Husband guaranteed his friends mortgage so I want to separate.

[HoveactuallyBrighton]

Exactly what the thread title says.
Our home's at risk if his friend can't pay the mortgage.

What happens to the mortgage guarantee when we separate?

What? So he's not prepared to put you on the deeds just he is prepared to risk his family's home for his friend. That's really bizarre. Does he fully understand what he's signed up to?

I'm very grateful to everyone for their comments.
I'm in a terrible emotional state bordering on panic attack.
I think I need medication to help me.
I'll look at the link posted above.
It's gambling over £500,000!

In any financial settlement, would this be classed as economic or financial abuse?

Try to stay calm and tomorrow make arrangements to seek legal advice.

It's very odd he won't have you on the deeds but wants go be a guarantor for his friend.

What legal advice did your husband obtain before becoming the guarantor for the mortgage? Because surely the mortgage lender would have required proof that he had taken advice? And if so, how come the legal advice provider didn’t obtain your consent to do so? If you have a legal interest in the home with Land Registry, then although you can’t prevent things like this happening, you should at least have been asked for your consent (not giving your consent also doesn’t necessarily mean that it wouldn’t have gone ahead, but you should have at least been made aware).
Did any of these things happen?
if not, you should probably get your own legal advice rather just separating (not sure how that would help your position).

Casandra. That's exactly what I don't understand.
I thought having a registered interest would notify me of any debts made on the house?

OP take a deep breath and try not to panic.

I don't imagine your husband wants to lose your home so try to establish facts of the situation.
Has he used your home ie property as security for mortgage for your friend? Or has he acted as a guarantor so he is liable for payments if the friend doesn't pay?
Rushing to a divorce won't help at all. Divorces take time even if everyone agrees on everything. Your husband now has a potential liability so that forms part of the joint asset situation before dividing up things. He's been stupid for sure but it's not financial abuse. He's just been reckless and hadn't consulted you on this major decision.

So I recommend you sit down and go through the facts of the guarantor with him, how reliable is this friend, why could he not get a mortgage himself, how much are the payments, can you afford these etc.
If the friend's property is on the market, how long has it been on, why is it not selling and what can you do to help the sale? Can you dress the house or paint for example?
Are there alternative guarantors available? If your joint property is used as security can you go back to bank and explain you both did not consent, rendering the guarantee void? You may need legal advice on this, I honestly don't know.

The main thing is stop focusing on divorce and start focusing on understanding the facts of the situation because as you are married this is a joint problem I'm afraid, no matter how foolish he has been

House sold, its cos they were turned down for a bridging loan.

On Right Move, their property sold for half of what they paid for the new one.
They bought outside their means to pay and couldn't get a bridging loan big enough.
I feel sick.
I can't rush into anything.
It's so deceitful and they all say its okay cos the house was guaranteed to sell - there's no guarantee when it would sell though.

Well not necessarily because people don’t always do what they are supposed to do. Sometimes legal action has to be taken . Which is why you need to get your own legal advice. It may be that the Guarantee is not valid, but you’ll need to engage someone who knows what they’re doing to be certain.

So he has effectively become a Third Party Surety for his friend, backed up by Security ie. your home.

I think the chances of your DH having to pay anything are slim. Presumably the friend can afford the 2 payments (current house and new house), or he wouldn't have done it this way. If he defaults, then the time it would take for the Bank to ask your DH to pay would be several months. The Bank would pursue the friend for many months before passing to Debt Recovery, and then Debt Recovery would try to get funds from friend, before pursuing your DH. Then your DH would have the opportunity to pay in cash, so that your house wasn't touched.

Having said all that, it is unthinkable that he would do this behind your back.

We used to have a joke when I worked in Debt Recovery :

What do you call an idiot with a pen in his hand? A Guarantor.

Is there any way you can look at the papers, just to be sure that your signature hasn’t been forged? That’s what happened to an old friend of mine, and it was awful.

OP, it sounds like you’re seriously catastrophising here. Don’t get me wrong, I’d also be angry if my DH made a big financial decision like this without telling me and me agreeing to it, but sit down and think for a moment about what’s actually happened here. It sounds like your DH’s friend has bought a new property before the sale of his old one went through, so he needed a bridging loan, and your DH has guaranteed the bridging loan, is that right? If so then this is not the same as guaranteeing the mortgage on his new property as it’s a much shorter term commitment.

Now presumably this bridging loan involves the friend paying the interest, with the capital to be paid off when the old house is sold? And there will probably be a long stop date, usually a year or so with a bridging loan. Is the friend unlikely to be able to pay the interest payments? If he defaults, then your DH would have to pay them, does he have a large enough income to do that?

The only scenario in which your house could possibly be at risk is if the friend’s old house doesn’t sell for an exceptionally long time and the long stop date passes. Even then, the bank doesn’t go from the repayment date passing to forcing a sale of your house in the space of a week. The friend would have time to try and refinance.

As I say above, you have every right to be angry, but in reality it feels unlikely to me in this situation that you are at risk of being made homeless.

Airdustmoon The Op said the friend couldn't get a bridging loan.

Ignore this OP, it's bullshit

Good god, calm down and get a grip, seriously. Sounds like theres much more going on in the background than this.

You aren’t on the Deeds?
Get legal advice immediately.

Yeah, like her husband not allowing her to have her share of the house in her name...

She may not be paying half the mortgage but she is earning and contributing to the household, so there is no valid reason for the house not to be equally in her name. Plenty of SAHMs are on the deeds of the home they live in, so what is his objection?

@Dogs223 the OP hasn’t been very clear, she said it was only until the old house sold, and they couldn’t get a large enough bridging loan - I interpreted that to mean that the OP’s DH has guaranteed a larger bridging loan. If he’s guaranteed a 25 year mortgage or similar than that’s a different matter but the OP needs to clarify.

That’s exactly what went through my mind as well.

She isn't on the deeds, so her signature won't have been needed.

I was of the understanding that even if she wasn’t on the deeds, her opinion as a ‘tenant’ would be required? Maybe I’m wrong.

She has an interest in the property registered though so, although her agreement may not have ultimately been needed, there should at least have been a process to determine that is the case and she should have been involved in that, and the mortgage provider should be able to provide evidence.

So many facts to consider/obtain.
Thanks - I think they gaslit me.

This

@Gymmum82 why do you post when you really have no idea what you are talking about? You are very wrong.