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.
Removing a name from your mortgage: Can it be done without refinancing? 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.
If the lender won't change the existing loan, your co-borrower will need to refinance the home into a new mortgage. Does it cost to remove a name from a mortgage? Yes. Refinancing to remove a name requires closing costs, typically ranging from 2% to 5% of the loan balance.
Normally, a cosigner will have to stay on the mortgage for a minimum of one year. From my experience, normally a cosigner will stay on a mortgage for several years. When the borrower is ready to have the cosigner removed, they contact the lender to then re-qualify without the cosigner.
If the equity split is amicable, buying someone out of a house and mortgage can take between 4 and 6 weeks. But if there are disagreements between how the equity is split, or you are struggling to find a mortgage lender who will lend to you by yourself, this can make the process take longer.
A buy-out is when one owner of a property pays the other owner's share of the property's equity so that the co-owner can be released from the mortgage and removed from the deed as owner.
How does a home buyout get calculated in a divorce? To calculate how much it would cost to buy your ex out of your shared home, you need to know the amount of equity you and your ex share in the home. Use this formula: Net equity = (the appraised value - mortgage obligation) divided by 2.
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.
The Solution: Release or Refinance
There are two ways to remove an ex-spouse from a loan: Release and refinance. A lender may release the ex-spouse from the loan. If presented with a divorce decree and a quitclaim deed, many lenders will remove the ex-spouse and leave the loan in the name of one spouse only.
One spouse can buy the other out, they can opt for a delayed buyout, or they can sell the home and split the profit. This decision is all mediated by divorce court, and, notably, the court can force the sale of the house if the (soon-to-be ex) couple can't agree on what to do with it.
If you both decide you want the mortgage to be transferred to one person, you do this through a legal process known as a 'transfer of equity'. A transfer of equity is when you transfer a joint mortgage to one of the owners, or to a new person.
Being a cosigner does not give you rights to the property. A cosigner has no title or ownership in the property secured for the loan. Additionally, a cosigner has no legal right to occupy a home as a primary or secondary residence, unlike the primary signer/borrower.
If both parties signed the note, then the best way to remove one owner from the note is for the other owner to refinance. When one owner refinances, they take a new loan to pay off the old loan. Once the old mortgage is paid off, then one of the owners has successfully removed themselves from the note.
File a motion for contempt: You can file a motion with the court that handled your divorce to enforce the terms of the divorce decree. This may involve requesting that your ex-wife be held in contempt of court for failing to comply with the order to refinance the home or obtain a new loan.
While the name on the mortgage can influence who is responsible for the debt, it doesn't necessarily dictate how the property is divided.
If you need to remove your ex's name from a mortgage without refinancing, you could request a quitclaim deed (a legal document that allows you to transfer interest in real estate as a grantor to a grantee). In this situation, you are asking that your ex-spouse sign the quitclaim deed in front of a notary.
This should be handled by your divorce attorney with the court. Either your spouse will be ordered to sell the house or buy out your share of the property. Your divorce attorney should be able to advise you on how to make sure that you are not responsible (or have any rights to) the property or any mortgage.
Refinancing After Divorce. There are two ways to remove a divorced partner from a mortgage: obtaining a release of liability from the lender or refinancing the mortgage.
If the borrower forged your signature, or if they committed fraud to enforce you to sign the loan contract, you can sue both the lender and the primary borrower to have your name removed. However, you'll need unquestionable proof that you did not willingly consent to cosign the loan.
To know whether your mortgage is assumable, look for an assumption clause in your mortgage contract. This provision is what allows you to transfer your mortgage to someone else.
The Bottom Line
Fortunately, you can have your name removed, but you will have to take the appropriate steps depending on the cosigned loan type. Basically, you have two options: You can enable the main borrower to assume total control of the debt or you can get rid of the debt entirely.
When the amount of the equity is calculated, you and your ex can figure out how to divide the equity. For example, if both of you were employed during the marriage and contributed equally to the mortgage you acquired after you were married, the equity would typically be split 50/50.
Take your home's value, and then subtract all amounts that are owed on that property. The difference is the amount of equity you have. For example, if you have a property worth $400,000, and the total mortgage balances owed on the property are $200,000, then you have a total of $200,000 in equity.
3-30-10 Rule For Buying A House
If you really want to keep your personal finances easy to manage don't buy a house for more than three times(3X) your income.