How to handle your mortgage during a divorce or separation
Going through a separation or divorce does not mean you can’t get a mortgage but there are more parts of the process that you have to be prepared for.
Key requirements for a separated or divorced mortgage application are:
The first and most important thing to do with any mortgage is to continue making repayments – even if you are no longer living in the home.
In a joint mortgage, both you and your partner are responsible for the repayments and a mortgage company is quite entitled to expect these to continue. Moving out of the home does not remove you from your legal obligation to keep up repayments.
- Get in touch with your mortgage lender as soon as possible and update them on your current circumstances – especially if there are issues with repayments. Of course, not all splits are amicable, and it might be that your partner is now refusing to pay their share on a joint mortgage or there is some other problem with your repayments. Don’t wait until mortgage repayments start being missed – get in touch with your lender straight away and explain the situation. Lenders who don’t know why the repayments have stopped can’t do anything to help – and the vast majority will appreciate early notice of any potential problems.
- If the breakup of your marriage, partnership or long-term relationship is amicable then this can go a long way to making things easier when dealing with a joint mortgage. Both parties can decide what they would like to do with the home after a split and basically, you have three choices:
i) Taking over the mortgage yourself.
ii) Being bought out of the mortgage by your ex-partner
iii) Sell up and go your separate ways
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