Remove name from joint mortgage and retain tracker

AliPower

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Jointly bought house in 2006 (€317,500) and switched lender to Haven Mortgages in 2008 (€323,000) with a 40 year mortgage and a tracker rate (ECB + 1.1%). Split in 2009 (no contributions from ex since then).

Balance outstanding: €269,000 (from next statement in April)
Current value €200,000-€230,000

I hope the above information above helps give context. I am trying to get my mortgage/title deeds transferred into my sole name and I seem to be falling at the first hurdle. I called Haven to request a contact name to address my proposal to and they wouldn't supply so I contacted them again via email and they sent a letter out to me to say that I will need to go through an intermediary and apply for a new home loan. I would have hoped, as a current customer, they would at least be obliged to communicate directly with me as they have done in 2009 when I notified them of the change in circumstances.

My goal is to retain my tracker, upgrade the house and then trade up in a couple of years availing of their tracker retention plan option (new 'tracker' home loan with an additional 1%) which can only be availed of once. My question is do I have any chance of getting a name removed without taking out a new mortgage and losing my tracker?

My income (including rent-a-room) is above 3.5 times the remaining balance (my sole income now surpasses the joint income that gained initial mortgage approval), I am in solid permanent employment with a large FS company, my credit rating is perfect, I have a faultless track record maintaining mortgage for the past 9 years, I have income protection insurance, renovations will increase property value and my ex has agreed to sign documentation to relinquish his rights. I am wondering if anyone has had similar situations that proved successful? Or if there are any suggestions of actions I could take to resolve (financial advisor, solicitor, agencies etc.) Or is this just an opportunity for Haven to get a tracker off their books?

Apologies if the above is long winded. I'd really like to get it resolved before the house goes into positive equity as this could be a motivating factor for my ex to change his stance.
 
It's a tough one. EBS would not let me keep the tracker so Haven will probably take the same stance. I don't think they will allow rental income if they are stress testing you. You would probably need to be earning around €75k to qualify for a mortgage in your own name for that amount. If you're not earning that much do you have any savings to reduce the balance of the mortgage? Try contacting different people; branch, head office, underwriting, etc. to see if anyone agrees to you keeping the tracker and make sure you get it in writing if you do! Also, is your ex happy to walk away with nothing and pay his own legal costs? You'd need to ask your solicitor about stamp duty too as I'm not sure how that's treated if you're in negative equity. In a buy-out situation you're essentially buying his half of the house so stamp duty applies unfortunately. The bank will need to see evidence of sufficient savings to fund stamp duty, legal fees and any monetary contribution to your ex.
 
If the op and ex were married, and living In The house, my understanding is that there is no stamp duty involved.
 
Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate it.

You would probably need to be earning around €75k to qualify for a mortgage in your own name for that amount. If you're not earning that much do you have any savings to reduce the balance of the mortgage?
I am earning that with the rental income but I was told back in 2009 that they would take that into consideration - I do have savings but I would prefer to keep them for renovations or for my deposit when trading up.

Try contacting different people; branch, head office, underwriting, etc. to see if anyone agrees to you keeping the tracker and make sure you get it in writing if you do!
That was my initial plan but their website only has a generic contact email address - when I emailed it they responded to say they would reply in writing to which I received a letter passing me straight of to an intermediary. My key issue is that they won't give me a contact name to liaise with as I don't understand how they will not deal directly with their own customers and I don't know if an intermediary would be the best placed person to assist me with getting a name removed from an existing mortgage as they would be receiving no commission for that. I also checked the documentation they share on their website but there are no details on how to access their customer care or how to make a complaint.

Also, is your ex happy to walk away with nothing and pay his own legal costs?
At the moment he is happy to sign any necessary documents and I am happy to cover the cost for them being drawn up. But I would like to get this done before the house goes into positive equity to avoid a change of mind. I spoke to a solicitor who said I have 3 options - remortgage, following complaints procedure and esclating to Ombudsman or my ex agreeing to sign a co-ownership document to relinquish his rights (this may prove difficult as he will still be liable for the mortgage)

If the op and ex were married, and living In The house, my understanding is that there is no stamp duty involved.
We were not yet married. We broke up just before we booked our wedding venue. Although I believe a remortgage would not involve stamp duty.
 
The only way to move this forward is to talk to Haven or one of their intermediaries. If they won't let you keep the tracker then look at other options - new mortgage with another bank and buy him out or sell up and buy elsewhere if you can afford it on your own. If you still want to go ahead with the buy-out weigh up the increase in monthly repayments to see if it's worthwhile. Who knows what will happen with house prices and interest rates in the next few years, things could go against you and you may not be in a position to buy him out. If it's really what you want then bite the bullet. It took me 5 years to save enough to buy my ex out but I'm so glad I did it. I really wanted to live in the house though so my situation is a bit different to yours if you're planning on selling your house after you renovate it. I'd suggest you get an estate agent to value the house and give an opinion on whether the renovations will actually increase the value of the house. You don't want to lose your nest egg for nothing. EBS told me that rental income wasn't classed as fixed income so therefore wouldn't be taken into account so check that out with Haven too. Do Haven have a tracker mover product that you could avail of instead?
 
they sent a letter out to me to say that I will need to go through an intermediary and apply for a new home loan.

I am surprised that they won't deal with you directly, but in any event, you are better off going through a broker. It's quite possible that they might get you a deal which you could not get on your own.

I do have savings but I would prefer to keep them for renovations or for my deposit when trading up.

It's possible that EBS might make reducing the balance to 3.5 times your salary a requirement. Or getting rid of the negative equity. Both reasonable in my view. Don't offer this immediately, but be prepared to offer some cash and delay your plans for renovations.

Brendan
 
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