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Mortgage query - post divorce
silver017
Posts: 8 Forumite
Hi,
My husband and his ex-wife divorced about 10 years ago. They have a daughter. His ex-wife remarried about eight years ago, and my husband married me three years ago. My husband's ex-wife managed the divorce, paying all costs, and they had informal amicable agreements covering everything. My husband believed he was no longer on the mortgage of their martital home, but found out two years ago that he is still on it. He is not expected to pay anything toward it, his ex-wife moved out seven years ago, and it is currently tenanted although it is on an ordinary mortgage, not on a buy to let mortgage. My husband does not want any part of that property, he wants to gift it to his ex-wife. All my husband wants is to be off the mortgage, off the deeds, and to be free to get on a mortgage with me. His ex-wife should have arranged for this to be sorted, she has had two years, but has not made any move to get him removed. She is self employed, and has borrowed against the property and does not have enough equity/money etc to get a mortgage in only her own name on it. She could not put her current husband on, as her current husband is a house husband and just does child care. Obviously he could work, and she has an additional rental property, owns the house she lives in etc, so if she wanted she could sell up, restructure her finances etc, but she hasn't and doesn't show any sign of doing so. Despite the fact we have so far given her two years to get something underway, she has done nothing.
How can my husband get off this mortgage? He has not paid toward it, does not want any part of it, and the fact that it is being tenanted and that this violates the mortgage agreement bothers him, he just wants a clean break, but how can he do this? As mentioned, there is no court ratified agreement from the time of the divorce, no childcare arrangements, no nothing. It was all managed out of court...but unfortunately although he thought he had been taken off the mortgage, he is still on it.
Thanks for any advice!
My husband and his ex-wife divorced about 10 years ago. They have a daughter. His ex-wife remarried about eight years ago, and my husband married me three years ago. My husband's ex-wife managed the divorce, paying all costs, and they had informal amicable agreements covering everything. My husband believed he was no longer on the mortgage of their martital home, but found out two years ago that he is still on it. He is not expected to pay anything toward it, his ex-wife moved out seven years ago, and it is currently tenanted although it is on an ordinary mortgage, not on a buy to let mortgage. My husband does not want any part of that property, he wants to gift it to his ex-wife. All my husband wants is to be off the mortgage, off the deeds, and to be free to get on a mortgage with me. His ex-wife should have arranged for this to be sorted, she has had two years, but has not made any move to get him removed. She is self employed, and has borrowed against the property and does not have enough equity/money etc to get a mortgage in only her own name on it. She could not put her current husband on, as her current husband is a house husband and just does child care. Obviously he could work, and she has an additional rental property, owns the house she lives in etc, so if she wanted she could sell up, restructure her finances etc, but she hasn't and doesn't show any sign of doing so. Despite the fact we have so far given her two years to get something underway, she has done nothing.
How can my husband get off this mortgage? He has not paid toward it, does not want any part of it, and the fact that it is being tenanted and that this violates the mortgage agreement bothers him, he just wants a clean break, but how can he do this? As mentioned, there is no court ratified agreement from the time of the divorce, no childcare arrangements, no nothing. It was all managed out of court...but unfortunately although he thought he had been taken off the mortgage, he is still on it.
Thanks for any advice!
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Comments
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Your husband can't just have his name taken off the mortgage. His ex-wife would have to be able remortgage the property in her name only although it sounds as though she can't/won't do this. If the property is being let out without consent to let from the mortgage lender then your husband is right to be concerned. I'm not sure if the joint ownership of the property means that he is also jointly a landlord with his ex with all the legal obligations that entails such as declaring rental income to HMRC.0
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My husband and his ex-wife divorced about 10 years ago.
My husband's ex-wife managed the divorce, paying all costs, and they had informal amicable agreements covering everything. My husband believed he was no longer on the mortgage of their martital home, but found out two years ago that he is still on it.
She is self employed, and has borrowed against the property and does not have enough equity/money etc to get a mortgage in only her own name on it.
How did she borrow against a joint mortgage without your husband's signature?
He is responsible for the full debt while he is on the mortgage.0 -
He gets no rental income at all, he has no rental income to declare. He doesn't know anything about the tenants, or the agreement his ex-wife has with them, but I take your point, and yes, it is a big concern. My question is what can he do about it?0
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How did she borrow against a joint mortgage without your husband's signature?
He is responsible for the full debt while he is on the mortgage.
MOjisola - She has next to no equity in the property, so she probably took equity out, rather than borrowing against it, so yep she won't have borrowed, just taken equity. Sorry for the inaccurate way I put it.
He is responsible, but of course pays nothing toward it, and does not want anything from it. It is still a massive liability for him. What can he do?0 -
Your husband might want to read HMRC's guide about jointly owned property being let out.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/pimmanual/pim1030.htm
If the ex can't buy your husband out then the property could be sold. If she doesn't want to sell then your husband will have to go to court to force the sale.0 -
I suppose your husband could try and force her hand by contacting the mortgage lender about the property being let out but that would also probably have consequences for him but it could force her hand.
I think as an owner then your husband could serve notice on the tenant to start the possession process but don't quote me on that.
These are both quite hostile moves so maybe he has to have a discussion with his ex, and possibly a solicitor, before contemplating either.0 -
Was there a court order when they divorced, and if so, what does t say about the mortgage and the property?
If it provided for the wife to remove H from the mortgage then he could apply back to the court to enforce the order by having the property sold.
If there was no order, then as one of the joint owners he could apply to the court under the ToLaTA, for a declaration as to ownership and an order for sale.
Depending on what (if any) court order there was at the time of the divorce, your husband could arguably claim a share of the equity in the property and any rent received - I appreciate that he doesn't want this, but it may give him negotiating strength, if she is unwilling to discuss and agree things amicably.
I suggest that he speaks to a solicitor before making any specific offers to her to ensure that he leaves himself room to negotiate if he needs to.All posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)0 -
MOjisola - She has next to no equity in the property, so she probably took equity out, rather than borrowing against it, so yep she won't have borrowed, just taken equity. Sorry for the inaccurate way I put it.
How would she have taken equity out of the property? Normally, the only way is through further lending......0 -
can be done if it is a mortgage account like the one account - i bought a car on my mortgage just as easy as if it was my money, as long as i was just using equity. nothing to sign, no need to ask anyones permission0
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can be done if it is a mortgage account like the one account - i bought a car on my mortgage just as easy as if it was my money, as long as i was just using equity. nothing to sign, no need to ask anyones permission
If that's what this couple had, the OP's husband was foolish not to have dealt with this earlier.
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