Remortgaging In Slightly Tricky Circumstances - Advice Needed

afewdollarsmore

- Property Value approx £185,000

- Currently in a Santander fixed mortgage with £76,000 / 9.5 years left - 5 months left on fixed rate then it reverts to variable

- Income approx £25000, start a fixed term contract at the end of this month until 31/10, hopefully it will become permanent at that point.   Did have a long stretch of not working between late 2020-2022 because of COVID related redundancy and found it difficult to get back on my feet, so was just living off redundancy and a very small home business, prior to that was in the same role unbroken for 16 years.

Me and ex wife of over 10 years ago are jointly on the mortgage but her name was taken off the title to the property at the time of split and there is an agreement in writing that she doesn't pay anything towards the mortgage.  I've just been paying it myself all that time and never missed a payment.

Santander refused to remove her from the mortgage 10 years ago, haven't tried since.  My credit was appalling at that point with many credit card defaults and so on.   My credit rating is now fine, with no blemishes on it at all. 

Ex now wants to move on with her life and get out of rented later in the year, obviously I really do need to get the mortgage into my own name now otherwise it could cause a lot of friction and ultimately I could be forced to sell up.  I'm not expecting Santander to approve it (again) and that the fixed term employment contract could be an issue wherever I go.

I just need to know if I am going to wasting my time trying to do this and if I do actually have any options out there at all.  Thank you.

K_S

@afewdollarsmore Assuming that you need to get the mortgage in your sole name, you've correctly identified the FTC ending Oct-2023 as being a potential stumbling block.

Your re-mortgage options (if any) will depend on the specifics - length of continuous employment/self-employment, line of work, details of your self-employed income the past couple of years, details of the FTC role, etc.

To avoid wasting too much of your time I would recommend first speaking to one of the free mortgage brokers recommended on the MSE guidance here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/best-mortgages-cashback/#step3 or someone recommended by friends/family/colleagues.

Good luck, I hope you're able to buy out the ex and get the mortgage in your sole name!

afewdollarsmore said:

- Property Value approx £185,000

- Currently in a Santander fixed mortgage with £76,000 / 9.5 years left - 5 months left on fixed rate then it reverts to variable

- Income approx £25000, start a fixed term contract at the end of this month until 31/10, hopefully it will become permanent at that point.   Did have a long stretch of not working between late 2020-2022 because of COVID related redundancy and found it difficult to get back on my feet, so was just living off redundancy and a very small home business, prior to that was in the same role unbroken for 16 years.

Me and ex wife of over 10 years ago are jointly on the mortgage but her name was taken off the title to the property at the time of split and there is an agreement in writing that she doesn't pay anything towards the mortgage.  I've just been paying it myself all that time and never missed a payment.

Santander refused to remove her from the mortgage 10 years ago, haven't tried since.  My credit was appalling at that point with many credit card defaults and so on.   My credit rating is now fine, with no blemishes on it at all. 

Ex now wants to move on with her life and get out of rented later in the year, obviously I really do need to get the mortgage into my own name now otherwise it could cause a lot of friction and ultimately I could be forced to sell up.  I'm not expecting Santander to approve it (again) and that the fixed term employment contract could be an issue wherever I go.

I just need to know if I am going to wasting my time trying to do this and if I do actually have any options out there at all.  Thank you.

ACG

The FTC will be a problem, but I dont think it will be a deal breaker. 
Most lenders need you to have 12 months history, 6 months on the contract and for it to have been renewed at least once, but not all carry those requirements. 

As suggested, speak to a broker. I am not sure how confident I would be with the large brokerage firms that run call centre operations but I suppose there is no harm trying but any reasonably experienced broker should be able to help.