Buying partner out of mortgage

jamielee12

Hello- some advice needed, will also seek paid for legal advice. 

Me and my ex (first time buyers) took out a Tenants in common mortgage in December 2019 - 4 months ago, and for the last 2 months we have been separated but living together still, and it’s now become unbearable to live together. 

My ex contributed the whole 10% deposit plus all legal fees, but obviously needed me to get the mortgage as his earnings alone are not enough to have got the mortgage, but he can afford the repayment when i leave (i own most of the belongings in the house - he is willing to give me £3000 for everything and i am happy to accept this, i just want out)  

How does it work, he wants to buy me out and I guess I’m not entitled to anything? Just want to cut all ties and be rid- he is under the impression he just needs to pay approx £5000 in legal fees and that’s it?

Thrugelmir

If your partner cannot afford the mortgage in their own right then the property will need to be sold. As you need to remove yourself from the mortgage and correspondingly the title deeds of the property. 

[Deleted User]

Im afraid its not as easy as that. You actually answered your own question “obviously he needed me on the mortgage to borrow what was needed “
On that basis unless his income has drastically increased, the building society will not release you ( whether on not he thinks he can afford the payments ) unless he passes their affordability checks. 

Plus mortgage companies are already getting twitchy about lending in the current climate 

jeffsawyers

My daughter and her partner bought a house together in 2013 at a price of £135k. I gifted my daughter £35k as deposit on this house leaving them a mortgage of £100k. The house did require updating but they just decorated and lived in it as it was. They split up in 2017 and the value at that time was approximately £167k, the split was amicable and they remain good friends and enjoy looking after the children together. My daughter was left to pay the mortgage alone which she has done quite happily but it is still in joint names and at a poor rate due to his bad credit rating (long story, they started out with a two year fixed rate mortgage and at the end of that were unable to get a better rate due to his history, cards debt etc.) We now have come to an agreement and I will give him £20k to renounce all rights to the house. What is the procedure that we must follow? My daughter will need a new mortgage and i am prepared to help her with this if required but want to find out about getting him off the deeds first.

cooltt

jeffsawyers said:

My daughter and her partner bought a house together in 2013 at a price of £135k. I gifted my daughter £35k as deposit on this house leaving them a mortgage of £100k. The house did require updating but they just decorated and lived in it as it was. They split up in 2017 and the value at that time was approximately £167k, the split was amicable and they remain good friends and enjoy looking after the children together. My daughter was left to pay the mortgage alone which she has done quite happily but it is still in joint names and at a poor rate due to his bad credit rating (long story, they started out with a two year fixed rate mortgage and at the end of that were unable to get a better rate due to his history, cards debt etc.) We now have come to an agreement and I will give him £20k to renounce all rights to the house. What is the procedure that we must follow? My daughter will need a new mortgage and i am prepared to help her with this if required but want to find out about getting him off the deeds first.

@jamielee12

@jeffsawyers         

Hello both the process itself is fairly straight forward, it's called many, things transfer of deed, transfer of title etc but essentialy the remaining person on the mortgage has to re-mortgage into their own name only, from joint mortgage to single mortgage.

The Lender will make affordability checks with the remaining individual on the outstanding balance and if they cannot afford the payments themselves then the lender will refuse to release you from the mortgage and your only option will be to sell the property. From a lenders perspective it's less of a risk to have 2 individuals liable for the debt than one individual. Obviously if you can't be released from the mortgage and deeds (as happens at the same time), you cannot then get another mortgage on affordability but you probably already know this.

Getting your share

It doesn't matter who paid what fees & deposit at the beggining if there was no agreement for that money to be paid back. Each individual is entiled to a 50/50 share of the equity as is, or when the property is sold. However if an agreement is reached and you are happy with the amount offered then that will become legally binding instead at the point of transfer. This agreement will be drawn up by the solicitor acting on behalf of your Ex partner and you'll need to sign it and verify your indentity at the same time.

Note: Once the process is complete you cannot contest ownership of the property at a later date or contest your settlement.

A word of warnig: Use your own solicitor and do not use the lenders Optima Legal services, even if they offer it to your for free. They are horrendous and unreasonably prolong the process. Search for their reviews online, shocking.

I've been through this process twice, pm me if you have any further questions.