Can a home loan be refinanced to drop the borrower's name and the co-borrower becomes the primary owner?

The first borrower on the loan wants out and has not ever made any payments or contributions toward the home. He only wants to get off the loan. He has never been in the home.

The short answer is yes. Assuming the co-borrower can qualify for a refinance of home to put the full loan in his/her name, there shouldn't be a problem.

However, you haven't mentioned title and ownership of the home. What the co-borrower probably doesn't want to do is take full responsibility for the mortgage but keep the home in the original borrower's name. That might be a recipe for disaster. Make sure you look into this and fully understand ownership, title and property tax responsibilities before the mortgage is transferred.

Your mortgage professional and your local tax assessors office should be able to answer any questions regarding home ownership and tax responsibility.

You can contact me through my Answers profile if you have any specific questions.

Good luck with the refinance.

yes

The issue would be if the co-borrow can prove ability to pay for the new (refinanced) mortgage. That's really all any borrower want to see.