Ex signing over property

kittycatsam

Hi

I'm planning on taking some proper legal advice in the new year but like to go prepared with a bit of knowledge and I'm having trouble finding info on the net.

I bought a house with my ex in 2002. I moved out in May 2008 as he refused to go. As the mortgage was too expensive for him on his own I continued to pay half (plus a contribution to bills) until March 2009 when he moved his new girlfriend in.

He then paid the mortgage from April 2009 to July 2010. Then he decided he would abandon the house and leave mortgage arrears. I've paid these off (3 months worth) and am just about to start renting out the property.

It was left in a state and including the arrears my Husband and I have spent almost 6k refurbishing and repairing it. This has been a hugely stressful undertaking as this was sprung on us the day we returned from honeymoon! Previously I paid for a new kitchen and bathroom from redundancy payments of about 5k. Also, I was the main earner when I lived in the house and paid at least 60% of the monthly outgoings.

There is about 25k equity in the property. My ex does not want anything more to do with the house and will gladly sign it over to me. The mortgage company have said that due to the arrears they require 12 months of on time payments before they would change the terms to my name only. I don't know if another mortgage company would remortgage to me as he's made a huge blot on my credit file.

He will not give me his address, just a mobile number and his work address. He has signed a letter agreeing to relinquish the property, it also said he'd pay the arrears but this hasn't happened.

In the meantime until I can re mortgage is there some way of signing over on the land registry or a way of securing my investment? Otherwise will the re mortgage be really complicated changing from joint names to a single name?

Thanks for any help.

clutton_2

what most of us forget most of the time is that the Lender owns the property and thus can call the shots.

Annoying as it is... they need to see that you, and you alone, can pay the mortgage properly before they will agree to take his name off the loan - they need to know someone will repay them.

No other lender will be able to take on the loan without your current lender's permission. I doubt they would give it - but who knows.. Who is the mortgage with ?

kittycatsam

Based on my income and circumstances the mortgage company are happy to take his name off in theory. However it is their policy that they will not do this for 12 months after any arrears have been incurred no matter what the circumstances. It is mortgaged with Kensington as we had credit problems years ago, again caused by him. That's another issue as the rate is terrible and I'm very keen to change it so that we stop making a small loss on the rental income. I now have great credit apart from these arrears as does my Husband.

In the meantime I'm very concerned that we have shelled out a load of money on the house. It will also need more money spending quite soon to replace radiators which are very old and decrepit.

What I need to know is if there is some way of legally ensuring that he sticks to the agreement he made to sign it over to me when the time comes such as signing a solicitors document of some kind?

Is it a huge problem that I have no home address for him? Is there anything I can do to help besides keeping all of the letters, texts and receipts related to the house.

Thanks

candytwinkle

I may be wrong but from the knowledge i've gathered on here... your in a very vunerable postion.
Your ex could change his mind and be entitled to half of the profit in the house, regardless of whos paid for what.
The signed letter probably isn't legal so is not worth the paper it's written on.
Have you tried your bank they are the most likely to lend you money.
See a solicitor as soon as you can to cover your investment is my advise.

Im stuck in a joint motgage with my ex and the bottom line is, it's joint mortgage, jointly liable and both intitled to half the profit, regardless of the fact I've been paying the full mortgage for months.

kittycatsam

We bank with Natwest who said that in theory they would remortgage in to my name or mine and my husbands after 6 months of on time payments. They seem to have a decent deal as well. Like you say though, I'm in this vulnerable position and can't seem to find any useful info on the net.

I'm at home with the flu at the moment and my Hubby's just sorting out a nightmare burst pipe at the house now so it will be January before we can see a Solicitor.

missile

You refer to partner as ex and then husband, are you divorced? If not do it now, why wait until the new year?

I would suggest you need to make a clean break. Only then will you be able to get on with your life and you can delete his mobile number and it will matter not a jot where he lives. I would not want any lingering financial arrangements with an ex. If current provider will not take his name off then re-mortgage with a.n.other provider.

Good luck.

papermoney

missile wrote: »

You refer to partner as ex and then husband, are you divorced? If not do it now, why wait until the new year?

I would suggest you need to make a clean break. Only then will you be able to get on with your life and you can delete his mobile number and it will matter not a jot where he lives. I would not want any lingering financial arrangements with an ex. If current provider will not take his name off then re-mortgage with a.n.other provider.

Good luck.

I may be wrong but I read it as the house is with the ex but the OP is now married and it is the husband who is sorting the pipe out (not the ex who the house is owned with).

I could be wrong though - it's been a long day!

kittycatsam

missile wrote: »

You refer to partner as ex and then husband, are you divorced? If not do it now, why wait until the new year?

I would suggest you need to make a clean break. Only then will you be able to get on with your life and you can delete his mobile number and it will matter not a jot where he lives. I would not want any lingering financial arrangements with an ex. If current provider will not take his name off then re-mortgage with a.n.other provider.

Good luck.

Err yeah, I'm with someone new and vastly improved now and we have recently got married. A clean break is what I'm aiming for. My ex has been blocking and ignoring me and refusing to move since we split. Now he's abandoned the place and I'm in no better position!

missile

I missread the story.

Never too early to consult a (good) solicitor. I would have thought he/she would have advised you to sever financial ties when you got divorced?