removing name from mortgage

[kidzgonmad]

hi can anyone advise me please? me & partner split nearly a year ago, it was messy at first but then we both decided to both stay at the property for the sake of our 2 kids and finances. its been ok, we get on well but are not romantically involved! we each have our own space & respect each other & its nice bringing the kids up together. but like all things it has come to an end & i need to move on, financially its not working out for me anymore & i feel like we both need to have more of a life.

my question is this- we have a joint mortgage and both names on deeds. i am not working at the moment & not sure if his wages would cover the mortgage on his own that is something we would have to ask the lender. i would like to take myself off the mortgage as i will need to go on the local housing list but how much does this process cost & how long will it take?
many thanks to any advice you can offer xxx

[Uzoma]

Hello.
There are usually two parts to this.
Part 1 is removing your name from the mortgage itself. The lender will normally agree to this provided your former partner can afford this. This varies from lender to lender but usually this will be a maximum of about 4 - 5 times his salary but they will be less if he has credit cards, loans, hire purchase and/or any other loans. Also, take into account any loans secured on the home. Hopefully if the mortgage is less than 75% of the current value of your home, the lender may be a bit less strict on the need for your former partner's income to fit the criteria I mentioned already.
Secondly, your name has to be removed from the property itself. A good solicitor can do this for you and provided both of you are cooperative it can be done fairly quickly.
The first part usually goes through quicker than the second simply because a former partner can waste time to be vindictive but I don't think that this will necessarily be the case in your situation because you are both in the same home and seem to be getting on.
Total costs will be in the lower hundreds and should not take longer than a month.
I wish you success.

[kidzgonmad]

thank you so much for your advice, i am not sure if we will be able to do the first part you mentioned as we still owe alot on the mortgage as the value of the house has gone down alot and we got into trouble a few years back due to redundancy and the mortgage wasnt paid for months and the lender agreed to put the debt onto the outstanding mortgage so it bumped it up a fair bit. also he does have loans & credit cards, i dont as i get worried about debt very easily!
but i will definately look into talking with the lender as they may decide to help :0) (northern rock so i am not sure about that!)
thanks again i wish you a pleasant evening xxx

[Ethel]

Remember too that council housing may not be very helpful as you will be deemed to have made yourself intentionally homeless.