💔❓Going through separation - what you need to know❓💔

Housing after you separate or divorce

Step 1.  You need a Separation agreement, unfortunately this is usually the hardest part of moving on.  Your separation agreement for mortgage qualifying purposes needs to outline -the division of assets, support payable by either party, and must be witnessed and filed in court which makes it legal in the eyes of mortgagors.  

When you have agreed on the division of assets and support you are now free to start the process of removing an  x-spouse from title and if there is equity to be split there may be a buy out at this point.

If you are the party who is staying in the home and you are buying the x-spouse out of the equity you will need to qualify on your own.

Staying in the family home

If you decide to stay in the family home, you'll need to buy out your former partner. In some cases, you may need to refinance your mortgage to give your ex-partner a lump-sum payment.

Your lender will require that you requalify for the mortgage on your own. You’ll have to prove to your lender that you can afford to make the mortgage payments. Your lender may ask for certain information including:

*A separation agreement 

*The amount of any child support payments

*The amount of any spousal support payments

If you don’t qualify for the mortgage on your own, an option is to ask another person to act as a joint borrower or cosigner. This person should have a good credit history and income. Before co-signing, make sure you both fully understand the responsibilities involved.

Once you’ve qualified for the mortgage, you need to have your former partner:

*Removed from the home’s title

*Released from the mortgage

*You’ll have to pay fees to do this.

If you don’t release your former partner from the mortgage, he or she could continue to be responsible for the mortgage payments. If you fail to make your mortgage payments, your former partner would be required to pay.

    

Whether you are a First Time buyer or you are a seasoned home buyer looking to sell property and buy something else, I would love to help.  Our pre approval application takes 5-10 minutes and will give me the basic information I need to get started on helping you set your home ownership goals.

https://harmonymortgage.ca/application-form/

Resources/links:

Online separation agreement 
https://www.lawdepot.ca/contracts/separation-agreement-canada/#.YAehmMVKj6A

Family Justice counsellors
https://family.legalaid.bc.ca/guides/separation/index