Note: The DearEsq free 'ask a lawyer' site is offered as a free informational service to the public and is not intended as legal advice. Laws vary from state-to-state, and in addition every situation is unique, and relevant facts may not be known. The answer to the question posed below may not apply to in your state or to your situation. For legal advice in your state and your situation you should consult with an attorney in your state who is familiar with the rules and laws in your state.
My father co-signed for my home mortgage back in 2011, and now I’m trying to refinance and found out that he has debts in collections, and we were told that there is nothing we can do to refinance or even sell the house until those debts are paid off in full! We want to start the ‘looking’ process of buying a new house because we want to expand our family, and it’s just heart breaking and frustrating that we can’t do any of this now we were told! So is there anything at all that I can do to get him off of the mortgage, legally? I have not spoken to him since finding this information out and don’t plan to ever again because of the place he put my wife and I in. Whether it would be off the deed which he is on, or off of it all together now that my wife’s credit is up higher than it was when we bought the house 5 years ago. I hope you can help me out and give me some kind of helpful feedback!
Being stuck with someone else’s bad credit problems is a risk you always take when you co-own property. You knew, or should have known, that risk when you chose to co-own the property with your father.
Assuming your father didn’t get into financial trouble just to spite you, never talking to him again might be an overreaction.
Your best course of action at this point is most likely talking to a bankruptcy attorney, and since your father is the one with the debt
problems, being able to coordinate with him will be helpful. Don’t expect to get much, if any, value out of the house in that process, but at least you won’t be stuck where you are forever.
