Buying out partner

[Bearski77]

Hi,
I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but here goes.
If me and dh separate and I stay in the house which we have a joint mortgage for, have I got this right:-
Say house is worth £130,000, and outstanding mortgage is £75,000, do we effectively sell the house which gives us £55,000 and he takes £27,500? Therefore I need to effectively re-buy the house based on value of £130,000 and use my £27,500 as a deposit which means my mortgage will then be £102,500 (as opposed to the current outstanding £75,000) I realise there will be costs, this is just a rough calculation. So in the end, instead of paying £515 per month jointly as we are now, I will have to pay something like £700 per month on my own???? I'd really appreciate any help if anyone else has done this, or advice on a better place to post my question. Thank you x

You seem to have it about right to me assuming you are joint beneficial tenants in the house (as opposed to each owning a defined % stake as tenants in common)- you'll need to check if you can borrow the amount you need on just your salary alone and whether it's affordable for you. Also whether there are any hidden costs (in addition to all the regular admin fees of remortgaging) such as an early repayment fee if you are on a fixed deal...

How the % equity in the house should be split is usually decided as part of divorce arrangements alongside the split of any other assets. 50:50 is the starting point but if there are other factors e.g. DC needing to be housed then this can be varied - you would need to take legal advice on this.

You don't need to sell and re-buy the house. You need to re-mortgage in your name only, giving your ex his share of the equity, and covering the remaining mortgage from your own income. The maths is broadly correct, but you'd just be re-mortgaging in your name only, giving half the equity away, and securing a mortgage over the remaining sum that you need to borrow (£102,500).

Freckled is right in that technically it isn't a 'sale', but you do need a solicitor involved as you'll need to change the title to the property and its registration with land registry so it's moved into your sole ownership, and you need to ensure the valuation is properly done independently and you and DH both agree to it - you shouldn't just hand over the £27,500k on a gentlemen's agreement - and I am sure the mortgage company wouldn't allow you to remortgage in your sole name with DH as still legal owner anyway!

Although it's not a sale in the sense that it goes on the market, how you hold and how you transfer the house will determine if you need to pay stamp duty on the part you are buying.

www.gov.uk/guidance/sdlt-transferring-ownership-of-land-or-property#if-you-transfer-property-because-of-divorce-separation-or-the-end-of-a-civil-partnership