My name is on the deed to our house, my husband name is on the mortgage: he stopped paying - what could happen

Question

He moved out and is no longer paying the mortgage on the house. He gave me the grant deed and also P.O.A. over him. What can I do if he doesn't pay? Will his credit just get shot or can they take the house? How can I put the mortgage in my name? It's been almost 3 months now.

Answer 1

Hurry and call the bank. Tell them the problem. You'll have to pay the mortgage or the bank will foreclose. They usually start proceedings in 90 days from the date of the LAST payment.

You may have the deed, but the bank has a "lien" against the property. The bank owns the house and will foreclose and kick you out if payments are not made.

You don't say if you are going through a divorce or separation. Sounds like a divorce if you're dividing property. Did you have an agreement in your divorce stipulating if he would continue to pay the mortgage? If yes, then you need to take him to court for failing to live up to his deal. But you still need to deal with the bank in the meantime. That's your first priority. Even if he did not agree to pay the mortgage, you have to start paying it if you want to stay in the house.

Don't mess around with the mortgage company. Call them now and arrange to make the payments until you can legally sort through this and take over the mortgage (ie. refinance).

Call a divorce lawyer. They'll be able to give you immediate advice and help you stop the bank from foreclosing.

Take care of the bank issue TODAY!!!! Don't wait!

Good luck...

Answer 2

First of all, if he is on the mortgage but not the house that is his mistake. If you are on the house but not on the mortgage, that is the lenders mistake. Sitting on your assets and doing nothing is your mistake.

Bottom line is you have a h*ll of a mess brewing. You need to get the house refinanced and the other loan paid off. 3 months is more than enough time to cause foreclosure to start. If you are married and he has abandoned you, you have a lot more to worry about than just the house.

Having said that, there is a chance to make money on the house, lemonade from lemons so to speak. Go ahead if you can and refinance it. If you are not on the current loan, but have the authority to talk to the lender, see about a loan assumption unless the terms are horrendous. Even so, you may be able to assume it and then "streamline" refi the mortgage if FHA and not incur all the typical mortgage costs. But the mortgage must be current to do that.

If he has issued to you a Quit Claim Deed you are good to proceed, he is no longer on the deed. Get it recorded ASAP. And work with the current lender for a solution. You may be able to make a profit out of this yet by selling the home and getting a fresh start. It would be a small consolation for the remainder issues of a marriage breaking up.

***Thought: Even though the husband is on the note but you are not if the home is repossessed and you apply for another loan, when they ask YOU the question "Have you ever had a home or car repossessed?" the only truthful reply is "yes". The home is your responsibility and even though you are not on the mortgage, you did have an ownership in the home and allowed it to be repossed due to non-payment of the note. That will have to be explained to a lender's underwritting department. How they will respond? In a slowing real estate market with rising repossessions, probably not positively for you.

Good luck and get going.

Answer 3

First, it is possible to have 1 person on the loan and multiple people on the deed. I write loans everyday and this is never a problem. The deed gives ownership rights of the property to those people included on it. As far as the mortgage goes, if your husband is the only person on the mortgage, his is the only credit that will be affected. Since the house is 3 months behind, it is very possible the house will go into foreclosure, which means the bank takes it back. You definitely want to call the bank to try and make arrangements to get the payment caught up to prevent losing the house. If you don't care if you lose the house, the bank can take it and again will only impact your husband's credit. If you do want the loan in your name, your husband will need to sign a Quit Claim Deed. This basically states he is giving up his ownership rights to the house and allows you to be the sole person on the deed. Since you have P.O.A. over him, you could probably sign this yourself. Once you have the quit claim deed, you can go ahead and refinance the house in your name. Good Luck!

Answer 4

First of all, the mortgagee is everyone who's name is on the deed - so there can't be a split between the two. Both parties are responsible for payment, and both credit reports are impacted.

What you can do is re-mortgage the name in your name only, take the grant deed with you to the closing - use the same mortgage company you're with now. They will re-mortgage, maybe even on the same terms, and your name alone will be on the mortgage and on the deed. Make sure you get a warranty deed, not a quit claim deed.

You may have to pay for another title search, sorry, but it's money well spent.

Answer 5

If it's not already in foreclosure then call the bank and catch the payments up then look into refinancing. I would not notify the bank that he has deeded the property to you because then they might just take your money to catch up payments and call the loan anyway because there is more than likely a "due on sale clause" in the mortgage documents, which means that the mortgage is due in full on transfer of the property.

If you've had the property for long enough (usually to refi. it's 6 months) and there is enough equity in the home then you can refi without any money down and maybe even pull cash out (maybe to pay back a short term loan that you'll get to catch up the current payments).

So, take a look at your credit, look at your income, look at the equity in the home and if you think you can do it then refinance. If you can't refi or make the payments and there is equity in the home then sell it, pay off the mortgage and keep what's left for you.

Lot's to figure out and you have to do it quick!

Answer 6

Very good responses already. Just one note of clarification: mortgage foreclosure DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN that the bank takes possession of the house. The process varies by state. In some states, the property must be offered by the bank's trustees at public auction. In that case the bank can bid, but bidding too high hurts them financially. The owner, next door neighbors, family, or anyone can bid on the house.

If your husband gave you POA, then I don't think a refinance is required (or desirable unless you want to put YOUR credit at risk as well), unless the POA has an expiration date on it. With the POA, you are his attorney-in-fact for all actions described in the POA, and should be able to deal with the mortgage company based on that document (if it spells out these types of matters).

Still, you HAVE TO get current and out of default. The bank may have a Hardship Assistance dept that can offer suggestions on on your situation, b/c they don't want to go through foreclosure any more than you do.

Good Luck

Answer 7

When we purchased our house the mortgage was done in my husbands name only and i was added to the deed This gives me possesion of the house in the event something was to happen or when the house is pd for it is ours. As for the mortgage I know someone who went through a similar situation and had POA and the mortgage company woudl not transfer the loan but to keep the house she has to keep making the payments or loose the house. the other option was for her to get a loan for the property on her own and act as though she was purchasing it. You must talk to the mortgage company and buy yourself some time or make arrangements for payments before someone is knocking and putting you out.

Answer 8

Wanna keep the house? Then make sure the mortgage is payed up. Go to the bank that has the mortgage on the house. I doubt that they really care who makes the payments, as long as they are made.Keep all proof of the payments you make for future reference in any possible separation or divorce negotiations.

Answer 9

They can still take the house I believe. I don't think a lean is the route they would take on this one. You need to contact the mortgage company number one and tell them your situation. I believe that you should be able to refinance the mortgage under your name, but it's been over 3 mos. so you may be outta time and outta luck! Get on that phone with them TODAY!

Answer 10

If the mortgage isn't paid, they will take the house. The only way to get your name on the mortgage is to refinance it. Yes, his credit will be shot, but you will loose the house.