Posted on: 30th Jul, 2008 03:57 pm
my spouse and i separated. i signed a quitclaim for our home in va over to her and moved out at her request.
i should have done some research on the ramifications of the quitclaim before i signed, but i didn't. my spouses mother pushed the quitclaim, my moving out and used her attorney to draw it up and notarize it (all in the course of about 48 hours from the time we decided to separate).
my spouse agreed that she would refinance the house after we were offically divorced (which takes 6 months to a year in virginia) and we would split the equity, as of the day of the quitclaim (anything she pays after the quitclaim is hers, we only split what we had jointly at the time when i signed the quitclaim). the splitting equity agreement was only verbal, there is nothing in writing. but this is not even my problem/question.
the mortgage is in both of our names, with my va entitlement (va loan). i signed the quitclaim over to her without doing any research. i was not aware when i signed that i should have spoken with the va and the mortgage company first. my spouse was going to refinance after our divorce was final, so none of this alarmed me at first. however (and here is my problem/question), she is no longer making the mortgage payment or paying the electric bill. i know i am still on the hook for the mortgage and the electric utility (which is still in my name), but i can not afford my apartment, my utilities, her mortgage and her utilities.
if she does not make the mortgage payments and i have to in order to prevent a foreclosure, do i have any recourse to the property? or do i just let it get foreclosed on and suffer the credit implications (for the rest of my life)?
i should have done some research on the ramifications of the quitclaim before i signed, but i didn't. my spouses mother pushed the quitclaim, my moving out and used her attorney to draw it up and notarize it (all in the course of about 48 hours from the time we decided to separate).
my spouse agreed that she would refinance the house after we were offically divorced (which takes 6 months to a year in virginia) and we would split the equity, as of the day of the quitclaim (anything she pays after the quitclaim is hers, we only split what we had jointly at the time when i signed the quitclaim). the splitting equity agreement was only verbal, there is nothing in writing. but this is not even my problem/question.
the mortgage is in both of our names, with my va entitlement (va loan). i signed the quitclaim over to her without doing any research. i was not aware when i signed that i should have spoken with the va and the mortgage company first. my spouse was going to refinance after our divorce was final, so none of this alarmed me at first. however (and here is my problem/question), she is no longer making the mortgage payment or paying the electric bill. i know i am still on the hook for the mortgage and the electric utility (which is still in my name), but i can not afford my apartment, my utilities, her mortgage and her utilities.
if she does not make the mortgage payments and i have to in order to prevent a foreclosure, do i have any recourse to the property? or do i just let it get foreclosed on and suffer the credit implications (for the rest of my life)?
Never, ever, give a quitclaim without getting off the mortgage. You should have just sold your interest to her.
Quitclaim + refinance = sale.
Now you are liable for the mortgage, even though you don't own the house.
Quitclaim + refinance = sale.
Now you are liable for the mortgage, even though you don't own the house.
Larry:
Thanks for your advice. I have not contacted my lender as yet. After reading some of the posts at this site, I am somewhat afraid to contact them. Some of the posts imply that the lender may demand repayment, as the loan was granted to both of us and now only one of us is actually in possession (or occupying) the property. Although given the current situation, it appears that it is inevitable.
I have looked into some of the options listed in the link you provided (17 way to protect yourself from the foreclosure trap). However, they all require some kind of joint decisions between both my spouse and I, as the mortgage is in both of our names. This presents a problem, as my ex-spouse will not even speak to me, much less make any kind of joint decisions. I fear that anything that will require both of us to agree and sign any kind of joint paperwork will never come to pass. Unless she is willing to move out and sign it back over to me, so I can move in and start making the payments (and catching everything back up) and refinance it solely in my name, I don't know that I have any options. I can't pay both and I can't help her if she will not pay any of it herself. She is employed and should easily be able to make her payments, she just will not, either out of spite or for some other reason (none of it makes sense, the separation was her idea and choice).
Jheard:
Your "Never, ever, give a quitclaim without getting off the mortgage." statement is extremely good advice and relevant. Unfortunately for me, it comes after the fact. Of course that is my fault for not having done any research before I agreed to it. It never occurred to me just how bad an idea it could be. It only benefited my spouse (or could have, had she done the right thing) and I thought at the time I was doing the right (morally right) thing. She has a child from a previous marriage, which I have helped raised for the past 12 years and consider my own. But she would never let her live with me and I thought doing the quitclaim was the right thing to do to ensure that the child had a home.
Now I find myself in a situation that I do not see a happy or reasonable solution to. My spouse cannot refinance the house on her own, given her credit rating, no matter how much equity we have in it. She will not speak to me or agree to anything with me, so I cannot do anything to help.
