Partner has Mortgage with Ex (Need Advice)

Can't find anything relating to this so hope I'm not repeating. Anyway, just hoping to get a bit of advice....

My fiancé bought a house with his ex c. 5 years ago. They split up very soon after the purchase and he moved out of the property (which was agreed by them both). She rented out a couple of rooms and continued to pay the mortgage while he rented.

My fiancé has tried in the past to remove himself from the mortgage but this was not approved by the bank as his ex did not have the capacity to do so as it was outside of their criteria.

The property is not in negative equity.

Unfortunately the situation leaves us in an awkward position as he is not in a position to get another mortgage as he owns the house with the ex. There is also the risk of it going into arrears and affecting his credit rating; however, I wouldn't expect this to happen as she has a decent job and I believe she has converted the garage into a flat for additional income.

He has recently asked his ex to contact the bank about the possibility of transferring the mortgage/house to her own name but she has ignored the request and ignored his attempt to follow up with her.

At the minute we're paying substantial rent and would just like to set ourselves up for the future...unfortunately I cannot afford a decent house in my sole name so we'd like to get this sorted. Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience or any advice to offer?

Many Thanks!

Unfortunately, there is very little he can do.

I assume that it is a SVR mortgage and not a tracker. There are other considerations if there is a cheap tracker involved.

If her income is such that they will not give her a loan in her own name, there is probably no point in pushing her too hard.

If her income is good enough, then it's possible that she could switch to a different lender to get a lower rate of interest. This would depend on the current lender and the LTV.

He could go to the High Court to get an order to sell the house, but this would be prohibitively expensive. Of course, threatening it may well have the desired effect.

On the positive side, he has a stake in the house and as she is repaying the mortgage she is effectively building up equity for him.

If she were smart, she should try to sort this now as if she wants to sell at some time in the future, he can make life very difficult for her.

He should probably send a nice letter pointing out that it is in her interest to sort this out. He is willing to work with her to sort this out. If she refuses, then she will not find him willing to reciprocate if she ever wants to move house. He will also consider applying to the High Court to force the sale of the house.

Assuming she ignores him, then he should ask a solicitor to write to her, although it would be an empty threat.

Which bank is the mortgage with? It's unlikely that BoSI or Danske would allow him off the mortgage.

Is your fiancé's ex an ex-girlfriend or ex-wife? In either event, I'm guessing that a court hasn't had anything to say about this property (yet)?

Afaik if he's named in the deed he can force a sale. It would involve some lawyers and expense, but the threat of it may be the leverage you need to get the ex to re-mortgage the property under her own name.

Technically and legally he has the right to move back into that house at any time as he owns half of it. I'm sure, that she would like to change that situation... even if it takes him sitting on the couch to persuade her.

Thanks folks.

Its an ex-girlfriend, not wife (thankfully!). The mortgage is with EBS and not a tracker, no court orders etc. We don't really want to force it with her but it would be great if she could take it on herself (provided that's what she wants). It would be even better if she wanted to sell. Problem is we don't really know what she wants as she hasn't communicated. The last time they spoke she said she'd get on to the bank and look into but she hasn't yet (c. 1 month ago). We really don't want things to get nasty but we'd like to get it sorted. If it was me in her situation I'd be doing everything I could to get him off it, not really sure what she's not bothered in sorting it.

We've decided to contact her once more to give her an opportunity to respond but I suppose if she's not willing to communicate and work with us then it will have to go to the solicitors...an expense we could be doing without! ... I'm sure she'd love us to move in but for the sake of our 'proposed' marriage I think we'll opt for this option last