Taking name off a mortgage

LittleMac13

My ex partner and I bought a home in November last year, but we broke up just after Christmas. I have stayed in the house with our little girl and I have paid all mortgage payments owed since he moved out, so it's been about 5 months now.


It's a joint mortgage and wondered if anybody could offer any advice on how I go about removing his name?


I'm unsure whether to contact the mortgage provider (Halifax) as I don't want them to think I can't do it by myself (I can, but when I've done calculators my 21k salary wouldn't cut it for what they're after).


Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have no idea where to start!

molerat

They won't simply take a name off. You will need to meet the mortgage affordability requirements yourself. If you cannot do this then the only options are to stay as is or sell up and rent.

MortgageMamma

Its hard to comment without knowing the ins and outs of your finances but did you use a broker when buying the property originally? If so they will be able to assist you with affordability and what your options are now.

More importantly, right now are you managing your mortgage payments comfortably? It is important not to get into arrears - not my business but your ex should be paying you maintenance for the little one, and some lenders will consider this as an income so perhaps there is a little light at the end of the tunnel. Most lenders prefer maintenance to be paid by court order though.

LittleMac13

We did use a broker yes, however I contacted him in January and didn't seem to offer much help. I'll get back on to him and try and get a bit more advice!

I'm coping fine making the payments, never missed a payment or had a late payment in my life, so I know and I'm pretty sure they'll know that's not a struggle. He doesn't give me any money towards our daughter at the moment as he is on minimum wage and can't afford to. I don't mind this, at the moment, as I know he bus in a bit of financial hardship. He should be on a good salary from September which is when I would start expecting him to contribute.

I'll speak to the broker and if I need to I guess I could wait until September when money coming in will look better.

Thanks for your replies so far!

MortgageMamma

You might have to be a bit more insistent with your broker as you may find he is reluctant to help if he feels he's not being paid for his time - most brokers value the long term relationship with a client though and look after them during good times and bad, paid or not paid. Make sure he knows how important it is that you get proper advice on this and that you are relying on him to help you find the right way forward. Good luck with it all, been there and I know how hard it can be x

HappyMJ

LittleMac13 wrote: »

We did use a broker yes, however I contacted him in January and didn't seem to offer much help. I'll get back on to him and try and get a bit more advice!

I'm coping fine making the payments, never missed a payment or had a late payment in my life, so I know and I'm pretty sure they'll know that's not a struggle. He doesn't give me any money towards our daughter at the moment as he is on minimum wage and can't afford to. I don't mind this, at the moment, as I know he bus in a bit of financial hardship. He should be on a good salary from September which is when I would start expecting him to contribute.

I'll speak to the broker and if I need to I guess I could wait until September when money coming in will look better.

Thanks for your replies so far!

He can afford to.

Minimum wage pays £7.20 per hour. 37.5 hours a week and he should be earning £270 per week.

If he pays 12% of that you should be getting £32.40 a week from him. It's reduced if he has the child stay over one night or more per week. It's also reduced if he has other children he is responsible for.

You say he can't afford it. He should be prioritizing the support of his child over everything else including debt repayments. Debt repayments come last. If he can't afford to pay you then he should stop paying his unsecured debts and pay you so you can look after the child you had together.

Sorry...in my opinion there are no excuses such as "I can't afford it".

MortgageMamma

HappyMJ wrote: »

He can afford to.

Minimum wage pays £7.20 per hour. 37.5 hours a week and he should be earning £270 per week.

If he pays 12% of that you should be getting £32.40 a week from him. It's reduced if he has the child stay over one night or more per week. It's also reduced if he has other children he is responsible for.

You say he can't afford it. He should be prioritizing the support of his child over everything else including debt repayments. Debt repayments come last. If he can't afford to pay you then he should stop paying his unsecured debts and pay you so you can look after the child you had together.

Sorry...in my opinion there are no excuses such as "I can't afford it".

Didn't want to say as I felt I would be being judgemental so I'm glad you said this, obviously I agree. The ex does need a reality check - when my ex objected to paying maintenance because he was in debt due to his lifestyle I went straight to CSA, it was many years ago but that £25 a week made a big difference at the time.

LittleMac13

MortgageMamma wrote: »

Didn't want to say as I felt I would be being judgemental so I'm glad you said this, obviously I agree. The ex does need a reality check - when my ex objected to paying maintenance because he was in debt due to his lifestyle I went straight to CSA, it was many years ago but that £25 a week made a big difference at the time.

Absolutely understand where you both are coming from, I'm not exactly happy about it but know how hard he has it at the minute and I can actually cope without the money. I've had £40 off him for her since February, if he gets a new contract for his job come September, I'll be asking for what I'm entitled to.


I've emailed my mortgage advisor, hopefully I get a bit more help this time!


Thanks again for all of your replies, and being incredibly kind :-)

Floxxie

What is your outstanding mortgage? Are you claiming for everything you can? I would ignore your ex's claims to poverty or anything else and put a CMS claim in (sorry if that sounds harsh but it should not be yours or your child's issue).

Goldiegirl

In answer to the original question

If you wish to remove someone from a Halifax mortgage, you'd see to apply to them for a Transfer of Equity.

They'd underwrite you, to check whether you meet their affordability requirements, etc.

If they agreed to the transfer, you'd get an offer, and your solicitor would also get a copy of the offer ( you must have a solicitor for this transaction) You have to pay the solicitors fees and the Halifax charges a fee, too

The solicitor does all the legal work to transfer the property to your sole name. When that is done, the Halifax transfers the mortgage to your sole name.

The person being removed from the mortgage has to agree to all this too.

I don't know if the mortgage is affordable on your sole income, but this is the process to follow if an application is made.