Hello my husband and I are going through a divorde which will be final soon. He has been staying in our home since August of 2008 and recently I have found out that he has not been paying the full amount for the monthly mortgage payment. As of today it is over 6,000 owed. Our agreement on our divorce degree was for him to refinance solely in his name or sell 30 days after the divorce is final. My question is am i still responsible for the owed mortgage even though he's been residing there? He said he was moving out in June what can I do legally if he leaves and it's not sold? How does this work? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Did you have divorce lawyer? EXACTLY how is the decree worded? If he is indeed laible for the payments according to the decree, he is screwed-not you!!
Hopefully, there was paperwork done at the time of the divorce that takes your liability off you. You probably need to contact a real estate attorney to review your options, before the house goes into default if you're not sure.
If your name is on the mortgage, you are just as responsible. I went through this about 4 years ago, and needless to say, due to my ex not paying the mortgage, my credit was ruined as well. Good luck/.
Yes, you are still responsible.
The mortgage company doesn't care what kind of agreement you and your husband came to, they only care about the agreement "your mortgage", that you both took out with them.
Your credit is already affected by his actions.
I don't know if they would refinance in his name with the debt outstanding, but, maybe you could get lucky and they would and roll it into his mortgage. But, he could also be doing this all on purpose. Has been done before to other women just for spite.
If it was me and I was capable, or not maybe, I would have him sign the house back to me and kick him out pronto. I would go back and get the papers modified to give it to me, plus then for him to pay me back that money owed.
Again, the mortgage company won't care anything about that but, they might care more if you can make the payments and take possession maybe?
If the house goes into default, you could potentially be on the hook to owe the bank even more money if they don't get the full amount of your mortgage from sale. You would still owe the difference to them.
So, you are both on the hook right now to the mortgage, and then you have to take your agreement to court and try to get your money back from hubby.
You need to talk to your lawyer and find out what you can do with all of this and what rights and recourse you may have.
good luck
If your name is on the mortgage or et all yes you are responsible. Regardless of whether he made payments at all you are responsible. Have you contacted your mortgage co to try to work with you? You cant force him to pay. Get with your lawyer....can you refi in your name? But only if you are paid up in full Im sorry to say! Good luck to you...
As everyone has stated-you are responsible for it since your name is on it. You have to make sure he refinances in his name. Also-for sure listen to Dave Ramsey. He is so awesome about financial's and life!
If your name appears on the mortgage paperwork, you are liable until it is in his name only. talk to your lawyer, this could affect your credit for a very long time.
If your name is on the mortgage you are responsible, even if he is the one that makes the payments. Hopefully it's not.
Yes, until he refinances the house into his name only (which he will probably be unable to do now) you are equally responsible. I would talk to your attorney about changing the divorce decree (don't know much about this part), but you should be able to force him to sale the house. Until then, if you have the money, I would try and get current on the payments or try and work out a payment plan with the mortgage company. It is totally unfair, but your credit is being damaged as much as his right now by his failure to make payments. I am sorry that you are having to go through this. If you need help walking through this, contact Parenting Alone (parentingalone.org). They have a team of financial counselors and legal advisors that can help you with this.
Try DaveRamsey.com, he is a great Christian financial adviser. I listen to him on KLIF 520am from 1-4pm on weekdays. From what I heard, you are still on the hook for anything done in with your name on the mortgage. Divorce decrees mean nothing to the lender. Get your name off ASAP.
He will have a hard tme refinancing with that kind of history. If you can't get the specific advise you need on the website or call in show, go to one of the EFP (endorsed Financial providers) on the website and get some good counsel before you get way in over your head.
First Pray, then listen, then act.
If your name is on the Mortgage then you are also responsible for the debt. Sorry, but there is not way around getting out of the money owed. You can either pay it, let the bank foreclose, or file bankruptcy, but it is going on both of your credit reports. Currently he cannot refinance unless the past amount due gets paid.
You've gotten great answers on this and I'd just like to add on... No, he cannot, nor can you, refinance to include the arrears into a new loan now that the mortgage is delinquent. No lender will buy that loan now. You have only a few choices, other than foreclosure. You need to look at your temporary orders and check with your divorce attorney about his concession of the property back to you. A key part in my divorce was him being awarded the house (which I did gladly), and in the Special Warranty Deed to Secure Assumption, if he goes into default, I have the right to retake possession and cure the default prior to foreclosure.
Also, you may wish to get an appraisal or contact an experienced Realtor (who handles primarily distress sales) so that you can find out the actual property value based on sold and closed data at this time. Depending on what $6000 behind in payments means when translated to the number of months he's actually behind, you may have limited time before the lender accelerates the Note and proceeds to foreclosure. And, a traditional list and sell may not be an option. A foreclosure will haunt both of you for at least 5 years before you'll be eligible for a new mortgage (under today's Fannie/Freddie guidelines).
Take a look at the actual fair market value (note - this is NOT the county's assessed value... big difference), and if you are upsidown, you'll need to sell it short to avoid a foreclosure. A Short sale should only be handled by an experienced Agent. Especially when there is limited time to avoid the foreclosure. While you are still married to him, you'll need his cooperation to participate. A Short sale is not the same as a foreclosure and the waiting limit before future financing is 2 years (when there has been a mortgage delinquency). A short sale is free to you and him. You pay nothing and do not have to cure the default, pay commissions, closing costs, or back taxes, nor do you have to pay the difference between the sale price and the amount you owe.
Feel free to contact me if you have questions. I am a licensed Mortgage Broker and HUD counselor and my husband is a licensed Realtor with 25 years experience with distress sales.
C.
First off if you are a cosigner on the loan as is you are responsible for late payments it should be on your credit report, I'd recommend pulling it (you can do this free once a year). Second contact your mortgage company and let them know the situation. I do not know when your divorce is going to be finalized but you need to know his intention whether to sell or not. If he is going to refinance then you may have some options to force him to begin that paperwork so that it does not reflect negatively on you. Divorces are ugly and the bank is usually just going to stick to what you signed which is that you are just as responsible as he is for paying it. But in the current economy they may be willing to work with you to get your name off of the agreement or to refinance. Unfortunately it doesn't matter who is living there it is a legally binding contract (just like if you cosign on a car loan for a family member) their failure is your responsibility. Check your credit report and stay in contact with the bank and any other creditors you may have, and make sure to cancel all joint accounts or any cards he may have legal access to but are in your name as soon as possible. My friend had a boyfriend on her Sears card and he ran up $12,000 on it and she was left to pay because she authorized his use. Everything should be laid out in your divorce decree even credit cards, but if you are the primary cardholder you can cancel use anytime and have them reissue you alone a new card. As for any other loans that you may have cosigned (cars, equity, consolidation) make sure you account for everyone of them. Also your regular bills like Electricity on the house. Make sure that you know what you have your name on. I've seen so many people who just walk out on the other one and leave them paying the bills. Good luck.
Yes, in Texas you are both equally responsible for anything obtained during the marriage. This includes mortgages, loans, and credit cards. Even with divorce papers, no matter what you agree upon, the creditors can come after you and can ruin your credit.
