Property Problem with Ex

oldjonah

I'm hoping someone can give me some advice.....

I bought a house in 2001 with my ex-partner (not married, never was). The mortgage was in both our names. We took a loan of £8000 to make the deposit which we later paid back by remortgaging.

To cut a long story short, in Nov 2003 I moved out with the kids as he refused to let me and the kids have the house. I want my name off the mortgage and my share of any equity.

I have seen a solicitor but my ex refused to respond to any correspondance. Now I'm stuck as I don't qualify for legal aid and can't afford to have the solicitor take it to court.

I offered my ex the chance to buy me out, sell the house or just take over the mortgage, every option I gave he has ignored.

I have now reached the point where I am sick of the situation and feel that I am entitled to half the equity.

Can I take this to court myself without a solicitor?

He can't keep the house based on the kids as he hasn't seen them for nearly 2 years and doesn't keep in contact.

Thanks

black-saturn

Are the house deeds in joint names? If they are you are entitled to sell the house and keep half of whats left after paying off the mortgage and any other expenses incurred.

Check for sure about legal aid as there are many instances when you would be.

Also it might be advisable to put your name on the council housing waiting list. You never know when this house may get repossessed or your ex will buy it off you. Better to have that safety net of the possibility of housing just incase.

jockettuk

do what i did send your ex a solicitors letter telling him if he ignores this you will issue proccedings ie going to court and you will also go for costs ie he has to pay all the court costs.. I was advised that this would happen as judges dont look kindly on people who end up in court when they could have sorted it out properly. My costs could have been anything up to £5000 but funnily enough once this was mentioned my ex relented and the house is sold pending contracts now... oh and i didnt get legal aid i got public funding which is part of the legal aid system but i pay back some of my bill when my house is sold and i have the funds..

oldjonah

The deeds are in joint names and I now live 400 miles away from the ex.

I have tried the solicitors letter, more then once, but he chooses to ignore them. Refused to even respond. I will get my solicitor to look into the public funding.

hjb123

Get someone who you have never met to buy you out - someone who you know would never get on with him!!!!!

mitcho_uk

black-saturn wrote:

Are the house deeds in joint names? If they are you are entitled to sell the house and keep half of whats left after paying off the mortgage and any other expenses incurred.

Is this true? My partners Mum is currently having a similar problem, however her partner has moved overseas and has ignored all attempts to contact him.
Can she just sell the house, pay the mortgage off and bank his half of whats left until he bothers to return her calls. Does he not have to agree to her selling the house?

kindanice

mitcho,

Your mum can't just sell the house without her ex's consent. He will need to sign the relevant contract & transfer documents. If he is being a pig about it ! I imagine only a court can enforce the sale without his consent.

chugalug

Are the children from this relationship? Even if not, a court won't look too kindly on the fact that you had to leave the property with your children. You should get some legal advice. I don't know whether you have a housing aid centre or other law centre near you but might be worth a visit. At least he cant sell without your agreement and run off with the money. What he can do though is take out loans secured on the property which could have implications for you further down the line. Who is paying the mortgage at the moment? Do you know if there are arrears? If he doesnt pay and the mortgage company takes action it could affect your credit rating and your ability to get another mortgage. See if you can get some advice from the above or CAB and go from there. I dont' think doing nothing would be an option because of the financial implications. HTH

oldjonah

The children are from this relationship. I have had legal advice and can't do anything as I can't afford to employ my solicitor for this matter, yet I don't qualify for legal aid. He pays the mortgage and there wasn't any arrears 6 months ago, I can't get a statement as the mortgage company refuses to send any correspondance to my new address.

What I need to know is, can I take this to court myself or do I need a solicitor to fill out the forms?

jockettuk

my situation was heading for court as i said i get public funding and if he is ignoring the letters you can go to court and the court will send him letters if he chooses to ignore them the court will make a judgement in his abscence.. this is what i was told and i told my ex when he came to see our daughter, think he thought i was bluffing but got a shock when he got legal advice.. as for the building society not sending you statements i get a copy of every letter he does.. tell the morgage company if they wont send you details then they should take you off the deeds

ZoeMarie_2

Hi, a freind of mine had a similar problem and managed to get help from Women's Aid at a discounted rate. Unfortunately it took a long time to get possession back, his name is still on the deeds, and without going back to court to get him taken off (and spending lots more money in the process) she can't sell up.

The possession order is for a year, and will need renewing after that. I've been searching the web for self help sites, but none seem to have the relevant information on where to go from here. She can't get any more help from Women's Aid as she is safe enough, and as a charity they can only help those in immediate need.

If there is anyone out there who could point is in the right direction, I'd be very greatful.