What should we do about this situation?

Question

My husband's ex-wife's name is on the mortgage to the house we live in, ( as well as my husband's name) she wants her name off b/c she wants to take out a second mortgage on her current house with her current new husband. Here's the problem, there is a second mortgage on house #1 and she can not get her name off until it is paid in full, ($40k), problem 2 in their divorce agreement, she opted out of getting child support and alimony b/c she wanted half the sale of house #1, some time ago she sued my husband for child support and won, he pays $700 a month for his two underage children, ( he is fine with it or so he says), problem 3; she NOW wants us to either sale this house that we are living in to get her name off of it OR paid the whole 40k ourselves (the second mortgage) . Question, what should we do about her? (besides the obvious) Does she have the right to sale this house from underneath us? If yes, why, this isn't her legal residence....and finally what kind of legal action can we take to make her stop harassing us about this issue?

Answer 1

I appreciate your problem with maybe having to

re-fi the house or sell it to get rid of ex wife.

I do not share your frustration cause i don't sleep in that

bed.

It appears the best you can do for now is wait till the

house gains in value if you can't re-if it now.

or --even sell part of it as an investment to anyone just

to get her cash.

or borrow from a family member to pay her off.

or take a 2nd job to pay her off.

ex-s are a bit......sorry

Answer 2

Talk to a divorce lawyer now.

Answer 3

If you are in CA

You can do a quit claim deed... which takes her name off.

then she has to call the credit reporting agencies to make sure it is off her record.

that takes about 30 day.

I dont' know about other states because some use Real Estate Lawyers.  

Answer 4

Your husband and ex-wife's names are on the warranty deed, and there's a 2nd.  That's not a problem.  The warranty deed and the mortgages are separate.  If the name is on the warranty deed, you could have a title company or lawyer change that.  You can get a quitclaim, but a special warranty deed is better.  A quitclaim says IF I have interest in this property I'm giving it to you.  A special warranty deed says I AM giving you my interest in this property.  

If her name is on the mortgage or deed of trust, she cannot be removed unless the loan is paid in full or refinanced.  THIS is what will prevent her from getting another mortgage, because as far as the lender is concerned, she's still responsible for this loan.  A judge can say she isn't, but the lender made a loan to 2 people in good faith, and expects them both to make sure he gets his money, or he'll make sure other lenders know about it.

The child support is totally separate from the housing/mortgage issue.

She can't sell the house out from under you, but she can sue you for a partition sale, or whatever it's called in your state.  The court can make him sell the house.  Legal residence and ownership, again, totally different things.  A person can own a property without living there, obviously.  The owner can and does determine what happens to the house, but remember there are 2 owners