# Separation / Mortgage



## Sylvia1987 (8 Jul 2021)

Hi. Maybe someone can advise what would be the best thing to do for me. My husband left family home, living me with baby. House is on the 30 years mortgage, less than 800€ repayment, 2 years in. I am on the job seeker now, since 2 weeks, looking for a job. I wont be able to take this mortgage on my name as income is too low. He does not pay this mortgage, it is on me.
What possible steps should I do? The financial advisor from Mab suggested mortgage to rent that there is no point to struggle, rent a room. I just dont know what will happen with our family home during divorce. Will I be allowed to stay? I went to solicitor but he did not really advise me anything, now I am waiting for Legal Aid Board.
My ex is not on high income either. Thanks


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## kinnjohn (8 Jul 2021)

I think you should do a money makeover on this site,
what is the value of the house
How much is the mortgage 
do you know the interest rate on the mortgage,
Have you a legal agreement in place with your husband,


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## Sylvia1987 (8 Jul 2021)

The value of the house is aprox 240-260k
Mortgage repayment is 765E
Its on fixed rate now for 7 years and if I am not mistaken 3.5%
I can not reach agreement with my husband, mediation did not bring any result. He said he is happy to leave his name on it even for 18 years but he is not sure 100% as maybe that will cause problems for him for future mortgage. so i would not really relay on what he says. Separation court case will be more likely in 1 year.

I really do not know what to do. I went to solicitor but he did not really advise me anything. Woman from mabs suggest mortgage to rent....
I tried to rent a room but this is too fresh and i can not imagine stranger for now. The family is broken , it is too sad for now but i want to keep the roof for my Son


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## kinnjohn (8 Jul 2021)

How much is the mortgage we know the house is approx 240-260K
we know repayments are 765E
How much did ye borrow


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## Sylvia1987 (8 Jul 2021)

We borrowed 182k
I really would love to stay in the house and pay even full amount but 1st: I do not know what will be the outcome of Court case. Will I be allowed to stay with a baby?  2nd: If i will stay for 18 years and pay full amount I dont want my ex to come and claim half from sale.


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## Brendan Burgess (8 Jul 2021)

This is a good example of how stupid our system is. 
If you lose the house, the state will pay a fortune in mortgage to rent, rent or social housing. 
It would be much cheaper for the state, to help you pay your mortgage, in the same way as they will help you pay the rent , although it will cost the state much more to pay the rent. 

I have put in a proposal to the Minister for Social Welfare that they should help people who can't afford their mortgage who would otherwise get social housing.  So get onto your TDs and point out the stupidity of the situation. 

Brendan


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## Brendan Burgess (8 Jul 2021)

How much can you pay towards your accommodation costs? 

The interest on your mortgage each month is about €500. 

If you can pay most or all of this, it would take the lender years to get an order for possession. 

And maybe in that time, the government would see sense and help people in your situation. 

But whatever you do, no matter how big your arrears are, pay something every month. 

Don't worry for the moment about your husband getting half the house in 20 years.  Focus on keeping the house. 

Brendan


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## Sylvia1987 (8 Jul 2021)

How about the court case for separation or divorce in couple of years? Will i be asked to leave with my baby?


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## Thirsty (8 Jul 2021)

First things first - it will take anything up to 1 1/2 to 3 years to get to court, in the meantime you and the baby have to live.

Have you applied for One Parent Family benefit?

Your former husband must pay child maintenance, that can be applied for ahead of any divorce settlement.  You don't need a solicitor to apply for this, you can do it yourself.  

There are a number of options in regards to the settlement of the family home, but since it will take likely 2 years before you get to court you have time to look at all of those.  In the mean time, you will not be put out of your home.  However if arrears build up it will make it more difficult for you to get the mortgage into your sole name, if that's what you want.


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## Brendan Burgess (8 Jul 2021)

Thirsty said:


> However if arrears build up it will make it more difficult for you to get the mortgage into your sole name,



Just to be clear. You will not be able to get the house into your sole name while you are on social welfare. 

With a mortgage of €182k, you will need a salary of at least €50k.

So forget about that, and focus on keeping the house. 

Brendan


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## Thirsty (8 Jul 2021)

OP is job hunting; in the meantime bills have to be paid.


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## Sylvia1987 (9 Jul 2021)

Brendan Burgess said:


> How much can you pay towards your accommodation costs?
> 
> The interest on your mortgage each month is about €500.
> 
> ...


I never been in debt and i am worry to just not pay. I have savings for 3 months of mortgage thats all but living with nothing left. I possibly could pay 500e a month while I am on the job seeker. I will have another phone call from mabs. I will see again with the woman and follow her advise. I am tempted somehow for MTR as it will give me space to breathe. 

Yes, I am aware that i can not take mortgage on my name. I can not apply for One Parent as he left two weeks ago.


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## Brendan Burgess (9 Jul 2021)

Sylvia1987 said:


> I have savings for 3 months of mortgage



Hi Sylvia

Don't pay the full amount. I know you would like to , but it's just not possible. 

Pay the interest but write to the bank and tell them this. 

Brendan


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## Thirsty (9 Jul 2021)

You can apply for a basic supplementary allowance now.

 Contact your SW office.

Don't make any decisions about the house or mortgage right now.

Aside from it not being necessary, you are (understandably) in emotional turmoil & that is never a good time to make big decisions.

Put in the SW claim, get some income coming in.


