Joint Mortgage - Relationship Breakdown

cherrybelle

Need advice desperately...

Me and my partner split back in Feb this year. We own a house together, Joint Mortgage, Interest Only.
He put down the whole deposit. I paid for all the furniture.

Since we split I left the house to give him space to see if we would work it out. We couldn't, and he still won't speak to me (or, it's very difficult to be in touch)

Anyway. I have continued paying half the mortgage each month since. Including half the council tax bill/tv/internet.
We have a monthly direct debit set up to cover all this, and I just haven't cancelled mine yet because my ex says if I don't pay the mortgage we will both be stuck in the sh*t financially.

What are my legal rights? I have paid mortgage now for 5 months without living in the propertly. I want my name off the Joint Mortgage but he says he can't pay everything on his own.

What can I do?
I am lucky I have been staying somewhere rent-free since, or I would be homeless. When I recently said I wanted to go back and live at the house (that I still own!!) he freaked out and asked me if I was out of my mind.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

beecher

Legally you're still on the mortgage so still responsbile for paying it. If you stopped paying and the house was repossessed, you'd be just as liable for any shortfall as your ex is.

You need to discuss the matter with him and decide what you want to do. If his income isn't sufficient to take on the mortgage, and he has no-one else who can go on the mortgage with him, then you either both stay on the mortgage or sell up. Selling up means being able to start afresh so would seem the best option, particularly if things are difficult between you both.

How much was is outstanding on the mortgage, and what's the property worth now? You need to find this out to be sure you're not in negative equity which would cause additional problems.

Mrs_Bumble

As per beecher's post above, you are jointly and severally liable for the mortgage, if either of you doesn't pay then the lender will take legal action, eventually repossessing if needed. The lender won't take your name off of the mortgage if your ex partners income cannot carry the total mortgage debt.

So your options are limited and you and your ex partner are going to have to discuss it and work out what is going to be the best.

cherrybelle

Thank you for the advice.

He would be struggling paying the whole amount by himself, which is why I have continued paying even though I haven't been living at the house.

We had the house valued and because of the market, the house price has dropped with 30K. So we are in negative equity.

I just can't get on with my own life while having to pay for the mortgage. I soon can't stay rent-free anymore and can't afford paying rent plus mortgage. I am not welcome in my own house either. Looks like I will be a home-less home-owner. Who'd have thought?

Such a nightmare.

Barneysmom

You might be responsible for your half of the mortgage but you don't have to pay anything towards the other bills. If he can't come to an adult agreement then he'll have to move out and let you take over the house. I bet he won't pay his half of the bills then?
You could tell him you'll have to move back in with him till the house is sold, he can't stop you.

beecher

Can he maybe get a lodger in to help with the payments? Ultimately you need to sit down and talk this through as unfortunately you're both stuck on the mortgage until you come up with that 30k to allow you to sell up. Best of luck in sorting it out.

cherrybelle

The layout of the flat (it's a 1bedroom flat) is a bit complicated as it's quite open plan so a lodger wouldn't have any privacy.

I have already ''threatened'' to come back, and he panicked and (apparently) started seeking legal advice on how he could stop me from coming back.

Thanks for your advice - I will cancel the bills in my name. Is it relatively easy to do, ie, can I cancel my name and put his on, or would I have to cancel my name and then he'd have to re-opened the bills again?

beecher

I would tell your ex that you're stopping paying the bills rather than just cancel them - I think it'd be better if he was the one phoning up to change the details and you need to find a way to have rational discussions about what's happening and what your options are. You need together and plan what you're going to do - is there someone who can act as a gobetween and can you meet on 'neutral' territory to sort things out?

cherrybelle

Yes, good advice. To be honest, I wouldn't mind so much keeping the bills in my name as long as he paid them. That way, paying half the mortgage (until something changes) isn't so bad, and it would keep my monthly outgoings down. I still wouldn't be able to afford renting elsewhere though

I have been asking him to talk about this for months, literally. He ignores it (well not according to him) but he just lets it drag on and on. Which is one of the reasons we split in the first place, ironically.

Neutral grounds with a 'translator' is an excellent idea, although I'm not sure who'd be most suitable. I'll have a think.

Thanks a lot for the advice.

zzzLazyDaisy

You are a joint owner and are legally entitled to live in the place. He has no legal right to exclude you. Whether you'd want to live there under those circumstances is another thing, but he is behaving unreasonably if he expects you to carry on paying half the mortgage, while refusing to allow you to live in the flat that you are paying for.

With regard to the bills - if your name is on the bills, you need to notify the provider that you are no longer resident at the address, and ask for a final bill to be sent out. All future bills should then be in his name.

As far as the flat is concerned, if he wants to carry on living there, he should agree to have your name taken off the deeds and the mortgage. As the house is in negative equity, there is no question of him buying you out, but there is an argument for you paying him a sum equivalent to half of the negative equity. If the flat is owned as 'joint tenants' rather than 'tenants in common' (check with the land-registry £3 fee) you are under no legal obligation to give him half the original deposit because by registering the flat as joint tenants he is agreeing that you both own the whole flat equally.

If he can't or won't take over the flat in his sole name, then the only way to resolve the matter is to sell it. But this does mean that you have to find the shortfall from somewhere, as when you sell you will have to repay the full amount outstanding to the lender.

There is no easy answer, but as a start, I'd definitely stop paying the bills. I can't think of one good reason why you should continue to financially support him in this way.

cherrybelle

His argument is that I should pay bills because some of it (council tax, electricity) goes towards the running of the house (that I am responsible of as an owner). Is he right?