I bought a house with my ex but they won’t sell: How can I get off the mortgage? David Hollingworth replies

My ex-partner and I bought a house together nearly 20 years ago, we were never married. The mortgage is in both our names. 

Over the years, I have asked my ex-partner to either sell the house and buy one in her own name, or take some other action to remove my name. 

The fact that her name is on the house means my now wife and I could not get a mortgage together because my ex-partners residential mortgage is taken into account when identifying how much I could borrow. 

Ex-partner states she cannot find a house suitable for her to live in, despite me repeatedly asking her to take action. The mortgage company state we are both responsible for the mortgage.

I dont know what else I can do to get my name off that mortgage. There is equity in the house but I want nothing and she does know this.

SCROLL DOWN TO FIND OUT HOW TO ASK DAVID YOUR MORTGAGE QUESTION

David Hollingworth replies: This sounds like a difficult and frustrating situation for you, when you have presumably and hopefully tried to resolve things amicably. 

It highlights some of the issues that can arise when a relationship breaks down.

In most cases a mortgage in joint names will be secured against a property that is owned in the same names as the two parties to the mortgage. 

There can be situations where the mortgage is in two names and the property is owned by only one of the borrowers but that would be more likely to be a situation where a parent helps a child to buy their own property for example.

The parent would boost the available mortgage borrowing by being joint on the mortgage but the property would be in the child’s name only, which can help to avoid additional property stamp duty charges or future capital gains tax liabilities.

– True Cost Mortgage Calculator: Check what a new fixed rate would cost 

Joint Liability

In your case I expect that you will be a joint owner of the property with both your names on the property title, as well as a joint borrower on the mortgage. 

Anyone that is a joint borrower will be jointly and severally liable for the mortgage. 

That means that the lender could chase either or both borrowers for payment of the mortgage if monthly payments were beginning to fall behind. 

This is crucial for any borrower to understand, as the lender will not apportion the mortgage payments, even if the borrowers may take that approach in practice.

– What next for mortgage rates and should you fix for two or five years? 

As the mortgage remains a liability it will be factored into any new credit applications and mortgage lenders will take account not only of income but also any existing and ongoing commitments. 

As you are party to that mortgage and could ultimately have to cover the mortgage, it will be factored into any affordability assessment for a new application, which is why it will affect how much you can borrow with your wife.

It’s also worth noting that if the payments were not made on the mortgage, then that would be marked on your credit file as well, which would affect your credit score and ability to secure a new mortgage or other credit.

Going your separate ways

It sounds like the preferred option here is to find a way that you can both go your separate ways, whilst enabling your ex-partner to stay in the current home or to move to a new home. 

In most cases there is often a need to buy out a partner which can limit the options and potentially force a sale.

However, you’ve suggested here that you don’t expect any of the equity in the property and so it should be a case of transferring the property and mortgage into her sole name. 

It’s worth discussing the process that could enable that with the current lender. 

However, it’s unlikely that they will be able to progress releasing you without your ex-partner being involved.

If you don’t expect her to pay you anything from the proceeds, affordability may be the issue that’s holding her back. 

There may be a concern that she wouldn’t be able to demonstrate enough income to to take on the mortgage without your income.

If the income would be adequate, either on her own or perhaps by adding another person, it would look like a good idea for you both to move things forward if possible, although do check out whether there might be a potentially stamp duty liability so you understand all the costs.

If you can’t move toward any agreement, then you may need to take legal advice on your options. 

Assuming that there’s no other separation agreement or children involved, you may potentially be able to initiate a change through a court order to remove your name from the property and mortgage.