Fix mortgage rate without ex’s input?

[Nearlyalldone]

Hi - my ex and I (still married, plan to divorce in the near future) are joint owners of the family home (where I’ve resided with the kids for nearly 2yrs since he left).

We have a tracker mortgage and I’ve been riding out the interest rate rises so far. However, with the news today of a possible 1%+ emergency interest rate rise in response to the massive slump of the £ against the $, I need to fix the mortgage.

I’ve had a look online at the fixed interest rates offered by the bank that we have the mortgage with and it looks as though I can arrange a fix online without the need to sign anything or book an appointment etc. Legally, can I just go ahead and fix the mortgage without my ex’s input?

He was physically and emotionally abuse toward me during the marriage. I don’t dare mention anything about the house to him in case it sets him off. He has frequently been verbally abusive towards me in text-messages since our split about a range of matters including the fact that I’m still living at the house with the children.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

If you plan to divorce in the near future will the house need to be sold as part of the divorce or will you be buying him out. Most fixed rates will come with penalty payments for early redemption which may end up being more than the monthly difference.

It may be worth speaking to the bank to explain the situation and whether they would in theory grant a mortgage to you alone at that point without a penalty.

Thank you - that’s really helpful! I panicked seeing the news about the possible 1%+ BoE interest rate rises this morning and wanted to fix my mortgage immediately. Talking to the mortgage company first is good advice.

I recently switched our mortgage rate (Barclays) and had to tick a box to say I had the consent of the other borrower.

I think fixing whilst you can whilst rates are sky rocketimg sounds very sensible. If you are paying mortgage alone I'd go for it. Would he refuse if bank contacted him?

Hello,

Sorry for jumping on this post but it's quite recent and I am in a similar(ish) situation.
Bit of backstory, I bought a new build back in 2018 with my ex (daughter's dad) where we lived their together for 8 months before we broke up and he moved out. I continue to pay all the mortgage payments and bills on my own, and changed all the bills into my name. As we were originally in a fixed term I did not want to pay the charges to come out of this to re-mortgage in my own name so there was no rush to take him off the mortgage. The fixed term ended last year and he contacted me in January this year saying he had spoken to our mortgage provider about getting his name removed off the mortgage and I would have to submit to take it over in my name - this was no issue as i've been waiting to take him off. So I contacted our provider and got the ball rolling, in the meantime I also checked out fixed rates due to the BoE rates on the increase and selected a rate that worked for me. It was a fixed term of 2 years. What I didn't know was that when selecting that fixed rate it did it with both our names still being on the mortgage, a document was sent to me to sign and a document sent to him to sign. Both of us signed. Admittedly I feel stupid for not following this up, but I think we both assumed the other person was doing it. (We don't speak unless it's regarding our daughter).

Now my problem is, he is in a position to buy a house with his new partner and it's come to light that we are on a fixed term mortgage for just over another year. He advised that when he signed the fixed term document he assumed it was to have his name taken off and did not read it as it was 100 pages long. He is angry that he has signed this and trying to blame me?

He previously told me he doesn't have any interest in the house and wants to sign it completely over to me as he did not put that much money into it in the first place, and would not want to take a roof from over our daughter's head. (Deposit was paid by me, he contributed to half of the mortgage payments for 8 months whilst we were together). But now this fixed term is being seen as a barrier to stop them getting a mortgage he has threatened that if I don't pay the £2800 to exit the fixed term, as well as £900 solicitor fees - that he wants to sell the house and he will take half of the equity.

I am starting a new job Monday, so do not have 3 months income proof yet. I also don't have the money to pay the fixed term charges at the moment - which as well i'm frustrated that I am even being expected to pay these!

So my overall question is, has anybody else been in this situation?
Can he force me to sell my house when I have my 4 year old daughter living with me and he has not contributed to the mortgage in the last 3 years?
I am happy to go ahead with mortgaging on my own once the fixed term is up, but I do not understand why the responsibility is all on me to pay these early exit fees.

Don't get me wrong I can see how frustrating this is from his point of view too, but i've spoken to solicitors and mortgage advisors who have all said the fixed term will the difficult factor.

Thanks in advance x

@helpinghandx you need to start your own thread.