Published 21 December 2018 · Last reviewed 21 December 2018 · Older article — see current rates

Can I use my ex-husband’s earnings to support my remortgage?

If you are looking to borrow more on a remortgage using your ex-husband’s income then you are reading the right article. The same applies if you are looking to borrow more on a remortgage using your ex-wife’s income.

The key to obtaining a remortgage using your ex-husband’s income is how amicable the split is as full co-operation will be required on both sides.

For example, you might have taken the ex-marital home as part of the divorce proceedings, maybe because you have primary care for your children, the reality is the mortgage was affordable with both your incomes, but now it’s up for renewal and your earnings alone cannot justify a remortgage so you are stuck on a high rate. So whereas you do not see eye on everything your ex-husband is happy to help out financially for the benefit of his children and will be party to the mortgage so it is affordable.

How can your ex-husbands income enable you to borrow more on a remortgage?

Well, there is a growing breed of remortgages known as “joint borrower sole proprietor”, put in other words: two person’s income on a mortgage application and one owner on the title deeds.

The ability to borrow more than you could in your own right rests on the non-committed income of your ex-husband. Put another way after taking into account his own mortgage, loans, credit cards and daily living how much surplus income does he have? If this is of tangible amount and he is willing to help out then it could make up the difference you need.

What are the next steps to borrowing more on a remortgage using your ex-husband’s income?

It is crunching the numbers. Not everyone’s strength or favourite exercise. It is therefore thinking about enlisting the services of a professional Remortgage Broker, such as Niche Advice. We will need to deal with both you and your ex-husband so you must be willing to share information on your financial well-being as the mortgage application will be a joint one. To ensure impartially both of you should seek independent legal advice.

Will the interest rates be higher than normal when using an ex-husband’s income to support a remortgage?

Not necessarily. The Remortgage Lenders that offer joint borrower sole proprietor remortgages are typically building societies whose principal reason for existence is to lend money for home ownership.

Niche Advice can help with remortgages for all types of applicants including those looking to borrow more using ex-husband’s income.