A joint mortgage can be transferred to one person, providing your lender agrees to it - they will need to assess your income and expenditure to see if you meet their affordability requirements.
Separating might mean you're no longer romantically linked with your partner, but if there's a joint mortgage with both your names on it then you're still financially linked. Fail to keep up with repayments of a joint mortgage, and there could be serious knock-on effects for both of you.
In most circumstances, a mortgage can't be transferred from one borrower to another. That's because most lenders and loan types don't allow another borrower to take over payment of an existing mortgage.
Removing a name from a mortgage is a very similar process to remortgaging. You'll need to let your existing mortgage lender know the changes you're planning so that they can carry out calculations, ensuring you can afford to meet their lender criteria and monthly payments.
Yes, it is possible to take sole responsibility for a home that you're currently sharing without refinancing, even if your ex-spouse or another co-borrower or cosigner is currently on the mortgage.
Yes, removing a name from a mortgage typically incurs costs. Refinancing usually requires closing costs of 2-5% of the loan balance, while a loan assumption may cost around 1% plus processing fees. Loan modification costs vary by lender.
A mortgage can technically be transferred to one person via refinance. For this to happen, you'll need to refinance to a sole ownership loan or – if your partner won't agree to that – use a cash-out refinance that will give them their equity in exchange for the title of the house.
Joint mortgage responsibility
If both spouses' names are on the mortgage, then both must keep paying, even if one leaves. Whether the spouse lives in the home or not, they remain financially tied to the mortgage until they pay it in full or it gets legally modified.
A joint mortgage allows multiple people to share responsibility for paying back a single loan, but it doesn't necessarily mean they will share legal ownership of the home. You can opt to share ownership, but that will involve additional actions beyond taking out the joint mortgage.
However, in a community property state (like California) – and even some states without community property laws – a home purchased during the marriage is considered marital property, regardless of whose name appears on the deed.
An assumable mortgage allows the buyer to purchase a home by taking over the seller's mortgage loan. Some buyers prefer to purchase a home with an assumable mortgage because it may allow them to take advantage of a lower interest rate.
You can't switch a joint account into a sole account until the second party has been removed from the account.
Legal Remedies When Refinancing Isn't Feasible
If the spouse who wishes to keep the home cannot successfully refinance it after the divorce, several legal remedies and options may come into play: Sell the Home: One option is to sell the marital home and divide the proceeds as agreed upon in the divorce settlement.
On a joint mortgage, all borrowers' credit scores matter. Lenders collect credit and financial information including credit history, current debt and income. Lenders determine what's called the "lower middle score" and usually look at each applicant's middle score.
You'll typically only be able to transfer your mortgage if your mortgage is assumable, and most conventional loans aren't. Some exceptions, such as the death of a borrower, may allow for the assumption of a conventional loan. If you don't have an assumable mortgage, refinancing may be a possible option to pursue.
With an assumable mortgage, instead of applying for a brand-new loan, you can take over — or “assume” — an existing one. If that loan has a low interest rate, you can sit back and enjoy the perks of having a rate far below what the current market offers.
The price to eliminate names from deeds is contingent on many factors like where you live, the legal fees, and the difficulty of the procedure. Generally, it could vary from one hundred to a few thousand dollars. If both parties agree on the removal and there are no legal complications, the cost might be lower.
If you want to keep the house and don't have enough equity to do a cash-out refinance or the money to pay your ex their share, the solution might be a home equity line of credit (HELOC) or home equity loan.
When you assume a mortgage, the current borrower signs the balance of their loan over to you, and you become responsible for the remaining payments. That means the mortgage will have the same terms the previous homeowner had, including the same interest rate and monthly payments.
Removing a cosigner or co-borrower from a mortgage almost always requires paying off the loan in full or refinancing by getting a new loan in your own name. Under rare circumstances, though, the lender may allow you to take over an existing mortgage from your other signer.