Written By Carol Richardson
Separating from your partner is an already difficult time and, when children are involved, this can add to the stress, particularly when it comes to living arrangements. It is estimated that lone parent families make up 14.7% of the UK [1], but what happens to the family home when a married couple gets divorced? It is not always as simple as one person moving out or simply selling the home and parting ways, due to mortgage arrangements, salaries, wider family situations, and of course the emotions that come with this period. We recently helped a client, Natalie, through a similar situation.
Natalie came to us a few years ago when she was living with her husband and three children in a house they owned together. Unfortunately, their marriage had broken down and they needed to organise their finances and living arrangements in a way that would cause minimal disruption to the children. Their mortgage rate at the time was due to expire, and they needed a short-term solution until they had a full plan for the future. Ideally, Natalie wanted to stay in the family home so the children would not have to change schools and she could easily commute to her place of work.
At that time, Natalie was training to become a teacher and was generating very little income, therefore could not afford to take over the mortgage on her own. Also, her husband could not afford to help with the mortgage costs of their current home and pay for somewhere else to live as well. Natalie was due to fully qualify as a teacher within a year and so her salary would eventually allow her to cover the costs of the home, but that still did not help their current situation.
This was clearly a difficult challenge and, although other options were discussed, it was clear that their children came first. Whilst Natalie finished her training, we were able to find the couple a new two-year fixed rate on their mortgage which was also lower than previous. This would allow them to keep the family home and save some money for the future in the meantime. Although the separated couple had a difficult two years still living together in the family home, they did come to an agreement at the end of the mortgage term. Now that Natalie was established as a full-time teacher with a good salary in place, she was in a position to take on the mortgage alone and so her husband was able to move out and find a place of his own.
We have just secured Natalie a low five-year fixed rate and can now submit a transfer of equity application to the lender. Now Natalie is comforted and confident in her monthly finances, knowing exactly what she has to budget for.
We have been able to work closely with Natalie to make her dream of supporting herself and her children in their family home a reality, which was a relief for her to hear after a very difficult period in her life. This has clearly been a stressful time, from living with her soon to be ex-husband, having to transfer a property into her name as well as going through a divorce settlement, but with our help Natalie has remained strong and has been able to put the future of her career and her children first.
We are here to support you through the next big move in your life, whatever your plans or circumstances may be. Get in touch with one of our specialist mortgage advisers today to make your dream home a reality on 01494 509 666.
1. Office for National Statistics, 2020
Written By Carol Richardson
