bought with a friend and now have big problems

claz

go to somewhere like citizens advice bureau, they could help you or refer you to someone who can

is he still paying his half of the mortgage? if he is then i presume he is paying into your account first, i this is the case contact him and the mortgage company and say that you would like to split the direct debits between 2 accounts 50/50, this shouldn't be a huge problem if you explain you arehaving communication problems between eachother all they want is the money

also perhaps if you aren't talking you should write all your problems in a letter to the falt mate, keep a copy of it yourself, state the problemss you are having and that you want him to get in touch to resolve things amicably if you don't get a response write to him again

if you don't want him to do any more diy one the place state this clearly saying that you would like what jobs have been started finishing first

and if the worst comes to the worst contact the mortgage company they may be "won over" if you decide to remortgage with them and reduce the charge for repaying early

if you don't ask you don't get

let us know how you do!

ktm_hansi

I think we are going to go with renting part of the house out and try and buy the flatmate out. Can my partner replace his name on the mortgage even though she has a mortgage on her London property? Ie can she have two residential mortgages? Or can she act as the guarantor? If the latter what would qualify her to be the guarantor?

MyUserNamesTaken

Here's an idea..and it's along shot. How's about changing the mortgage over to a BTL mortgage? Yes, the interest rate will be slightly higher. You should then be able to get your partner on the mortgage, too. Get your mate off the mortgage and turn him into a tenant. Make sure you draw up a proper tenancy agreement, too. He then starts paying rent. Get the work done on the house as quickly as possible and rent out the rooms you don't need.


Personally, I think you're supporting your mate (who now isn't talking to you). After all, you're splitting the bills 50/50 even though he lives in the property full time and you are only there 4 days a month. That doesn't sound at all right to me.

(Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but I have only skimmed through the thread).

[Deleted User]

As I see it you need to first and foremost find a way of communicating with the flatmate. If you don't communicate then things will only get worse.

What does the flatmate actually WANT to do? Surely he/she can see that by ripping out this/that /everything else and not making the improvements intended they are also devaluing THEIR share of any equity?

Apologies but I have not fully read ALL the posts but I'm assuming the flatmate is still paying their way? If so, then a starting point to the conversation has to be - why are they wanting to devalue the biggest investment they have?

It doesn't really matter now the whys/wherefores of how things have lead up to this point nor who is to blame. You BOTH need to communicate with each other and either get the place sold, one of you buy out the other or carry on as you are.

Any fees/penalties will have to come out of the sale but you could always try suing him later on for any losses you think you can prove. Perhaps you should also consider taking some legal advice now, to find out how exactly you can protect the property from this person if he so decides to carry on taking it apart.

BobProperty

ktm_hansi wrote:

I think we are going to go with renting part of the house out and try and buy the flatmate out. Can my partner replace his name on the mortgage even though she has a mortgage on her London property? Ie can she have two residential mortgages? Or can she act as the guarantor? If the latter what would qualify her to be the guarantor?

Welcome back (I sound like a Tony Robbins course :rolleyes: )
To answer your various questions (all answers IMHO). Can your partner replace his name on the mortgage? Not without the agreement of everyone including the mortgage company. You can get him to remove his name on the land registry title, but you would have to persuade "flatmate" to relinquish any claim he has to the property, which if I was him, I would not want to do. You partner could go on the title and would most likely need to if she has a mortage on the property. She can have as many mortgages as she likes, she just needs to be able to pay them. Forget the guarantor bit, that's for renting. If she is going to take out a mortgage, the mortgage company will want her name on the mortgage and the property. If she is just going to help you pay the mortgage you already have then it doesn't matter that she isn't on the title. However, that's a bit unfair on her, might not help taxwise and leaves you with all the liability if circumstances change. But then I think you implied that the mortgage company wouldn't let you do that anyway.

Now, going back to the original problem, is "flatmate" prepared to walk away and remove name from title? You, presumably, intend to offer to do this and replace "flatmate" with partner on mortgage and title, mortgage company willing. Have I got that right?

ktm_hansi

thanks for your reply Deleted_User, but communication is now out - the flatmate has ordered £600 carpet which we know nothing about, haven't seen and not even sure where he is planning to put it - all the communal areas need redecorating and it would be plain stupid to replace carpet before the work has been done. To add insult he is charging us for the carpet, sandpaper, sockets, timber and every other thing he has used to destroy both the lounge and utility room. We found the perfectly good timber that he is charging us for outside in the tip (presumably he put it on wrong). He is not paying his share of the mortgage nor the monthly bills that come out of my account. If my partner did manage to get on the mortgage we have no intention of having him anywhere near the house through fear that he might do something else stupid or just not pay the rent - he is heavily in debt and still spending!

thanks for coming back to me BobProperty - yes you did get it right!. We know the flatmate would be happily bought out because he suggested it, but he wants £5k for all the work he has done (trying hard not to snigger!). We are trying to offer him £2k max just to get shot of him. My concern is whether the mortgage company would put my partner on as her salary covers her mortgage in London - that is why I asked about a guarantor because the mortgage company gave that as another option.

As for being able to pay for the mortgage, we would rent part of the house out which will cover the cost. Our only other option now is if he doesn't accept this we will just sell and both of us will have to pay approx £3k each. A small cost to get rid of this problem!

tomstickland

Your flatmate sounds like a prize idiot to me.

Doozergirl

It gets worse! I am so sorry for what you are going through and I applaud you for being able to carry on laughing.

I think that many of the suggestions already made, including your own are good ones and that each avenue needs exploring. You need to pick the one that gets your 'friend' out of the house and costs you the least (whether that means taking a bigger hit in the short term by selling and being completely shot of him, I don't know!).

I hope this situation sorts itself out soon for you.

[Deleted User]

From what you are saying it seems your flatmate is being reckless and deliberately obstructive and 'may' even be looking to deliberately wreck things for YOU both in the physical sense of destroying the house - but more worryingly in the financial sense.

He obviously knows you are tied to the mortgage and it may be that he feels he has nothing to lose. All the time both your names are above the door there is nothing to stop him ordering all sorts of goods/services in the names of the householders - which includes YOU.

You don't really have a lot of alternative I'm afraid but to seek URGENT legal advice TODAY. You HAVE to take action NOW to protect what is yours and to further prevent him from

a) running up any new bills that might end up coming to you as well as the joint owner

b) doing any further work on the house without your agreement.

It does not appear that talking to him is an option for you -so you don't have a lot of choice. You may be able to apply for some sort of injunction against him and force the sale of the house - and also legally force him to put right what work he has started. Again you need to take proper legal advice - DO NOT DELAY or you will have no house and no equity left.