Removing ex partner from mortgage

[nobby_london]

Hi All,

Just found this forum and hope you can help me out.

I have read a similar thread but mine is a variation of the one I read.

My dilemma is this: I bought a flat with my girlfriend in 1989. I paid the deposit, all fees, etc.My partner and I paid half the mortgage repayments each every month. It is a leasehold. We split up in 1991 and my partner moved out with all her stuff. Back then, the flat was in negative equity and the repayments were sky high. I really struggled for years to pay the mortgage on my own. My ex partner has never paid a penny towards the mortgage since she left. I saw her a couple of years ago and she has since got married and has a family now and has moved away from the area. I have no contact details for her.

The flat now has equity. My mortgage is �60,000 and the flat is worth @ �180,000. I have got an endowment mortgage but cancelled the endowment policy years ago when I was struggling with bills. I got no money for that. I have since been repaying only the interest on the mortgage every month.

I recently suffered a heart attack and may need to change my job in the near future so I'm trying to get my financial affairs in order.

About a year ago I wrote to the Building Society and asked about getting my ex partner removed from the mortgage. I was informed that I need to do a 'transfer of equity.' My ex needs to sign it as well. As I have no way of contacting her, I am stuck. The Building society won't help me any further. They said I will need to take out a new mortgage once the transfer is done.

I contacted a local solicitor who said they could not help me without contact details for my ex.

I am at my wits end and don't know what to do now!

Can anybody suggest what I should do?

Also, is my ex entitled to 50% of any equity in the flat?

Hope you're all still awake after that. T.I.A.

Peter

[Sludge]

What the Building Society and the Solicitor told you is correct. The onus is solely upon you to search high and low and everywhere for your ex. Only after every possible endeavour is exhausted and she cannot be found can you go to Court with the evidence of your fruitless search for a Declaration (Court Order) permitting you alone to conduct all matters concerning the property. No, she is not entitled to 50% but could successfully argue for a percentage calculated by taking her financial contribution plus interest and comparing it to yours.

[spk]

Also, You should really look at getting either a repayment vehicle in place to repay the mortgage at the end of the term or change it to full repayment. Mortgage regulation has changed since October and the building society may ask for evidence of a policy you can use at the end of the mortgage term to clear it to zero. Just thought I should mention it..