Should I look to sell

[BulbsAndLampsDiffer]

I am after opinions on this situation and others that may of been in similar.

Myself and DC dad split end of 2023 and I remained in the family home. I have paid him his share of the house equity, this was done by by using my savings (50%) and the other half my family supported. He does not pay any child maintenance due to the agreement of remaining on the mortage till the end of the term which is summer 2026, this has meant he is in rented. At this point I Will be leaving a sub 2% fix and hoping to secure a reasonable rate mortage on my own, currently my mortage is 39% of my take home pay. Looking to possibly move to around 43%. I have considered options below:

Extend term possibly add on 3 years * *
Look to sell not ideal as DC childhood home * *
Hope for the best I belive I can mange finance just as the home is perfect for what we need long term.

For clarity
DC primary age
No idea Ex earnings and never have done, this caused a lot of the issues
I am working up pay scale at work so salary likely to increase
Definitely not a high earner though
I do have some savings but this is my rainy day (the storms will have to hit) fund

I assume that the house is currently owned jointly, and you'll be transferring it to your sole ownership?
Are you married?

The house is currently joint and as long as I can secure the mortage will be switched solely to my name on renwal. No, never married.

Did you sort an agreement for the buyout via solicitor?

I thought that he would have to be removed from ownership for that.

are you sure he cannot come back for a formal 50% of his asset?

How have you bought him out but he still owns half the house?
Are you relying on his good will to not come after any more money or is there solicitors involved with this agreement?

I understand what you are saying about the agreement not being legal without a solicitor, however it was fair to leave on the deeds until mortage is changed in case anything happened, I honestly belive that he will be fair, as at the end of the day we both have the kids best interest at heart and its not fair on them to cause upset.

Will he pay child maintenance once he is off the mortgage?

You gave him money without a legal agreement?

If I were you I wouldn’t do anything else without gaining legal advice.

I know someone who split with a partner, left him on the mortgage for 20years ‘for the kids’.

When she went to sell he had to be notified and immediately asked for his 50%, nothing she could do but pay because he owned half the asset.

London house that went from about 100k to 400k - he accepted taking his half of mortgage payments out but will walked away with over £150k.

To be fair it's not been discussed what will happen after the mortage situation is sorted. However we both contribute to children's up bringing including clubs and essentials.
I guess that I will find out next year if I have made the wrong decision.

The reason for this post was to see others experience on housing and finance in similar situations

What home could you afford if you did sell and buy somewhere else, would it be in the same catchment area for school friends etc

The idea of the family home is lovely but what kids need the day to day stability and if staying in this house is going to leave you in a position where money is going to be stretched maybe it would be better to have a new start especially if other aspects of life such as friends and schools could stay consistent.

What would the impact long term of 43% of your take home pay going on the mortgage?

Please make sure you discuss this soon and get any agreement in writing. It doesn't have to be a formally drawn-up contract, but just having clear texts or emails showing what you agreed could be super helpful if you end up falling out or if either of your circumstances change.

Re your house I would be extending the term to make it more affordable.

I know that’s not the best thing purely in financial terms as you’ll be paying more interest this way, but I would prioritise staying in the same house personally. And keeping some savings for a rainy day.

Talk to your lender about it. You may be able to extend the term but also make overpayments in future to reduce the term again once you feel a bit more financially secure.

I would extend the mortgage term and give yourself breathing room in the short term - if you accumulate additional savings as your career progresses then you can always make a voluntary over payment at that stage - just check that the mortgage you take out will allow this. I would try and stay put in the family home if you can and you want to. Moving always comes with unanticipated extra costs - decorating, furniture that doesn’t fit in new place, appliances that break and need replacing.

I would keep the house, extend the term of you need to and get your ex off the deeds asap.

You shouldn’t have given him money without removing him from the deeds at the same time. If you sell now, he will be entitled to his share of the proceeds & you won’t be able to stop him.

He does not pay any child maintenance due to the agreement of remaining on the mortage till the end of the term which is summer 2026, this has meant he is in rented

Is he paying half the mortgage then? That's the only way this makes sense.

Surely the difference between your sub 2% deal payments and CM must be known for you to have agreed to this current arrangement? Suggest you get legal advice asap and a mortgage broker as we don't have enough information to help at all.

I would just like to clear up, as previously mentioned we both pay towards clubs and and essential items such as school uniform, and other essential things that benefit the children. This is done by us each paying an equal amount into an account that is just used for the children's items. I don't believe that my ex should pay towards children's living costs as they also house them for around 30% of the week. However if I believed that there was a massive difference in our incomes I would then question this.