Taking ex off Mortgage/Title Deeds

[Frazzled54]

Hi, as part of the Financial Order I’ve agreed to keep the house.
I need to remove ex DH name from it and from
the Title Deeds.
He has to pay the costs for this as per the agreement but can anyone give me an insight as to how it happens? I’ve got a 2 hour phone call with the mortgage company next week to get the ball rolling as it has to be done within a time frame of the FO being signed.

Can you afford to take on the mortgage AND pay him any equity owed?

If you can, it should be fairly straightforward - your mortgage company do their bit, ex will need to sign a form agreeing to be removed from the deed (this is the bit that his solicitor will need paying extra for), any agreed payment will beade as soon as your funds are released (previous joint mortgage closed down) and your own mortgage begins.

You HAVE checked the affordability haven't you...?

Yes, it’s only a small mortgage so I’ve had a Mortgage in Principle agreed. There’s a lot of equity so this is instead of sharing pensions etc..
I won’t owe him anything as this is my share of the marital assets.
l plan on selling in a few years once DC are older & downsize to release equity to
top up my pension.

Your solicitor will change the title at the Land Registry.

I don't think you can remove him from your current mortgage.
You'll have to take out a new mortgage in your name only and use that money to pay off the old one.

I took my ExH off both the mortgage and the title deeds last year. It was pretty straightforward. The mortgage company needed to do some basic checks but there were no issues. The solicitor dealt with the title deeds. I can’t remember the costs involved but it was well under £1k.

I was advised by my lender even if you cannot afford to take out a new mortgage if you can show you can afford the mortgage and all bills in your name only for 3 months underwriters can agree for your ex to come off the mortgage. As long as your ex agrees.

There is a cost to do this, £125 transaction fee.

This is the route i will take personally.

Thanks. I will ask this.
I need his name off ASAP so he can buy another property.
I want to keep our original mortgage as it’s such a low rate so I think the Mortgage company are happy with this as it’s such a small
mortgage and there is so much equity in the property. It’s a safe ‘risk’ for them.

Keen to find out how you progress with this as in a similar position. Small mortgage, lots of equity but ex has huge pension so the verbal agreement so far is for me to keep bigger percentage of house sale and not pension share. My hope was to 'port' my current low fixed mortgage rate to a new property until it ends in 2.5 years. Apparently I can do this with my ex's permission. I will also downsize and have another 20 years to build up my own small pension. But I'm giving myself 12 months to sell and buy so no immediate pressure. I'm keen to avoid huge solicitor fees if possible.

I’ll update once I’ve spoken to my mortgage company next week.
a quick Google seems to say it’s fairly straightforward if both parties agree.
I think my ex may need to sort things from his end as he needs a solicitor to take his name from the Title Deeds. He is paying all the costs to remove himself so I need a breakdown so I can put them in the financial order agreement apparently.

My lender said it was a yes to Porting the mortgage if necessary so hopefully yours will too. I’m hoping to get to Spring so I can tidy the house a bit before sticking it on the market.

Spoken to my mortgage provider today.
I’ve started the process of taking STBEXDH name off the mortgage and title deeds.
it was a 3 hour apt to run through all the necessary checks.
The application was fairly straightforward and it’s with the Underwriters now. I’ve extended the length by another couple of years to bring the monthly payments down slightly.
My existing rate is very low and luckily I’m tied in with that until 2029.
i had to make sure I had critical illness cover to cover the rest of the mortgage if I became too ill to work.

Hope this helps others in the process x

meant to add… the cost was £294 which ex is paying.

Thanks for the update, great info. Glad things are moving forward for you.

Can I ask which lender this was? I've been paying the mortgage on my own for four years but they still aren't allowing me to take over the mortgage because on paper apparently I cant afford it.

I really want to get my ex off the mortgage.

My update**

So although I had a mortgage in principle, the underwriters refused to give me the mortgage. I appealed twice and they upped the amount slightly but I was still £20K short so the house is now on the market.
I feel so sad as my whole life has been shaken apart and now I’m losing my lovely home as well 😢 all because my ex couldn’t keep his rather small pens in his scruffy boxer shorts!

I could move to another provider but I would pay a redemption fee for this mortgage and then as I’m on such a low rate now, my new payments would massively increase with a new mortgage rate that even if I extended the length, it definitely wouldn’t be affordable!
I think my mortgage company just want me off this mortgage as it’s such an incredibly low rate (less than half of the rate at the moment) and I’m locked in until 2029.

Ah so sorry this hasn't worked out as you wanted. Myself and the children love our house and have lived here 18 years but I know I can't afford to buy my ex out and have come to terms with selling - but not until I find something I like equally. I have a mortgage in principle too but guess that means nothing if the underwriter says no. I hope eventually selling works out for the best for you, but I'm sure it feels really unfair now, especially when the split wasn't your choice.

Nationwide.. i havent yet gone abiut the process yet.. i will next month, waiting on 3 months to pass

That's interesting to know. Thank you. I'll keep them in mind for when I'm ready to do it.

Hi, just to update you on this, i did apply to nationwide for the name removal, i didnt pass DIP, was off by 20K, (knew this would happen) however underwriters took a look after 3 months at payslips banks tatements and appeal letter and once the mortgage application was filled out they accepted me for the full loan on my own!

It can be done :)

Great news @Evecob

Hi, thanks for the update! I'm in a really good fixed rate at the moment so dont want to change lenders unless I have to but I'm really pleased that Nationwide took this approach. I will definitely speak to them when the time comes.

Congratulations on being accepted! It gives me hope :)

Hi OP. Don't lose hope yet. Any fees for taking on the mortgage by yourself (ie redemption fees) will be taken off the equity you have to split - as well as conveyancing fees, stamp duty etc. Take a look at the Form E which will show you how the courts calculate the equity you'll need to split.

Happy to help work it out with you if you PM me. I've just gone through this process myself.