Remortgaging but wife no longer in contact

InTheHereAndNow

Hi all,

I'm sending this on behalf of a friend who lives in Scotland. Sadly his wife left him in July. His mortgage was up for renewal in July and he thinks he is unable to remortgage because the property is in both their names. He has tried to contact her for the past 6 months but she has broken contact.

I wondered if there is a way he can remortgage without her?

Also wondered what the rules are these days if he took on a lodger, would his mortgage still he valid and is that income taxable?

Jemma01

Can he serve the request through a solicitor? She might take it more seriously. 

MWT

InTheHereAndNow said:

He has tried to contact her for the past 6 months but she has broken contact.

For clarity, does he know where she is, but she is not responding, or has she just vanished completely? 

user1977

He remortgages without her by first agreeing to buy out her interest - is there a reason he's not doing that first? If the borrowed amount is going to be unaffordable on his sole income then they will just need to sell and he downsizes.

born_again

InTheHereAndNow said:

Hi all,

I'm sending this on behalf of a friend who lives in Scotland. Sadly his wife left him in July. His mortgage was up for renewal in July and he thinks he is unable to remortgage because the property is in both their names. He has tried to contact her for the past 6 months but she has broken contact.

I wondered if there is a way he can remortgage without her?

Also wondered what the rules are these days if he took on a lodger, would his mortgage still he valid and is that income taxable?

In effect NO. She would be require to sign paperwork. 
Is he planning to buy her out?

gwynlas

To answer your other question yes he can take in a lodger.

He really needs to start divorce proeedings and get financial settlement in place as the longer he stays in the house the more likelihood of equity building up and her being entitled to half.

Surely he can track her down by workplace family or friends?

ACG

He can take in a lodger. Google rent a room scheme as there could be tax implications if rent is over a certain amount I think. 

As for remortgaging, it might be possible to switch products with the current lender without both people agreeing to it. 

But dont forget, your mate is pying down the mortgage and in some time the ex could come back and claim half the equity on a mortgage they have not contributed to for a while. Its normally best to try and resolve this sooner rather than later we see loads of posts on this site where people have ignored the elephant.