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After an IVA gone through

Hi,

Just need a bit of advice, ill do the short version so I dont bore anyone.

In Nov 2006 my then fiancee and I were moving house and couldnt get accepted for a new mortgage on my wage alone as she was self employed. Her father stepped in and the mortgage went in mine and his name jointly with no mention of her on the mortgage or a guarantor letter being written up. We then got married in June 2007.

In March 2009 she had an affair and left me, I ended up with the house that I couldnt afford by myself and she took full csa payments off me (which I didnt mind paying) In June 2009 I explained to her and her father that I was unable to keep making payments on the house and paying all the debt which she left me with aswell. I offered to give them the house to do with whatever they wanted but they didnt want anything to do with any of it.

In Nov 2010 I went into an IVA with debts of £87k this was due to loans, credit cards and the negative equity on the house. There was a £40k defecit on the house and now my IVA has gone through the debt has passed over to my ex-father in law, who as you can understand is not happy. My ex wife in the meantime is saying that cos the house wasnt in her name then its nothing to do with her!! (daughter of the year) Her dad has now said that we (me and him) had a verbal agreement that he would be off the mortgage in 2 years (we didnt get to that point) so has saught legal advice and his solicitor has advised that he can sue me for fraud. Just want to know really how far this can go? Can he sue me? Can she be involved in anyway, i.e give a statement on behalf of her dad to say there was an agreement?

Any advice would be grateful

Thanks (sorry but that was the shortest version i could do :o )

Comments

  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 48,293 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    Her dad has now said that we (me and him) had a verbal agreement that he would be off the mortgage in 2 years (we didnt get to that point) so has saught legal advice and his solicitor has advised that he can sue me for fraud.

    I would guess this was on the understanding that his daughter would go on the mortgage as she would then have a few years of accounts? I don't see how he would have made an agreement with you that you would be the sole owner as that would have given no equity share to his daughter. If he was agreeing to jointly take a mortgage with you it must have been with the intention to provide a home for his daughter, not to provide you with ownership of a house!

    People often say they have been told they can sue, I doubt a solicitor would really advise this in your case. Apart from anything else this is a civil matter between you and the ex FIL, fraud is a criminal matter.

    Also there is little point suing someone with no money and no equity in their home. What would the result be? The mortgage lender is not going to release him from the mortgage with your credit record, you won't be able to get a mortgage elsewhere on your own, you have no money to pay him off. This would go nowhere except his legal fees.
    Can she be involved in anyway, i.e give a statement on behalf of her dad to say there was an agreement?

    She can say what she likes, whether anyone would believe that her father agreed a joint mortgage with you on the basis that you would take over sole ownership of the property in two years - leaving his daughter with nothing is very doubtful.
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  • Charco_2
    Charco_2 Posts: 1,677 Forumite
    Just wanted to agree with the poster above and add...

    Fraud would have required a deliberate intention of yours at the time to deceive your father in law and some way for you to benefit from this deception.

    I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about this for now, wait and see if anything comes from it... if your FIL does in fact have a solicitor who is willing to fight on those grounds then I would say he isn't exactly Perry Mason - more an any job will do type coz eventually somebody will pay him! Ambulance chaser!
    Would you ask the wolves to look after the sheep?
    CCCS funded by banks
  • Maff26
    Maff26 Posts: 16 Forumite
    Im guessing that was his intention cos shes not the type of person to see herself go without, so he was probably protecting his daughters interest as a matter of course.
    I also thought that this was a civil matter as no criminal activity has taken place and as i dont have any extra money with the IVA then I cant see it being of any benefit to anyone for them to pursue it.

    I think i'll just wait and see what comes of it and if i get any letters from solicitors or the ex FIL then take them to a solicitor and see what they make of it.

    Thanks
  • Charco_2
    Charco_2 Posts: 1,677 Forumite
    There's nothing can be done here, you've done nothing wrong and have nothig to fear... just for a bit of info though!

    Your FIL will get caught for the shortfall in the repossession of the house - £40,000!
    Say he had some means of paying this... His credit file is hammered though and will continue to be hammered so he aint getting further credit - a repossession is the worst thing to have on your file! But for arguments sake just say he apid off the £40,000 - he could then become a creditor in your IVA for £20,000 (the amount you left unpaid). Your IVA debt would obviously fall by £40,000 and then rise by £20,000... your FIL would then receive a dividend eventually from your IVA - this is all he will be entitled to and cannot claim anything more!

    Remember, you've done nothing wrong here so dont get bullied into accepting any other responsibilities. It wasn't just your ex's lover that got screwed when she ruined your marriage!
    Would you ask the wolves to look after the sheep?
    CCCS funded by banks
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