Sole mortgage / deeds transfer

[BWJA921]

Stbx moved out 2 years ago and has been renting - divorce proceedings stalled due to the following issue.

We plan to sell house in 4 years' time when youngest 18 and split profits to buy separate properties. In the meantime, stbx wants me to take on sole mortgage / deeds of house so he is free to get his own mortgage. I didn't pass the affordability test with the current mortgage provider, so he suggested I try an independent mortgage broker. Overall charges for mortgage broker / early end of mortgage is £10k which he wants to add to mortgage / get a loan for. Plus, there are extra monthly mortgage payments, which I will have to pay.

At this stage, there is no real benefit to me financially or time wise. I'm going to sell house in 4 years' time and can't see the benefit of transferring the house to my name for such a short period of time.

Should I pursue this sole mortgage route or tell him that we'll just have to proceed with divorce in 4 years' time? Any advice gratefully received.

If it doesn't work for you, it just doesn't!
While independent brokers can access a wider mortgage market, they can't do the impossible, certainly not at a reasonable rate.
I doubt as well that a solicitor would suggest to him that it's sensible to transfer the only asset into your name!
Sounds like a non starter to me.

Sell the house now ?

Yeah, agree. A total non-starter. What he’s asking is for you to buy him out NOW. But if you do that you fully own the house now and owe him nothing in four years. His own solicitor would never advise that if he wants 50% later. You either sell up and split now, you buy him out now and keep the house, or he has to accept he won’t get a mortgage for four years until you sell or buy him out at that stage.
If he accepts that I think it’s absolutely reasonable that you pay the full mortgage until then so he can afford to rent. He’s obviously still liable for the mortgage so it would involve trust between you (not sure what your situation is like).
Personally I would just sort the situation out now and sell or buy out. I don’t think anyone ever wins prolonging the inevitable and he’ll just become resentful of you being in a house and him wasting money on rent he doesn’t need to be paying. Equally, you’ll pay the full mortgage for 4 years or more depending on how long it actually takes to sell and at the end of it he’ll still get 50%. You’re basically just building up his equity when you could be fully focussed on building your own. Plus house price changes mean buying him out later could be more expensive and the length of time you can mortgage for will be less.

As part of my divorce getting signed off I had to stipulate a date which ex husband would receive the money from the house - I set it a couple of years in the future when I know my childcare bills won't be so severe

Thank you. Sadly can't afford to buy him out now AND can't sell up as I have 13 & 15 year old at home with me. I am currently paying the mortgage alone and when we sell will split the profits accordingly.

He wants me to take on mortgage so he is freed up to get his own mortgage. I understand this but ultimately I still have to wait 4 years too before I can buy my own place.

Remortgaging so I can take on deeds / mortgage will mean we have to pay to end current mortgage terms, mortgage broker fees and then additional monthly mortgage payments for 4 years.

When does your current mortgage term end?

You absolutely can sell op. And he can force a sale through court if needs be.

Obstruction of a sale is not looked upon favourably in court. You currently have sole use of a home you can't afford and he is paying rent while his equity is tied up.

What do you think is going to happen in 4 years op? Are you going to be magically able to afford the bigger mortgage? Remember when your DC leave school you won't be entitled to maintenance or child-related benefits so things might be even more challenging financially.

You need to consider downsizing, or using some of the equity to rent. 6 years is a long time to expect your ex to rent while you're sitting pretty in the former matrimonial home.

Anotherfrozenpizzafortea

I understand that frequently matrimonial / divorce house sales are triggered by youngest child turning 18. In cases where child is living with primary caregiver in said hone. This causes least disruption to children. Then sell up, split profits and downsize.

I'm not 'sitting pretty' exactly - I'm working full time and looking after our children 95% of time while he is 'sitting pretty' in his rented home.

I currently pay half my salary to pay mortgage, exactly the same as he does (although paying rent).

Why can’t sell now ?

Because my children are going through gcses and I don't want add any more upheaval yo their lives. Also, downsizing will mean I have to leave the community that the children grew up in. When they reach 18 I will definitely move.

If your ex wants to buy a house now and not in four years time, he needs to force the sale. It doesn’t sound like you can afford to buy him out, even further down the line. Having a mortgage and the deeds in your name only when he expects equity in four years time will surely just complicate things.

If this were to go to court as part of the financial order than it would be unlikely a judge would issue a Mesher Order for 4 years.

Better that you sell now rather than push the problem down the road in 4 years time.

You can’t afford to buy him out & you can’t afford to take on the mortgage. How is that going to change in 4 years time? Property prices will continue to rise & the problem will become bigger. You’ll be older, income could be less (as CM will stop) and prices will have risen.

The courts don’t care if you are a home owner or rent. And they have an obligation to look at giving either side a clean break. By you staying in the property and tying in your EH into the mortgage for another 4 years you are still financially linked.

If you are refusing to sell - your EH can force the sale as part of the consent order. If you obstruct the sale - a judge can take the process out of your hands & sign all paperwork / make decisions in your behalf.

My now DH did give his EW a Mesher order for 4 years. She also couldn’t afford to take on the mortgage or buy him out but was adamant she wanted to stay in the FMH. After the 4 years she refused to sell (as she couldn’t buy him out or take on the mortgage). He had to take her back to court to force the sake (he had also been renting for the 4 years & unable to buy as all of his equity was tied up & he was still in the mortgage). A judge ordered the immediate sale of the house but she obstructed - so the judge took the process out of her hands & signed everything on her behalf.

4 years earlier she could of downsized and bought her own home (with the £200k equity she got). When the house was sold 4 years later, she couldn’t afford to buy as properly prices had gone up, she was older & the substantial CM payments had stopped. She’s now burning through all the equity she got renting.

As painful as it is - face into this now & sell. Mesher Orders are hardly given now as they disadvantage the receiver when the order is up.

Not frequently at all. Vanishingly rarely in fact. Courts prefer a clean break which is better for all parties, rather than a mesher order that disadvantages one party unfairly. Especially when there is unlikely to be any material change to YOUR circumstances at the end - eg retraining to get back into work if you've been a trailing spouse or sahp.

Gcses are unfortunately not a reason for you to expect in court that you should stay in the home. If you can't afford to pay the mortgage now, how are you going to pay it AND your ex's share of the equity in 4 years? Especially considering any benefits and maintenance will cease when your children leave school?

I think your ex has been VERY generous so far and you are, indeed, sitting pretty in a house you can't afford whilst preventing him from being able to use the equity and get a mortgage for his own place.