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## Sylvia1987 (9 Jul 2021)

Thank you All for answers. I guess I will just pay the intrest from the mortgage.
What could be the worst scenario for us in the court? If the house will be sold we will become homless? Thats why I was thinking about that MTR as a safety net.

I have been refused Suplementary Welfare as I got jobseeker


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## kinnjohn (9 Jul 2021)

Relax Sylvia
look after your baby and yourself, pay the interest on the Mortgage, try putting a little aside for emergencies if you can.  all will fall into place over time,


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## Thirsty (9 Jul 2021)

That's fine if you have the jobseekers allowance; you have some money coming in which is the important thing.

There are several options with regards to the family home, every situation is different so it's not a one size fits all.

Note: I am not a lawyer.

Ideally  you and your former husband will agree the settlement terms of which the family home is only one. But if you can't do that you have to ask a judge to do it for you.

Option 1: house is sold, proceeds are split. Note that this isn't necessarily 50/50. Any children must be provided for, larger deposits from one or other partner, mortgage payments since separation etc can be taken into account.

Option 2: one or other partner buys out the other share. Again per option 1 this does not necessarily mean 50% of the equity.

Option 3: you both pay the mortgage 50/50 and the house is sold when yr child is 18 (or 23 if in full time education) and proceeds divided. At this point it would likely be 50/50 as children have been provided for.

There are other combinations. You could also agree that you will each pay the mortgage for say 5 years while you return to work & you could buy out his share at that time.

You don't say how old your baby is, I'm assuming > 1 year old since you are not on maternity leave.  That being the case, I think Option 3 would be unlikely if it came to court. 

A lot could happen in the next two years, so try not to get too anxious about it.

Deal with what you can for now; the rest can wait.


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## Brendan Burgess (9 Jul 2021)

Thirsty

You are making this unnecessarily complicated.


Sylvia1987 said:


> I wont be able to take this mortgage on my name as income is too low.



The issue here is whether the lender can repossess the house if the OP does not keep up her repayments. 

The answer to this is that it will take a long time if ever.  And if the OP pays the interest in the meantime, it will make it very difficult for the bank to ever repossess the house.

Brendan


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## Thirsty (9 Jul 2021)

On the contrary, the OP has asked, more than once, what the likely outcome might be if they find themselves in court on their Judicial Separation / Divorce hearing.

The options I've listed are the main ones that come up in that context.

Edit to add: OP's income may be low right now, that doesn't mean it always will be.


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## Brendan Burgess (9 Jul 2021)

Hi Thirsty
My apologies. 

What I am trying to say, is that what happens in the court case which might not take place for a number of years and which she has little control over, is just not a priority.

Whatever agreement she comes to with her husband, buying him out is not one of them. It's theoretical as she describes herself as low income.

The priority and something she has control over is dealing with the lender. 

And that must be her absolute priority. 

Sylvia 

Forget about the divorce case.  

Pay what you can and await developments. 

This is a case where you just have to wait and see. 

Brendan


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## Thirsty (9 Jul 2021)

@Brendan Burgess - I'm wondering if the liklihood is that  the JS / Divorce case would be heard long before any lender might bring a case? 

OP might be well advised to leave the hare sit on that issue for now. Having said that, Legal Aid is anything but swift so there won't be much choice.

Child maintenance is a separate item & the non-resident parent is obliged to pay it right now;  unfortunately our rubbish system forces the primary carer through legal hoops to get it.


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## Sylvia1987 (9 Jul 2021)

Thank you so much.

I called to the bank and my intrest repayment is 466e aprox I might pay 500e and see. I found someone for the room rate but not sure if I am ready for this step.

Thank you for all the support. I guess I have no choice as to wait and see what happens.


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## dubdub123 (9 Jul 2021)

If you do not have an agreement in place and just start to pay less than full mortgage payments, this may certainly impact your credit rating, which while it may not seem important now will be an issue if you are later in a position to take over the mortgage. 

If you and your ex can agree to approach lender together, see if you can get a moratorium on payments and/or  arrange an interest only deal for the short term.  You may also be able to move to a lower interest rate if your Loan to Value has decreased.  This may give you some breathing space and even a small amount of money could be the difference in being able to breaking even each month.    If both names are on the mortgage,  it's highly unlikely that a lender will make modifications without both parties signing off on it. 

If you can obtain even part time work (around 20 hours per week)  you would be entitled to Working Family payment (previously called FIS)  - this will top up your salary and is not included for medical card .  (Also not taken into account for mortgage application, but hold still on that ) 

There is a National Childcare Scheme which you should absolutely look into.  I think there are a lot of hours for younger children and even school going children (older children being means tested).   Get this setup - try get some hours to give you a break and time to sort stuff out and also to have childcare setup in advance of looking for a job.   NCS are very slow so give time to find a provider who accepts this and understand what hours you can avail of. Might be worth giving them a call. 

For now, try keep the wolf from the door but remember that this is the lowest things are going to be.  You will get back on your feet and prepare yourself for that.   Look into the childcare to give yourself a chance to tackle the other things.     If need be go the rent a room route, but maybe try get someone who won't be there every w/e so that you can maintain some privacy.  

best of luck


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## Sylvia1987 (12 Jul 2021)

Hi.
Thank you for help and all suggestions. I will pay the intrest only this month 470€ and by the next month i will have a decision about my sfs. The Mabs is very helpful. 
I will not qualify for MTR as house is in positive equity. 
I am looking forward to find part time or full time work with One single parent in 3 months time.


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