In debt because of my brother

A question about : In debt because of my brother

about five year ago I was desperate to get on the mortgage ladder so I teamed up with my brother and we bought a two bed flat, we both moved in and all was good. about two year ago I moved out the flat and moved in with my girlfriend. I am still paying my half of the mortgage and have always done so , I have recently found out that for the last year and so my brother has not been paying his half, he was made unemployed a while back and continued to lie to me about it all . so this is were i need advice. i cant sell the house cause my brother wont agree to it and it has lost value. is there a way i can sign over my half of the mortgage to my brother so that he is the sole owner and therefore i am set free from the debt ? any other solution would be welcome

Best answers:

• Is your brother STILL unemployed?
• There is no way the lender will agree to this if your brother has insufficient income to service the mortgage. Presumably, the mortgage is in arrears - if so, by how much?
• yep he is still unemployed says he cant find work but think he is just being to fussy/lazy
• You would not be able to sign the house over to your brother as to do this he would have to be in a position to take over the entire mortgage and as he is already in arrears this will not happen.
  Have you found out from the lender what the arrers amount to? Has your share been being paid to them every month? Unfortunately you are jointly liable for the arrears even though you have been handing over your share. Dont want to be alarmist but if I were you I would be looking into other bills for the property-ie, council tax and utilities or you may find you have more debt than you think.
• yes the mortgage is about 5000 in arrears
• he is on job seekers so i think he is exempt for council tax all the bills are prepaid cards but im sure there will be skeletons somewere .
• yep been paying my share direct from my account to bank every month
• I would think you need to contact the lender and make some arrangement to start clearing the arrears. Its odd that they have let them build up so high. Im not sure about all building societies but I do know that in my brothers case he was told that once you are more than 1 month in arrears they start to take action. Have you spoken to the lender?
• thanks guys will sit down with lender and find out my options
• Hi Klawd, thank you for your query regarding in debt because of my brother.
  Unfortunately if you took this mortgage out on a joint basis with your brother you are both liable for the full amount and any monthly payments due this is called joint and several liability. We would suggest you check the mortgage agreement and speak to you brother and the mortgage company to see if an arrangement can be made. We would also suggest you encourage your brother to get debt advice as soon as possible and also a benefit check as he may be entitled to some help with the mortgage payments. You can find your nearest Citizens Advice Bureau at www.citizensadvice.org.uk.
  Hope this is of assistance