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myotai
Posts: 102 Forumite
Hello everyone,
Quick summary:
Bought house in 2007 - mortgage and deeds oin both names of me and partner at the time
We separated in 2010
No idea where she is and no contact since.
I married again and still live in property with wif and son
From the inception of mortgage I have made ALL payments
Now I am told I cannot sell, take a payment break or even re-mortgage without a signature from my ex partner. BUT she despite having walked away and never contributed anything is entitled to half of the property's worth.
Two questions...
Thanks in advance!
M...
Quick summary:
Bought house in 2007 - mortgage and deeds oin both names of me and partner at the time
We separated in 2010
No idea where she is and no contact since.
I married again and still live in property with wif and son
From the inception of mortgage I have made ALL payments
Now I am told I cannot sell, take a payment break or even re-mortgage without a signature from my ex partner. BUT she despite having walked away and never contributed anything is entitled to half of the property's worth.
Two questions...
- Please tell me this cannot be true. To walk away and still make a profit?
- What are my options?
Thanks in advance!
M...
0
Comments
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1) Forget whose name is on the mortgage. Whose name(s) is on the Title? (check here for £3).Two questions...- Please tell me this cannot be true. To walk away and still make a profit?
- What are my options?
...
Assuming you jointly own, do you own as 'joint tenants' or 'Tenants in Common'? If TIC, is there a Deed specifying who owns what percentage?
If Joint Tenants, then you own 50% each.
I'm assuming you were not married. if married, the property would be dealt with as part of the divorce settlement. This is one reason why buying a property together is more of a commitment than marriage - why people do this without marrying is very strange.
2) Apply for a court order forcing the sale. You'll need a solicitor and I assume you'll have to convince a judge you've made all reasonable eforts to find her.0 -
1) Forget whose name is on the mortgage. Whose name(s) is on the Title? (check here for £3).
Assuming you jointly own, do you own as 'joint tenants' or 'Tenants in Common'? If TIC, is there a Deed specifying who owns what percentage?
If Joint Tenants, then you own 50% each.
I'm assuming you were not married. if married, the property would be dealt with as part of the divorce settlement. This is one reason why buying a property together is more of a commitment than marriage - why people do this without marrying is very strange.
2) Apply for a court order forcing the sale. You'll need a solicitor and I assume you'll have to convince a judge you've made all reasonable eforts to find her.
No not married at the time
It is Joint Tenants
...well, I have to say if this is the case its the best screw I have heard of in years!
Get bloke. Buy house. Move out. Get 50% when he sells.
Absolute BARGAIN! ! ! !
Good grief!0 -
No not married at the time
It is Joint Tenants
...well, I have to say if this is the case its the best screw I have heard of in years!
Get bloke. Buy house. Move out. Get 50% when he sells.
Absolute BARGAIN! ! ! !
Good grief!
tbh, it's not something we hear a lot of. Did you both really think that one of you could just walk away from a property you owned in joint names and that was the end of it? One name doesn't automatically 'drop off' after X number of years.
More naivety on both your parts really. If anything, she could actually have been claiming rent from you for her half!
When/if you find her, you could just see if she's willing to sign something to say she's not going to make a claim on the house. You can't just take her name off.
Is there a mortgage? Not sure what you meant in your first post.
Jx2023 wins: *must start comping again!*0 -
You could have had a Deed of Trust drawn up when you were purchasing the property and owned it as tenants in common but you didn't so you are where you are now. Presumably you were happy to make all the mortgage payments from the off as you did so for the 3 years you lived together.
If you bought the place in 2007 is the actually any equity in the property?0 -
No not married at the time
It is Joint Tenants
...well, I have to say if this is the case its the best screw I have heard of in years!
Get bloke. Buy house. Move out. Get 50% when he sells.
Absolute BARGAIN! ! ! !
Good grief!
Isn't it an even better bargain if the bloke doesn't stand in your way of doing this? You could have sorted all this out in 2010.
Your best bet is to find her, make her an offer (NOT 50%) and sort it out once and for all.
It may actually be in her interests to have her name removed. She can't claim housing benefit for rent if she ojointly owns a property elsewhere for example or wants another mortgage.0 -
tbh, it's not something we hear a lot of. Did you both really think that one of you could just walk away from a property you owned in joint names and that was the end of it?
Jx
Hi,
Not sure if you understood my initial post. That is EXACTLY what she has done. Walked away and apart from getting her 50% if I sell, has had nothing to do with the house (and the mortgage) nor has she EVER made any payments towards the mortgage, insurance etc...
So yes, clearly she CAN walk away and that is the end of that! Apart from her getting her 50% that is!
Nice.0 -
Whilst your ex remains on the mortgage she has joint and several liability for the whole mortgage. If you stopped making repayments the mortgage lender can still come after both of you. The arrears would be reported on both your credit files.
Is this a repayment or an interest only mortgage? How much equity is in the property?0 -
Who said she's going to get 50% of the value, you both negotiate or take it to court and get a judge to decide based on the evidence? You bought something in joint names and seem suprised that she partly owns it? This would have been apparent during the purchase with your solicitor. You should have sorted this when she left and you are jointly responsible for not doing so.Don't listen to me, I'm no expert!0
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you could say that you have had the usage of the property but the ex has had little usage - this would need to be considered as i expect the rental vale of the property could be as much as the mortgage payments0
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Who said she's going to get 50% of the value, you both negotiate or take it to court and get a judge to decide based on the evidence? You bought something in joint names and seem suprised that she partly owns it? This would have been apparent during the purchase with your solicitor. You should have sorted this when she left and you are jointly responsible for not doing so.
Hi,
I/we didn't 'buy' it...'we' still owe over £180k. Thats not bought!
I agree with your last point though.0
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