House Deeds

RAS

I didn't expect the mother to have obtained a mortgage in her own right. She was unlikely to have had the necessary income in 1955 anyway. At that stage many employers still expected resignation on marriage or before the first child was born. That improved over the next 20 years.

I did however grow up in a house mortgaged by a separated woman. And had a spat with the local home goods shop who refused a small HP purchase without a husband's signature. She was an employed "home owner", he didn't bother filing tax returns and avoided paying bills. Just the interest rate was lower than inflation at the time. There was no reduction for cash, so paying off over 12 months made sense.