My son's ex-gf mortgage

fjweaver

My son has been rather stupid and got himself in a bit of a pickle by adding his name to a mortgage title. I discovered over Xmas that last March his then girlfriend bought a new flat (one of these shared ownerships with a housing association) and from what I can gather to guarantee her mortgage she needed my son's name on the mortgage title - however he has 0% of the equity.
They split up acrimoniously not too long after this all went through.
Unfortunately he didn't take any advice before signing (he was scared to talk to me about it!) and thought he could just take his name off subsequently if needed. I'm surprised the solicitor his ex-gf used didn't explain/warn him of what he was signing up for.
The thing is - he's paying half of the £600 monthly mortgage payments.
Before going 'legal' I'd like to find out where he stands and what his options are (it wasn't a happy split and unfortunately they work for the same company.)
From what I understand to take his name off the mortgage his ex-gf has to agree and also either remortgage or get the B/S to agree to take his name off. I'm guessing his name was required in case she defaulted on the payments. In the unlikely event she agrees to this will it affect him getting another mortgage if his name is still on this one?
He has never lived in the flat and there is no written agreement that he'd pay her anything towards the mortgage - so does he have an obligation to pay anything. If he just stops paying her anything and she defaults then what will happen to him - presumably he will be liable for some/all of the payments, and also I guess it won't do his credit rating any good.
Can he force her to sell the place?

gazfocus

My understanding is that if your Son's name is on the mortgage, then he owns half of the share they purchased at the time. This is regardless of whether he paid any of the deposit because there should've been an additional agreement written up by the solicitor to protect the girlfriends deposit.

If your Son does stop paying his share, it will only affect his credit rating if the ex doesn't make up the shortfall because the mortgage will default and both parties will be wholly liable for the mortgage payments.

To get your Sons name off the mortgage, the ex will have to apply for a new mortgage in her own name, however, if she had difficulty before, she is likely to face similar issues now.

I would seriously advise your Son against just stopping payments and do everything he can to come to a mutual agreement where they work together to find a solution (easier said than done, I know).

TBagpuss

He has a liability to the mortgage company - they can pursue him for the whole of the mortgage payments if these are not met.

However, as between him and his ex he has no automatic obligation to pay half. And he may well have a cliam for a share in the equity (if any) if he continues to pay.

I would recommend that he speak to a solicitor sooner rather than later. Probably the first step would be look at a letter to his ex asking for her proposals for getting his name off the mortgage and for assurances that she will be paying the mortgae in full in the mean time.

If she can't get him off, or won't, then he may be able ti apply for an order for sale of the property in order for the mortgage to be paid off. This is not a quick, or cheap process, but depending on the circumstances (and whether there is any equity at all) he may be able to get some of his costs back if he has to go down that route, provided that he has gone through all the right steps first.

unless he is a guarantor, I would be surprised if he is on the mortgage and not on the deeds but he should check that (at the land registry)

He should also let the mortgage lender know he has separated from his ex and ask them to ensure that any coresspondence is sent to each of them separately, to ensure that he is kept informed.

In the first instance, he needs to see a solicitor sepacialising in Family law - a member of Resolution (http://www.resolution.org.uk/) is best - but if he ends up having to apply for an order for sale he is likely to need a litigator, so look for a general practice.

PS - why do you say your son has no equity? Unless there was a separate trust deed (in which case, he should have been advised to take independent legal advice) if they are joint owners he has an interest in the property. If he is merely a guarantor then he may still have a beneficial interest in the property based on his contributions.

kingstreet

fjweaver wrote: »

I'm surprised the solicitor his ex-gf used didn't explain/warn him of what he was signing up for

He would normally be advised to seek separate legal advice as the solicitor could not represent both of them.

Was he advised to do so? Did he do so?

Wh05apk

Seek legal advice ASAP, it sounds like he was mis-advised/stitched up initially?


This needs to be resolved, ensure the mortgage payments are maintained initially as missed mortgage payments are very difficult ro recover from, if he seeks any borrowing in the future.

fjweaver

Thanks for the replies. My son says he wasn't advised to take other advice and he didn't.
His ex has all the paperwork so it's difficult to get all the info but I'll get onto the land registry to get a copy of the deeds

TBagpuss

he should be able to get copies of / have sight of any relevant documents from the solicitors who dealt with the purchase (assuming they dealt with both him and his girlfriend as a couple, they will both be clients so both equally entitled to access the file. He won't be able to get the file itself but should be able to get copies of any relevant information or documents.