Property in joint names - help needed

[purejayne]

My ex and I divorced in 2003. The property was transferred into my sole name but Northern Rock with whom we have the mortgage will not take my ex's name off the Mortgage Deed. This has created problems in the past as every time I need to get on a fixed rate, change products, etc he has to also sign the papers and the Agreements.

 

There has been no problem in the past as he has been living with his parents about two miles from me but about a year ago he upped and went and I do not have an address for him. Anyway, the Northern Rock have written saying that the fixed rate I am currently on is coming to an end and this will put my mortgage up by an extra £150.00 a month. They have offered me a range of other products to go on which will suitable but they are refusing to change me over as my ex needs to sign the papers as well as me and I cannot locate him!!! This means that I am stuck with a mortgage on the normal rate simply because of a signature.

 

What are my rights with regard to this? I simply cannot afford to pay this extra £150.00 a month. This will almost certainly result in me going into arrears. Surely someone can help out with his, ie Ombudsman? Has anyone got any advice?

[dw190]

My ex and I divorced in 2003. The property was transferred into my sole name but Northern Rock with whom we have the mortgage will not take my ex's name off the Mortgage Deed. This has created problems in the past as every time I need to get on a fixed rate, change products, etc he has to also sign the papers and the Agreements.

 

There has been no problem in the past as he has been living with his parents about two miles from me but about a year ago he upped and went and I do not have an address for him. Anyway, the Northern Rock have written saying that the fixed rate I am currently on is coming to an end and this will put my mortgage up by an extra £150.00 a month. They have offered me a range of other products to go on which will suitable but they are refusing to change me over as my ex needs to sign the papers as well as me and I cannot locate him!!! This means that I am stuck with a mortgage on the normal rate simply because of a signature.

 

What are my rights with regard to this? I simply cannot afford to pay this extra £150.00 a month. This will almost certainly result in me going into arrears. Surely someone can help out with his, ie Ombudsman? Has anyone got any advice?

 

Have you tried another lender and requested a redemption figure.

 

While his name maybe on the mortgage deed, if it is redeemed, his name wil go with the redemption.

[purejayne]

Yes, I've tried to get another mortgage in my sole name with another lender but I don't earn enough. My mortgage is £78,000 and I earn £12,500 per annum. Plus, my ex left me with most of the debts so I also have a bad credit record.

 

I've just phoned FSA and they've told me to raise it with the Ombudsman if I think its unfair which I do. I've told Northern Rock I will go into arrears if I get put on the standard rate but they say he legally needs to sign the papers and they can't help:(

[dw190]

Yes, I've tried to get another mortgage in my sole name with another lender but I don't earn enough. My mortgage is £78,000 and I earn £12,500 per annum. Plus, my ex left me with most of the debts so I also have a bad credit record.

 

I've just phoned FSA and they've told me to raise it with the Ombudsman if I think its unfair which I do. I've told Northern Rock I will go into arrears if I get put on the standard rate but they say he legally needs to sign the papers and they can't help:(

 

I can see the reason for them not releasing him from the mortgage deed. Your income being at a level they consider a risk to themselves and keeping him on the deed is for security should you default.

[purejayne]

The thing is, he is on permanent incapacity benefit - he's never worked since 2003 so even if they went after him they wouldn't get anything off him - he has no assets. I've paid the mortgage all this time and never defaulted.

[OrangePrimate]

It may have been agreed for you to retain the property in your divorce, but you would have to gone through the normal 'change of ownership' process with you mortgage supplier.

 

I was in very much the same boat as you with my ex still on the deeds. I had to go in and give all my income details for them to be sure that i could manage the mortgage by myself and then they sent the forms out to my ex for the signature and declaration that they were prepared to give up all rights to the property. This had to be done through a solicitor and the records also updated at the Land Registry. All told cost was about £375, but well worth it!

[Guest weegirl]

I had this problem too some years ago. I ended up taking on a part-time job in a bar at the evenings and weekends - not what I wanted to do as I knew I could afford the payments as it was, but the bank didn't think so.

 

I contacted the bank and asked them what I would need to be earning to secure the mortgage in my name, worked extra for a few months and got a letter from them confirming what I was earning. It was enough to put my earnings over the limit needed to secure the mortgage by myself. After I got my letter of offer, I packed in the part-time job. This was essential in my case as I couldn't trust my ex not to turn up in 10 years time demanding half of the house.