First of all Hello all :D, This is my first post on the forum, my names Tommy. I hope some of you can help me.
I have browsed sections of the forum in the past but have decided to join the forum in the hope that I can get a clearer understanding of my position and options available to me as well as some guidance and direction from those more experienced than myself with mortgages.
To cut a long story as short as possible, I took out a Joint Mortgage with BOI (Formerly Bristol & West) at the age of 24 with my fianc! at the time and my 1yr old daughter. The mortgage we went for was a 5 year fixed rate of around 5.5% , around £99k (repayments approx. £580 per month). The purchase price was £106,000
We took the joint mortgage out on the understanding/agreement that she would return to work part time at some stage in order for her to help me out financially. After a year or two things just didnt work out for us, there were a number of contributing factors including the fact that she made no attempt to return to work or to contribute financially.
We split up and went our separate ways, However, it was agreed between us that I would keep the house and continue paying the mortgage as I had been doing anyway and we could get her name removed from the mortgage. Straightforward I thought.
However, at the time I never realised the financial implications of having her name removed from the mortgage, application for a mortgage in my name only, deeds etc. When I discovered all of this, I realised I couldnt afford to do all of this whilst simultaneously paying the mortgage, council tax, bills, child maintenance etc . I informed my ex about the cost by text message at the time but she didnt even acknowledge it with anything other than okay- needless to say I was never offered any money from her to resolve the matter.
For the past 4 years or so I have just continued on paying the mortgage, paying child maintenance and generally scrimping by on very little spare cash for the majority of this time(despite earning between £26-31k in this time). The Fixed rate ended about a year or so ago and I went onto an SVR which reduced my payments slightly. I think I now pay around £520 per month and my balance is somewhere around £90,000.
Im unhappy with my situation, I no longer want to live in the property, particularly as its a joint mortgage I feel Im chained to my ex and its been on the market now for around 2 years with no luck. I have been looking for around £98k at the beginning now dropped to o/o £92k, this was basically just enough for me to cut my losses and cover legal expenses without touching my savings. However Im not sure this is even the best approach as Im not sure about my ability to get another mortgage in the current climate. I now live with my new girlfriend of 2 years in the property who thankfully does contribute and she is continually urging me to do something to resolve it as she knows it makes me miserable.
I now have about £2k in savings which I would like to use as efficiently as possible.
I would like to know what the options open to me are and any advice on what I should do would be amazing? My ideal scenario would be to move into another flat, with a smaller mortgage (approx. 80k) and with no ex-gf tied to it. Would this be in any way possible to achieve given my circumstances and the current climate?
Also, if Im forced to stay in the house Im currently in what are my options there? Is it likely that I will need to stay on SVR or is there any way of arranging a new mortgage in my name only?
I very much look forward to any advice anyone has to offer.
Thanks
Tommy
I have browsed sections of the forum in the past but have decided to join the forum in the hope that I can get a clearer understanding of my position and options available to me as well as some guidance and direction from those more experienced than myself with mortgages.
To cut a long story as short as possible, I took out a Joint Mortgage with BOI (Formerly Bristol & West) at the age of 24 with my fianc! at the time and my 1yr old daughter. The mortgage we went for was a 5 year fixed rate of around 5.5% , around £99k (repayments approx. £580 per month). The purchase price was £106,000
We took the joint mortgage out on the understanding/agreement that she would return to work part time at some stage in order for her to help me out financially. After a year or two things just didnt work out for us, there were a number of contributing factors including the fact that she made no attempt to return to work or to contribute financially.
We split up and went our separate ways, However, it was agreed between us that I would keep the house and continue paying the mortgage as I had been doing anyway and we could get her name removed from the mortgage. Straightforward I thought.
However, at the time I never realised the financial implications of having her name removed from the mortgage, application for a mortgage in my name only, deeds etc. When I discovered all of this, I realised I couldnt afford to do all of this whilst simultaneously paying the mortgage, council tax, bills, child maintenance etc . I informed my ex about the cost by text message at the time but she didnt even acknowledge it with anything other than okay- needless to say I was never offered any money from her to resolve the matter.
For the past 4 years or so I have just continued on paying the mortgage, paying child maintenance and generally scrimping by on very little spare cash for the majority of this time(despite earning between £26-31k in this time). The Fixed rate ended about a year or so ago and I went onto an SVR which reduced my payments slightly. I think I now pay around £520 per month and my balance is somewhere around £90,000.
Im unhappy with my situation, I no longer want to live in the property, particularly as its a joint mortgage I feel Im chained to my ex and its been on the market now for around 2 years with no luck. I have been looking for around £98k at the beginning now dropped to o/o £92k, this was basically just enough for me to cut my losses and cover legal expenses without touching my savings. However Im not sure this is even the best approach as Im not sure about my ability to get another mortgage in the current climate. I now live with my new girlfriend of 2 years in the property who thankfully does contribute and she is continually urging me to do something to resolve it as she knows it makes me miserable.
I now have about £2k in savings which I would like to use as efficiently as possible.
I would like to know what the options open to me are and any advice on what I should do would be amazing? My ideal scenario would be to move into another flat, with a smaller mortgage (approx. 80k) and with no ex-gf tied to it. Would this be in any way possible to achieve given my circumstances and the current climate?
Also, if Im forced to stay in the house Im currently in what are my options there? Is it likely that I will need to stay on SVR or is there any way of arranging a new mortgage in my name only?
I very much look forward to any advice anyone has to offer.
Thanks
Tommy