Friends Ex Refusing To Pay His Half - Repossession Fear

Twinkly

Trollfever wrote: »

We have a Troll.

Since when do you run to a solicitor without asking around for help ? If everyone did that sites like this would not exist - they would not need to.

A "troll" with over 500 more posts than yourself - the majority of which thanked for help - that includes posters who did not actually click the button but said it personally.
A "troll" that has spent all night long personally responding to each and every poster despite a blinding migraine in an effort to help a friend.

Strange definition of troll you have....

That opinions4u thanked for that is no surprise either. They probably cant get over the fact I did not burst out crying when they were outright nasty to me. Been online a long time and seen better attempts frankly.

Mrs_Bumble

Actually it was this post Twinkly that I found rude.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrs Bumble
I don't feel slighted. I think that your friend needs hard facts, and legal advice and help from shelter now. I think that hard facts are what will help your friend try to get out of the hole that she is in. Several years of working in mortgage collections and several years doing what I do now tell me that your friend need firm practical advice.

My friend is taking in hard facts like breathing air right now. The one overriding hard fact is that her ex will not respond to anyone now and there is question of how to proceed under those circumstances - which has yet to be addressed in any responses. Your experience has clearly failed you in that regard.

which has yet to be addressed in any responses

This has been addressed time and time again, she needs legal advice and she can speak to Shelter.

She needs to agree a payment plan with the lender regardless or not of whether the ex pays his half, if she wants to stay in the property then she has to assume he won't and continue on that basis.

As I said previously your friend and her ex have to get over the spiteful stage that they are going through at the minute, if he isn't going to speak to the lender and your friend truly wants to stay in the property then she will have to take it on, as I said previously regardless of what he does. May not be fair in your eyes but they both took this legally binding contract on and so if they both don't want to default on it then your friend has to move forward.

Now if you are really trying to help your friend you will urge her to seek legal advice in relation to the legal position to the house as her partner has left, what sort of settlement can he expect etc, can she remain in the house etc. If the arrears are sufficiently high that the lender is threatening legal action then your friend needs to contact Shelter.

Twinkly

Mrs_Bumble wrote: »

Actually it was this post Twinkly that I found rude.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrs Bumble
...........there is question of how to proceed under those circumstances - which has yet to be addressed in any responses. Your experience has clearly failed you in that regard.

which has yet to be addressed in any responses

Thank you for clarifying and I am happy to address this if you care to indulge me. My headache is still niggling, I have a fuzzy head but I WILL try to be clearer...

Mrs_Bumble wrote: »

This has been addressed time and time again, she needs legal advice and she can speak to Shelter.

She needs to agree a payment plan with the lender regardless or not of whether the ex pays his half, if she wants to stay in the property then she has to assume he won't and continue on that basis.

Granted, accepted, welcome and although thanked for I did not consider it the directly relevant response to The Question.

Mrs_Bumble wrote: »

As I said previously your friend and her ex have to get over the spiteful stage that they are going through at the minute, if he isn't going to speak to the lender and your friend truly wants to stay in the property then she will have to take it on, as I said previously regardless of what he does. May not be fair in your eyes but they both took this legally binding contract on and so if they both don't want to default on it then your friend has to move forward.

Far from being in a spiteful stage with him her stance has been to try and rise above it and defend appropriately each attack. A Mothers Grace I call it. A peculiar transition sometimes occurs where they become calm rational mothers and a far cry from the aggressive irrational young girls they were. I digress...
She does not want to move out, wants to take it over and has waited for him to calm down, grow up and discuss it properly. The fairness of that the contract is not disputed.

For me, the fairness of acting like a loan shark with an innocent party is. That that is the way it does not make it right and frankly that new mortgage regulations are now being placed on lenders during this recession is indication that the government thinks so too and is actually doing something about it.

At this point, and as stated, he will not speak to the lender. The Question is HOW does she get around that. So:

1) Is she legally bound to get his consent before making any proposals to the lender ?

2) If she is not and puts forward an acceptable proposal is the lender then legally bound to obtain his consent before accepting any proposals ?

When you get right down to it Her home is not entirely Hers and legally considered to be joint property. It is queried just how much authority she is afforded to take control of the financial aspects of the contract without His express consent.

Mrs_Bumble wrote: »

Now if you are really trying to help your friend you will urge her to seek legal advice in relation to the legal position to the house as her partner has left, what sort of settlement can he expect etc, can she remain in the house etc. If the arrears are sufficiently high that the lender is threatening legal action then your friend needs to contact Shelter.

The arrears stand technically at 3 months unpaid as he has not paid at all for 6 months. You will be aware that this is the now minimum period a lender must wait before initiating repossession procedures.

If she or the lender do not have the legal authority to put forward or implement any proposals for resolution of arrears without without his express permission - which then leads inevitably to the lender threatening repossession - then yes, the next step is to get legal advice and contact Shelter etc.

However, the first step of making a proposal to the lender in the complete absence of the co-mortgagees co-operation has yet to be taken. She is Right at the start here.

I hope that has clarified things and you can see how me stating that this point had not been addressed at all was a factual statement and certainly not intended to be rude. As the majority of responses were in direct relation to handling an actual repossession then they weren't strictly relevant.

If I am perfectly honest and it was me doing it I would just say stuff him let him stew and I would write, make the offer and take it from there. It is not me though, it is her and if I am to help her I want to make sure all questions are covered before she even starts. It would be irresponsible of me not to.

Twinkly

I have a busy day today and will check back later so please do not take offence if a response from me is not immediate. Thanks.

Thrugelmir

Voluntary repossession may be the way forward. Speak to the lender and explain the circumstances of the situation. This will at least mean that the property can be sold and the mortgage debt cleared.

