Q: My name is only on the mortgage my ex husband is not. but we are both on the deed. He wants to buy the condo.

A: The simple answer is that he cannot take your name off the mortgage. He needs to refinance to take your name off the mortgage. There is an old strategy whereby he can assume the mortgage but this takes the approval of the mortgage company. The mortgage company would, however, still want to keep you on the mortgage for the property and would not agree to the assumption.

Good luck in this matter and resolving it to your satisfaction.

A: This question (or some variation of it) gets asked a lot.

The GENERAL rule is that a mortgage is not assumable. However, a federal law changes how the general rule applies in certain family situations involving residential property. When a home is transferred to a husband or wife, the lender in most situations is required to accept the continued payments and can't call the loan due. (This is different from the ordinary rule that a deed requires immediate payment in full of the loan).

What all this means is that usually the spouse taking over the property has the option to either A) assume the mortgage (by talking to the lender's assumption department and assuming of course that they have the financial means to pay). or B) refinance.

If the original mortgage has more favorable interest and other terms, then assumption is usually the option to explore when there is a transfer between spouses.

While not legal advice I hope that this general information helps.