Halifax help - coming off mortgage!

brooklyn07

:mad:Ex and I started process for taking my name off the mortgage at the end of March.

He doesnt want me off so this is all with great reluctance.

However, he signed the necessary forms, as did I and i had a letter back in april to acknowledge that i will be coming off subject to it being sent to solicitor.

The halifax have arranged the solicitor for us so we dont have to have one each.

Anyway its now the end of May and i have heard nothing. i contacted the halifax on friday to ask for an update and they are refusing to give me any information as i am the one coming off the mortgage even though i am not off the mortgage yet!

All i wanted to know was where in the process it is - if its sat with the solicitor waiting for more information from him, or waiting for him to give them the money or what but they will not tell me anything :mad:

Knowing him he is probably just sitting there riding it out dragging it out for as long as possible and i'm powerless to do anything?!

Is there anything i can do at all??

Foxy-Stoat_3

Whats the value of the property?

If the Transfer of Equity form has been signed and returned and they agree that he can take on the mortgage on his own then its just the Land Registry Deed to change.

The Solicitor will work for your Ex only, not you, if there is any equity in the property that your receiving or giving away you really should see a solicitor to protect your interests but that may cost you money.

If the property value is over the minimum for stamp duty then this would be payable, he will also need to pay the solicitors. You should of received a form from the Land Registry via the solicitors to remove your name from the Deeds.

6-8 weeks should see this done all being well. Not much you can do but wait and keep chasing your ex...if you can find out the name of the solicitor it may help but very much doubt they will speak to you directly.

brooklyn07

i'm owed 5k and the property isnt above the value of stamp duty.

i have received absolutely nothing since the letter from the halifax - as i said i can bet that hes purposely delaying it but as i cant chase anyone i cant find out if this is the case! how long potentially can i be sat here "waiting" for something to land on my doorstep whilst he knows how desperate i am to come off so i can buy my own place.

He has already succeeded in delaying it until the new MMR came into place hoping this would scupper my chances and now hes delaying it even further hoping the house prices will increase so i cant afford to buy anywhere else - all the while my house i shared with him is increasing in value and hes getting all the benefit.

SO angry right now!

Foxy-Stoat_3

You can wait indefinitely, they are threads on here where the the mortgage is in joint names 10+ years down the line after they split and bought another property with other people!

What have you received from Halifax? Letter to confirm they are going ahead or the "Transfer of Equity" form?

brooklyn07

i have received the letter to say its going ahead and will be handed over to the solicitor "at some point" and then the ball is pretty much in the solicitors court before they can remove me off but i just dont know where in the process it is whether they've actually sent it to the solicitor or whether the solicitor has it and now they are awaiting information from him etc. I just want to know where it is - if its waiting for info from him i can start applying pressure but if he hasnt received anything either then its the solicitor that needs to be pushed but apparently i cant do this - only he can, which he wont!

Foxy-Stoat_3

If you haven't received and signed the Transfer of Equity form then it hasn't got anywhere.

I have removed an ex from my Halifax mortgage last year, it went like this:

Go into branch and they agree that they will transfer the mortgage to me only.
Get the T of E form for both parties to sign and return.
I appoint a solicitor and tell Halifax the name and address.
They correspond with my solicitor to make the changes to the Deeds.
Solicitor sends to me the Land Registry forms for me and ex to sign. At this point the ex should speak to their solicitor if any money is changing hands.
The Land Registry Form is stamped up solicitors and returned to LR.
Deeds get sent to Solicitors and then back to Halifax, then the ex's name is removed from the mortgage.

Why is he making so difficult for you to be removed, are you still paying the mortgage?

brooklyn07

becuase even though he was the one that ended it after he couldnt control me anymore he has now decided he wants me back so is trying to make things as difficult as possible so that i will hopefully change my mind and go back to him and he still has a reason for contacting me at the moment but once i am off the mortgage there is no reason for us to be in contact anymore - no kids, never married.

I signed a form to ask them to take me off the mortgage - he was given a new mortgage deal, i was asked for ID which i provided and then i received the letter confirming its going ahead but the next stage was the solicitors - i was told i wouldnt need my own as they would appoint one to work on both of our behalfs which is just a straightforward process of altering the land registry - giving me my money and then confirming to halifax its all done and dusted but as i said - ive received no correspondence from any solicitor so for all i know he could be delaying things at his end - not paying them etc but i have no way of knowing or finding out.

Foxy-Stoat_3

The solicitor wont work for both of you, as they cannot give you both legal advice.

If your ex or Halifax wont talk to you about the who the solicitor is then appoint your own to work on your behalf and get them to send out letters to everyone...might cost you but it would certainly speed things up a bit.

Good luck

brooklyn07

ok - slightly confused then as i was told the solicitor would cost £300 each so i dont really want to be paying £300 plus whatever another solicitor acting for me would cost? i've just spoken to the actual branch dealing with it and again although they wont give me any information about the process they have confirmed i do not need my own solicitor as i will be paying double the fees for the same thing....

Goldiegirl

When I worked at the Halifax, transfers of Equity could drag on for years.

The Halifax need to make sure your ex can afford the mortgage by himself, so there will be things they need to confirm this, such as confirmation of his income.

If the ex is dragging his feet, they can't proceed until they get the information they need. They can't tell you about it, as the mortgage is going into his sole name, so the application is deemed to be his application, so they can't talk to a third party.

The solicitor is acting for the Halifax and the ex, not you.

Although, strictly speaking, you don't need a solicitor, it is advisable to have one, to protect your interests, and he can chase your ex's solicitor for news.

Otherwise, you'll just sit and wait, possibly for ever, until you get a letter to confirm you've been removed from the mortgage.

brooklyn07

Goldiegirl wrote: »

When I worked at the Halifax, transfers of Equity could drag on for years.

The Halifax need to make sure your ex can afford the mortgage by himself, so there will be things they need to confirm this, such as confirmation of his income.

If the ex is dragging his feet, they can't proceed until they get the information they need. They can't tell you about it, as the mortgage is going into his sole name, so the application is deemed to be his application, so they can't talk to a third party.

The solicitor is acting for the Halifax and the ex, not you.

Although, strictly speaking, you don't need a solicitor, it is advisable to have one, to protect your interests, and he can chase your ex's solicitor for news.

Otherwise, you'll just sit and wait, possibly for ever, until you get a letter to confirm you've been removed from the mortgage.

Yes this is exactly what i was afraid of. So if the solicitor is acting for halifax & the ex why on earth do i have to pay £300 of the solicitor fees aswell as my own solicitor if i decide to get one??

I have seen his application in principle approved - he earns enough, hes provided them wiht relevant payslips and bank statements, they are happy and the new mortgage deal has been written up and he knows how much he will be paying per month once i'm taken off so that part is fine as far as they are concerned.

So basically what youre saying is i need to pay 2 solicitor fees whilst he gets away with paying one?? excellent, more good news!