sadly if I sell it as it is in ex husband's name, he could potentially just run off into the sunset with the cheque when the house is sold. You are soooo right tho, I need to get myself financially sorted out.
Kynthia: Thanks for the tip, will check out the house buying, selling part of the forum.
Fortunately, although I am doing the divorce DIY my dad's late wife is paying my solicitor's bills when it comes to legal stuff for the consent orders and deeds etc, so that is something as I was told early on that paying out a few quid now is worth it rather than it costing me thousands in the future!!!
Spamalot: Thanks for the advice and I think you're right, it's a short term marriage and as of yesterday, the ex husband has agreed for me to give him £5,000 when our divorce is finalised and £15,000 when I eventually sell the house. In the meantime he is agreeing to pay me £100 a month in maintenance for our daughter which I work out will be worth about £15,000 by the time she finishes full time education......
RAS: Thank you so much for your wise words, in hindsight I should have had deeds drawn up with mine and my dad's contributions but love is blind - and marriage is an eyeopener!! Fortunately I do have evidence of the sales and cash transfers.
Am just trying to sort out now how to get the mortgage provider will okay it all.
Thanks all again..

rpc

Can you find a guarantor?

If not, you may need to consider selling up and renting while you rebuild your credit rating.

If you have a charge on the house, ex can't run off with the money. The charge would need repaid or removed and ex's solicitor wouldn't be allowed to give him the money if it had been agreed that you receive some in exchange for removing the charge and allowing the sale.