If my name is on a mortgage in a property I don't reside in, am I held liable?
A reader from East Anglia wants to know if missed mortgage payments on a house she used to reside in with her mother will affect future mortgages chances.
Drawing on years of experience, mortgage adviser Katie Tucker – of mortgage broker Mortgageforce – tackles the problem.
Sarah from Peterborough asks:
I have been named on a mortgage with my mother for 6 years – I moved out of the property three years ago with my partner.
During this time there have been a couple of late payments on the mortgage.
My partner and I now want to buy my mother out of the property as she is unable to get a mortgage alone, will these late payments affect me even though I have not lived there for three years and all of the late payments have happened within this time?
My partner and I are good savers etc.
Katie replies:
Unfortunately yes, regardless of who lives there, if you are named on the mortgage, you are liable for all of the payments on it.
A large deposit saved up will put you in a better position, but you will definitely need to enlist the help of a broker to find a lender who can consider you with late payments on your official record.
Try the existing lender first.
If you have a question for Katie, go to the myfinances.co.uk Ask the Mortgage Expert section.
For more information on the issues discussed here, go to www.mortgageforce.co.uk.
Mortgage Force Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, and is entered on the FSA register (www.fsa.gov.uk/register) under reference 301046.