What you should know if you can no longer afford to pay your mortgaged house

There is a legal figure of assignment of rights, so it is a viable option in case of not having the possibility of continuing with the payments of a mortgage.

What you should know if you can no longer afford to pay your mortgaged house
Things you should know if you can no longer pay your mortgage. Photo by Kostiantyn Li / Unsplash

Economic crises leave many ravages. One of them is that people may no longer have the capacity to continue with the payments of a house they acquired through a mortgage. All is not lost because there is the possibility of transferring it to recover some of the investment made. The assignment of rights, also known as real estate transfer, is an option that consists of transferring the rights that one has over a real estate property.

The assignment of rights is a completely legal act, as long as the formalities are complied with. In this process two figures are involved, one is the Assignor, who is the person who transfers the rights, and the other is the Assignee, who is the one who receives them. Normally, the real estate transfer occurs when a person wants to transfer his property during his lifetime, due to the impossibility of paying the mortgage loan to which the real estate is subject.

The purpose of this process is for the person who transfers the property to recover a little of the investment he/she made, while the transferee acquires property at a lower price than that of a purchase-sale, with the option of paying in monthly installments. Another issue you should know about the assignment of real estate rights is that there are authors who consider inheritance, donation, or purchase and sale as real estate transfer, while strictly speaking, there are only two types.

One is the pure assignment of rights, where the assignment of rights of the property is made, without being subject to credit with a mortgage guarantee. The second is the assignment of rights of a loan with mortgage guarantee, in which the real estate will continue to be mortgaged and the assignee must pay it under the terms established by the financial institution, Infonavit or Fovissste.

A real estate assignment can even be made when the mortgage is in joint ownership. It is possible to assign the rights of a property that was acquired as a couple. This requires the consent of both parties since the property is in joint ownership and both owners must agree.

Steps to follow

The transferor must express his willingness to grant the property.

It is necessary to prove the ownership of the rights to be transferred.

If the property is subject to a mortgage loan, the contract containing the terms of the loan must be reviewed and the possibility of assigning it must be analyzed.

If the document authorizes the assignment of the mortgage, the consent of the person who granted the loan (financial institution, Infonavit, or Fovissste) must be obtained.

Once the consent is obtained, the assignment of rights contract may be executed. This document must be formalized before a notary public and registered in the Public Registry of Property.