Remortgage to interest-free

Gone_too_far

Hi,
I recently separated from my husband; he has moved out and I have stayed in the house with our 2 children. 

I am managing to make ends meet (just) with a bit of help from Universal Credit and my parents but don’t want to be reliant on either long term. 

My ex is keen for us to seek the house, split the equity and then each buy our own place. 

For me this would mean moving well away from South Manchester because house prices are just too high for me where I live now. 

Both children are very upset at the prospect of moving away from their friends/schools. They have both lived here their whole lives. So I am trying to think of a way to stay in the house but significantly reduce my monthly mortgage payment . 

Someone suggested that I consider an interest-only mortgage for a few years until the children are at a better stage for relocating (in 3 years they would be finishing primary school and GCSEs respectively so quite a good time to move) 

I am after opinions on the implication of a short-term interest only mortgage ? I am not the best with financial matters and find it all very confusing! 

Our house is worth about 260 k and we have about 125k left to pay. I would also have to release some equity to pay off my ex.

I work 19 hours a week and earn about 14.5k  so not even sure if I would get a mortgage?

Any help gratefully received! 

comeandgo

Have you consulted a lawyer, looked at all the assets in the marriage, pensions, isa,s etc.  It may be your husband has a higher value pension than you and instead of you taking half on divorce you leave it alone and he gives the house to you.

Thrugelmir

Are you receiving child maintenance? 
Seek advice from a family law solicitor. Don't get involved in discussions with your ex. The primary concern of the courts will be for the welfare of your children. Any division of assets at the current time is secondary. Remaining in the home would be the preferred route of the courts. Your ex can have his share of the equity at a later date. 

[Deleted User]

if you receive Universal Credit, any money above CMS that is spousal maintenance is deducted £ for £ from benefit. A lot of solicitors dont know this and give poor advice.

you defo need legal advice and to go through mediation. 

An option you might not have thought of is shared ownership.  Universal credit pay a large portion of the rental element of a shared ownership

have a play with “entitled to “ to see how much you could get
go on “share to buy” website and search for suitable homes - see how much rental bit is, by playing around with the deposit you could have, then put the “rental” bit in the entitled website.
trust me you might be pleasantly surprised
 

amnblog

Sounds like your ex is under estimating his financial commitments.
A consultant with a lawyer is likely to be enlightening for you.