Buying out your ex in France: funding the soulte and taking over the mortgage
The calculation starts from the home and the existing loan, then gives the monthly payment at the rate you enter.
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Buying out the soulte means borrowing enough to pay the other spouse their share of the home’s net value, usually while taking over the mortgage still running. The amount to finance therefore adds three items: the soulte, the capital still owed and the 1.10 % partition duty, before the notary’s fee and loan costs. For a home worth €280,000 with €110,000 still owed, owned half each, the soulte is €85,000 and the total to borrow €196,870. Over twenty years at 3.5%, that is €1,142 a month before insurance. French banks assess the application on the income of the spouse now alone: the payment, added to their other commitments, must remain compatible with their resources, with child support received taken into account by some lenders.
Buying out your ex: the new monthly payment
Monthly payment, before insurance
€1,132
| Soulte (half the net value) | €85,000 |
| Amount to borrow (soulte + loan + duty) | €196,870 |
| Total interest | €74,733 |
The rate is the one you enter: no bank rate is built in.
The amount to borrow, item by item
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Net value of the home | €170,000 |
| Soulte owed to the departing spouse (50%) | €85,000 |
| Capital still owed, taken over alone | €110,000 |
| Partition duty (1.10 % of net assets) | €1,870 |
| Total to finance, before notary and loan costs | €196,870 |
If the bank leaves the existing loan with the spouse who stays, they borrow only the soulte and costs and keep the original rate on the rest: the total monthly payment is then the old instalment, now in their name alone, plus the new loan. When the old rate is low, this is almost always cheaper than a new overall loan.
Monthly payment by rate and term
| Rate | 15 years | 20 years | 25 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 % | €1,360 | €1,092 | €934 |
| 3.5 % | €1,407 | €1,142 | €986 |
| 4.0 % | €1,456 | €1,193 | €1,039 |
These are constant-payment annuity calculations, without insurance or guarantee costs. The rates in the table are calculation assumptions, not offers: enter the one your bank quotes you in the calculator. Five extra years lower the payment but raise the total interest considerably.
The order of steps that avoids nasty surprises
Order matters. First have the home valued, then get the bank’s agreement in principle on the funding and on releasing your former spouse, before signing the divorce agreement or deed of partition. The notary draws up the deed recording the transfer, the payment of the soulte and the takeover of the loan, and registers it with the land registry. In a mutual consent divorce, the statement of liquidation covering real estate is annexed to the agreement, as explained on the mutual consent divorce page.
While you wait: who pays what?
Between separation and the deed of partition, the home remains jointly owned. Both spouses remain liable to the bank. The spouse living there alone may owe an occupation indemnity to the joint ownership, unless the judge or the agreement grants free use, often under the duty of support during proceedings. The spouse who alone repays the instalments after separation normally holds a claim on the joint ownership, settled at the division. These accounts change the final amount paid to the departing spouse; the notary works them out from each side’s statements. Child support calculated on the Ministry of Justice table gives the order of magnitude to show the bank.
If you are moving abroad or your income is in another currency
French lenders assess borrowers whose income is paid abroad or in another currency more cautiously, and some do not lend to non-residents at all. If the spouse keeping the home earns outside France, or plans to, the buy-out loan should be arranged before any move. The calculator converts nothing: enter amounts in euros, at the rate the bank will use.