Ok so I got divorced a few years ago and as part of the agreement my ex was given the house, but with the exception in our agreement that if she sells house I get 50% of equity based on that date. In the time we have divorced she did not get the house out of my name and filed bankruptcy. I found out last month that she was late 5 times last year on the payments and now they have downgraded my credit so much i cant get a loan for a new house!!! Yes, I know dumb of me to wait and not get her going, but I have been on her ass for a year now io get it done and get my name off.

So after threats of attorney and court she now gets the bank to set up a refinance for her and get me clear. However, the bank now wants me to agree that even though my divorce decree states I get x amount of money first , they now move to first and me to second in regards to money owed. Im feeling a little vulnerable here if she defaults on loan and takes more out then what its worth or destroys the home im left with nothing?

Yes I know im an idiot for not liquidating everything right off, but her having my two kids suckered me and she used that against me.


I have tried talking with bank, but they have been less than forthcoming concerning the results of differnt scanarios and the ex, well she is the ex for a reason.

Update . bank wants me to sign off on all claims to the house and any monies!!! WTF!

Sounds like a cluster fuck, I would go talk to your lawyer.

Its not a surprise that a refinance wants to be senior lienholder.  That's going to be the requirement for any refinance to protect their ability to foreclose the house if they are not paid.  If you don't want that, you are going to have to accept that she can't refinance the house.

Im begining to understand that. What are other options if any?

My thought is for her to borrow more money against equity and pay me off and then i will sign off. Fat chance of her doing that though. Could I take her to court to sell?

Stupid question, was she actually required to get your name off of the mortgage?  I read the original post several times and it appears that she was given title to the home but that there was no requirement to sell the home (although if she did sell then you receive a portion of the equity).  You also say that you have hounded her about getting you off the mortgage, but there does not necessarily appear to be any requirement that she either sell the house or refinance it in her name only.  Generally there is a requirement that if one party has sole possession of the house then they are required to refinance the house in their name only so I would imagine that it would be there, but I just want to verify.

What, if anything, does the PSA/court order state will happen with the home if she is unable to refinance it in her name alone?  Is the house required to be put on the market at that point?

The reason I ask this is that it potentially impacts your options.  I don't think that you can take her to court for not selling the house based upon what you have provided so far because there does not appear to be any requirement for selling the house so she hasn't really violated any court order.  If there is a requirement that she refinance the house in her name then you can potentially take her to court for failing to do so in a timely manner (or by the deadline if there is one).  However, if she has been attempting to refinance the home and has just been unsuccessful so far then it may be enough to satisfy the court.

Something is wrong.

Your divorce decree cannot change the order of lenders on the house.

The first mortgage is first in line.

Period.

I interpreted his comment to mean that the mortgage company offering to refinance wanted him to sign a document allowing them to be senior to him as a lien.   Not that the previous mortgage was junior to his divorce decree.  This made me think that his divorce financial agreement was recorded.

Sounds like a poorly worded document.

Refinancing is not the same as a sale.

You can subrogate to a refinance without sacrificing your claims in a sale.

Have their attorney draw up the subrogation agreement and have YOUR attorney review it (and not the divorce attorney, they already showed they do not know how to handle this).

Was out of town at the Big 10 championship so was away from Arf.

The agreement stated that if she sold the house I was due x amount of money. However, we had in the agreement that my name was no longer to be associated with her and her debts and had 12 months to take care of this. She took care of all debts except for the house which she was struggling to keep. Read 5 late payments and house in collections for a short time.

I finally threatened to take her to court after 3 years and force a sale if she was unable to refinance my name out of the loan. I assume this is why they are asking me to go to second place on the lein because they will re write her loan with the same bank that has the original mortgage. I asked her if it was a refinance or a quick deed deal, and she has not answered me.


I would rather not force a sale, but based on her credit history and inability to afford the payments I fear she will default on the loan and jeopardize my interests.

So I cant force a sale based on her inability to refinance? She filed bankruptcy last year and only has a part time job so im seeing a slim chance of her getting this done, tho the bank is asking.
There is enough equity built into the house that if she did default that the bank would make out pretty well based on what I think she owes and the condition of the house at this time.


She gets by on my child support.

Am I wrong and yes we should have liquidated everything and gone our separate ways.

Are you "wrong"?   No one is saying that.  

What I'm saying is that if you want her to refinance, and remove you from being responsible for the mortgage, you'll have to cooperate with the lender by agreeing to be subordinate to their interests.

That's the bottom line.