Rikki

At this point, and as stated, he will not speak to the lender. The Question is HOW does she gets around that. So:

1) Is she legally bound to get his consent before making any proposals to the lender ?

2) If she is not and puts forward an acceptable proposal is the lender then legally bound to obtain his consent before accepting any proposals ?

When you get right down to it Her home is not entirely Hers and legally considered to be joint property. It is queried just how much authority she is afforded to take control of the financial aspects of the contract without His express consent.

1) She can propose what she like to the lender.

2) The lender will only make any changes . ie: change in length of term, type of mortgage with both consenting and signing the relevant documents.

The lender will not remove him from the mortgage without her meeting the relevant lending criteria.

If she or the lender do not have the legal authority to put forward or implement any proposals for resolution of arrears without without his express permission - which then leads inevitably to the lender threatening repossession - then yes, the next step is to get legal advice and contact Shelter etc.

She does not need his permission to pay the arrears herself.
Neither her or the lender have the authority to force him to pay the arrears or cover any future mortgage payments.


The Title Deed information you asked for.
Removing his name from the title deeds needs to be done via a solicitor, at cost and both need to consent.

magpiecottage

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Voluntary repossession may be the way forward. Speak to the lender and explain the circumstances of the situation. This will at least mean that the property can be sold and the mortgage debt cleared.

Two things to bear in mind if you surrender your keys:

1. If the debt is not cleared when the property is sold you can still get pursued for the outstanding debt.
2. If evicted the local authority will have to find accommodation and with a child you will be high priority.
3. If you walk away, you are "intentionally homeless" so they do not have to help but social services will have a duty to ensure the welfare of the child as a separate issue - which could mean putting him into care.

Mrs Bumble is correct. The FSA has made clear that lenders must treat hardship cases sympathetically but they cannot do that unless they know the circumstances.

In the end, I'm afraid they do have to protect the interests of those who actually own the money that they lend to you - but the likelihood will be reduced if they know what is happening.

zzzLazyDaisy

It does seem to me that this thread is at risk of going round in circles.

The legal position is that the house is jointly owned. That means that each owner is each FULLY responsible for the FULL mortgage debt.

I accept that OP feels that is it unfair to place such pressure on her friend who she considers to be the innocent party in all this, but unfortunately the law isn't always 'fair' (in the common sense understanding of the term) and to that extent this is irrelevant to the situation.

If OP wishes to stay in the house she must pay the arrears and keep the mortgage payments up to date. The Lender is not interested in whether the ex comes up with 'his share' of the funds, as long as the money is paid regularly and on time (and more importantly has no legal rights or obligation to get involved in that issue).

If OP's friend cannot, or will not, pay the arrears and continue to pay the mortgage, then her home will be repossessed. She must accept that and seek advice about dealing with that situation.

As far as getting her ex off the deeds is concerned, this depends on OP's friend having sufficient income to satisfy the lender's criteria, so that she can take over the mortgage and buy her ex out of the property. This option will require the involvement and cost of a solicitor.

The other alternative may be to sell the house and each joint owner to go their separate ways.

I am sorry if this reply sounds unduly harsh, but I don't think it is helpful to debate the morality of allowing the ex to remain on the deeds/mortgage and/or of placing the total burden for ensuring the mortgage is services on OP's friend, when those are the facts and cannot be avoided.

irn_bru

Am I the only one who thinks the ex has been quite reasonable? He's paid his half for 6 months despite having to pay for somewhere else to live and now he's aiming for a permanent solution. You can't expect him to keep paying indefinitely and he would only do so to protect his credit rating.

He's offered to take over the property. If he can afford the mortgage payments and your friend can't then this is surely the best option for all concerned.

Mrs_Bumble

The arrears stand technically at 3 months unpaid as he has not paid at all for 6 months. You will be aware that this is the now minimum period a lender must wait before initiating repossession procedures.

This is what I mean by if she wants to seriously stay in this property then she should have been maintaing the mortgage, this is the tit for tat behaviour I am referring to. Does she honestly think that if he is going to continue to pay half for the rest of the term of the mortgage?

If she or the lender do not have the legal authority to put forward or implement any proposals for resolution of arrears without without his express permission - which then leads inevitably to the lender threatening repossession - then yes, the next step is to get legal advice and contact Shelter etc.

She has the right as the joint mortgage holder to put a proposal forward for repayment of the arrears, I have said more than once that if she seriously wants to stay in the property that she is going to have to assume responsibility for the full mortgage repayment, and totally disregard the ex paying etc. She can and most definitely should organise a payment plan with the lender. At 3 months in arrears, the lender given the relationship dispute will in all likelihood start legal proceedings.

However, the first step of making a proposal to the lender in the complete absence of the co-mortgagees co-operation has yet to be taken. She is Right at the start here.

More tit for tat behaviour, she wants to stay in the property, her responsibility to make an arrangement and maintain it. There is nothing magical and legal that is going to force the ex to pay the half of the mortgage and again if it is her that wants to stay in the property she is going to have to just deal with the lender.


I hope that has clarified things and you can see how me stating that this point had not been addressed at all was a factual statement and certainly not intended to be rude. As the majority of responses were in direct relation to handling an actual repossession then they weren't strictly relevant.

If your friend doesn't deal with the cold hard facts of the arrears the lender could have a repossession order and her out of the property by the end of the year.

Up to you really, you can argue the injustices of the fact that he has walked away from his responsibilities but there is nothing that can legally be done to force him to pay, other than the lender taking legal action, this course is going to affect your friend more than him.

The arrears and potential repossession will of course affect both their credit history for many years to come, but the sort of people that walk away from their financial responsibility don't tend to worry too much about this.