I brought this on myself for being naive and stupid. But I can't believe that under the circumstances the quitclaim can even be valid. Yes, I agreed to it and signed it, but if I am still financially obligated how can I have absolutely no rights? Just because I was stupid and didn't know or find out first (I guess I answered my own question). Maybe a quitclaim should only be allowed to be processed and valid when it is notarized by the lender, when the property in question has a lean/mortgage. Especially if one, or both, parties are also on the lean/mortgage. And the lender should be able to have a say as to whether it can be approved or not. Who would govern something like this, the HUD, a Federal or State agency? How would one go about trying to enact some kind of reform for something like this? If I can't help myself, maybe I can help someone else.
Thanks for your advice. I have not contacted my lender as yet. After reading some of the posts at this site, I am somewhat afraid to contact them. Some of the posts imply that the lender may demand repayment, as the loan was granted to both of us and now only one of us is actually in possession (or occupying) the property. Although given the current situation, it appears that it is inevitable.
I have looked into some of the options listed in the link you provided (17 way to protect yourself from the foreclosure trap). However, they all require some kind of joint decisions between both my spouse and I, as the mortgage is in both of our names. This presents a problem, as my ex-spouse will not even speak to me, much less make any kind of joint decisions. I fear that anything that will require both of us to agree and sign any kind of joint paperwork will never come to pass. Unless she is willing to move out and sign it back over to me, so I can move in and start making the payments (and catching everything back up) and refinance it solely in my name, I don't know that I have any options. I can't pay both and I can't help her if she will not pay any of it herself. She is employed and should easily be able to make her payments, she just will not, either out of spite or for some other reason (none of it makes sense, the separation was her idea and choice).
Jheard:
Your "Never, ever, give a quitclaim without getting off the mortgage." statement is extremely good advice and relevant. Unfortunately for me, it comes after the fact. Of course that is my fault for not having done any research before I agreed to it. It never occurred to me just how bad an idea it could be. It only benefited my spouse (or could have, had she done the right thing) and I thought at the time I was doing the right (morally right) thing. She has a child from a previous marriage, which I have helped raised for the past 12 years and consider my own. But she would never let her live with me and I thought doing the quitclaim was the right thing to do to ensure that the child had a home.
Now I find myself in a situation that I do not see a happy or reasonable solution to. My spouse cannot refinance the house on her own, given her credit rating, no matter how much equity we have in it. She will not speak to me or agree to anything with me, so I cannot do anything to help.
I brought this on myself for being naive and stupid. But I can't believe that under the circumstances the quitclaim can even be valid. Yes, I agreed to it and signed it, but if I am still financially obligated how can I have absolutely no rights? Just because I was stupid and didn't know or find out first (I guess I answered my own question). Maybe a quitclaim should only be allowed to be processed and valid when it is notarized by the lender, when the property in question has a lean/mortgage. Especially if one, or both, parties are also on the lean/mortgage. And the lender should be able to have a say as to whether it can be approved or not. Who would govern something like this, the HUD, a Federal or State agency? How would one go about trying to enact some kind of reform for something like this? If I can't help myself, maybe I can help someone else.
Hi guest,
I appreciate your concern to help others by learning from your own experience. :)
Now, as for your situation, I'm afraid but it's a fact that you don't have rights to your property. I say this considering the fact that the deed has been notarized and recorded at the County Recorder's office as because these are conditions for validity of the quitclaim deed.
"the lender may demand repayment, as the loan was granted to both of us "
This doesn't apply to each and every case. You need to check if there's something called the Due-on-sale clause mentioned in the loan doc. By the way, are the loan docs with you?
"Never, ever, give a quitclaim without getting off the mortgage"
I agree with jheard here but yes yours is already given. So, first of all, keep aside your fears and talk to the lender. He's the guy with whom you're dealing. If he co-operates, things can be better. Also, contact the VA as there's an entitlement involved here. What i feel is, the agreement should have been made in writing. That would have given your spouse a push to refinance the home.
Without a written agreement, it's difficult to prove you aren't responsible for the mess. Anyway, contact the lender asap and let us know what he's saying. Foreclosure is certainly not the solution here as you'd lose so much in credit.
Regards,
Jessica
I appreciate your concern to help others by learning from your own experience. :)
Now, as for your situation, I'm afraid but it's a fact that you don't have rights to your property. I say this considering the fact that the deed has been notarized and recorded at the County Recorder's office as because these are conditions for validity of the quitclaim deed.
"the lender may demand repayment, as the loan was granted to both of us "
This doesn't apply to each and every case. You need to check if there's something called the Due-on-sale clause mentioned in the loan doc. By the way, are the loan docs with you?
"Never, ever, give a quitclaim without getting off the mortgage"
I agree with jheard here but yes yours is already given. So, first of all, keep aside your fears and talk to the lender. He's the guy with whom you're dealing. If he co-operates, things can be better. Also, contact the VA as there's an entitlement involved here. What i feel is, the agreement should have been made in writing. That would have given your spouse a push to refinance the home.
Without a written agreement, it's difficult to prove you aren't responsible for the mess. Anyway, contact the lender asap and let us know what he's saying. Foreclosure is certainly not the solution here as you'd lose so much in credit.
Regards,
Jessica
