Buying out other half.

alantaylor

Need some advice.

Me and my wife separated in march, and she has been living in our house since. The house is up for sale at the moment (been on the market for about a month) and as of yet nobody has been to look around.

We both want this to be done asap so we can start to move on with our lives, we have been discussing me buying out her half.

What would I need to do and how much is it likely to cost?
Here's the details:

We remortgaged last August so our mortgage still has a tie in for a further 2 years which is (2% x balance x (100% less 10%) + £195 admin fee) I have been unable to find out the balance yet as the offices are closed this weekend, but i expect it will be around 69k

The house is currently on the market for £152,500. and were hoping to get around 149K+ for it.

We also have a loan with around 4k left on it which we were going to pay off with the equity before we split the money.

I'm not really into money things as such, so really don't know where to start....so what do I need to do? Will there be stamp duty and the like?

Alan

char9

I was in a very similar situation a few years ago. To get things sorted quickly, my ex bought me out of the house. We agreed which joint debts would be paid off and how much of what was left of the equity on the house he would give me. He then sold it on at his leisure.

A solicitor drew up a separation agreement in which we agreed to make this settlement of the property ahead of the actual divorce and then I had to sign a transfer of equity selling him my share of the house.

However, there are a few things you need to be aware of. If you are planning to keep the house yourself, you will need to take your ex off the mortgage - either by arranged with your current lender - you basically have to reapply alone - or by taking out a mortage elsewhere. Which means you will need ot prove you can afford to pay alone.

Financially I did lose out a little as the property rose in value before it was sold, but my main concern was getting free of the mortgage payments so I could try to start afresh.

Also, the paperwork took a long time - as anything to do with solicitors does, and it may be that you manage to sell the property in the time it would take to do this.

I guess it all depends on whether you want to keep the house and whether or not you can afford to do so.

Hope this gives you some things to think about. Obv I am only recounting my own situation and you'll almost certainly want to speak to a solicitor and maybe a financial adviser about mortgage issues.

clutton_2

if it was me, i would sell the house and move on - living in a house which has poor memories for you, may well prove uneasy.

I agree with all that Char9 says also if you choose to stay. if you go to a solicitor i would suggest you go with a written agreement as to what you and your partner want to do, then they have precise instructions - otherwise it can take forever with letters back and forth about "my clients rights" and "their clients rights". If you can come to an amicable solution and let the solicitors handle the transaction of sale and divying up the proceeds, this will help you both move on.

best of luck