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divorce / mortgage advice

17 posts & 14 voices | Started 7 months ago by morgs | Latest reply from bigsi

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morgs - Member

quick question for the masses......

I moved out of the marital home in March 2010. Divorce stuff is ongoing, but I need out of the Mortgage. I've spoken to them and they say the only way is house sale and settlement of the outstanding amount, her to remortgage or possibly bankruptcy (I have very little other debt).

Now, in the time I've been gone, the ex has missed payments (which got to the point of court before she made an agreement) which the mortgage company accepted without any consultations with me. Worse, the only way I found out about court was when they rang me asking if I had £4k to hand over...after I had been paying money into the joint account to cover the payment.

Are there any other ways to get out, or is it going to be the long, drawn out, bitter and viscious saga that we've all heard about?

Past experiences and any (helpful) advice greatfully received.

Thanks,

Morgs

Posted 7 months ago #
kevj - Member

Get a solicitor and copies of your bank records.

I would also approach the bank to see if they have an official procedure to so that you can keep your name clear, should any further payments be missed on her part.

Posted 7 months ago #
wwaswas - Member

talk to the bank. Perhaps you can pay the mortgage direct rather than rely on your wife to do so?

talk to a solicitor.

Posted 7 months ago #
creamegg - Member

only joking

Posted 7 months ago #
pearlbaz - Member

Good advice above (except creamegg)...and remember, you may think solicitors are expensive...but you can't afford not to have one!

Posted 7 months ago #
hels - Member

Seems a bit odd that it got all the way to court without you being involved. Banks will usually get their money from wherever they can, and if your name is on the mortgage surprised they didn't come after you. Tread carefully... get all the facts first...

Posted 7 months ago #
FunkyDunc - Member

Are you named on the mortgage? Do you have any other credit agreements with your wife? Basically what I am saying is do you have any financial association with your wife?

If you do your are pretty screwed in terms of getting future credit.

I dont understand why they say the only way out is to sell the house. If you can repay the debt then why should you get rid of the house. However they may refuse to continue the mortgage in which case you would need to look else where which could be very costly if not impossible.

Get legal advice on your position, but your already in a very dodgy area with regards to credit scoring etc.

Posted 7 months ago #
simonm - Member

Have you got capital in the house that you want after a sale ? If so are you not best carrying on payments then legally forcing the sale of the house ?

Posted 7 months ago #
morgs - Member

to be honest I don't care about any capital (if there is any)

no other joint debt....just the house. If it had gone to court and been repo'd, i'd honestly have been a happy bunny as it would have got the whole situation ended.

Posted 7 months ago #
Del - Member

presume you're both named on the mortgage and that the title deed shows both of you equal partners, or split, with percentages allocated. you likely are jointly liable, meaning you both should pay your share, so if you've continued to contribute then anything you've had to pay to cover her share over and above that, should come off the bottom line, whichever way that works out.
you don't need to sell the house. you might agree to, between you, or one could buy the other out and take on the remainder of the mortgage if the mortgage company agrees ( transfer of equity ), or take out a new mortgage to cover the outstanding debt.
this assumes there are no kids involved. if there are, then i'd expect you're going to get accustomed to the breeze blowing around your ring, you're basically screwed, should have a brief now, or really should have had one in march of last year.
anyway, get a brief. IME they're slow to respond, feckless, expensive ne'erdowells who couldn't make a living in what the rest of us regard as the real world, doing a real job, but are a necessary evil.
good luck.

Posted 7 months ago #
FunkyDunc - Member

You really need to be aware of the impact on your credit file. Even though it didnt get to court you will have a poor credit rating. I would suggest that you go to Experian/Equifax and get a copy of it.

Posted 7 months ago #
uwe-r - Member

If this is a joint mortgage you are liable for all of the debt not half of the debt. If you keep half of payments up to date and your wife dosent it will be in default and still impact you credit rating. You may end up bankrupt.
If the house is in joint names you will only ever own half irrespective of how much you pay off of the mortgage, unless you agree otherwise or go to court to settle.
You will end up with a sol at sum poit so get one now and sort iSsues as soon as you can.

Sory for spelling I'm on a bumpy train

Posted 7 months ago #
uwe-r - Member

If this is a joint mortgage you are liable for all of the debt not half of the debt. If you keep half of payments up to date and your wife dosent it will be in default and still impact you credit rating. You may end up bankrupt.
If the house is in joint names you will only ever own half irrespective of how much you pay off of the mortgage, unless you agree otherwise or go to court to settle.
You will end up with a sol at sum poit so get one now and sort iSsues as soon as you can.

Sory for spelling I'm on a bumpy train

Posted 7 months ago #
Steve-Austin - Member

If you got kids then its complicated and you'll need a solicitor, but you'll probably end up paying for it all if kids are involved. be careful with consent orders, imho.

Its all on here if you care to spend some time reading
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/families_and_relationships/relationship_breakdown/options_for_homeowners

if you can agree to a resolution before getting involved with solicitors you'll end up losing less money.
That is both you and your partner will both end up losing less money, so its possibly better for you to agree what is going to happen to the house without paying for a solicitor to tell you this.

Posted 7 months ago #
grantway - Member

Go to a solicitor to get the correct advice.
Also you have to contact the Police to retrieve
the money you put into your joint account
and that your partner has stolen.

Posted 7 months ago #
billyboy - Member

Just a suggestion.....

Try and get the mortgage down to just interest payments only, for the time while you are in dispute with your estranged wife. Why make full repayments on something you probably won't benefit from?

I would suggest talking direct to the bank and explaining your situation and attendant problems........... but my own experience with Barclays and HSBC suggest that you would just be talking to an institutionalised malignant incompetent....SO JUST TELL THEM THAT THAT IS WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN and that their alternative is getting nothing and having to fork out for court proceedings.

Thinking about it...do the elaborate mitigating heart rending sob story and then tell them how it is going to be....don't wait for them to say anything. Tape record it.

Posted 7 months ago #
bigsi - Member

Ok firstly if you own the property jointly & so the mortgage is in joint names then you have joint and severable liability for the full debt so any missed, late or incomplete payments will reflect on your credit file as well as the wife's. It's not enough for you to just offer to pay your half in the cases i have dealt with over the last 15 years.

Secondly did you notify the lender that you were not living at the property? If not then how could they have known that you weren't getting the late payment notices & court summons? It is your responsibility to keep the lender informed of any changes in who is living in the property. Sorry if that sounds a bit harsh.

Get a solicitor who specialises in divorce, see if you are able to get legal aid and ask the lender for copies of ALL correspondence sent to the house from the point you moved out so you have records of what happened & when. Keep copies of your bank statements showing the payments you were making in to the account the mortgage was coming out of.

In short unless the property is sold, the ex buys you out or you buy her out, assuming she or you can raise finance which is unlikely even with the current lender given the missed mortgage payments, I can see no way you would be able to get your name off of the mortgage. When someone's name is taken off a mortgage the lender will always have to asses the circumstances of the person left on it to ensure it is affordable etc.

That's what i would tell any of my clients if they were in a similar situation to yourself.

Good luck.

Posted 7 months ago #