Mediation/Forced Sale

shortbread

Hiya.....had a few posts on this already...and still no further. So appreciate all the sound advice I can get..


Currently living with my partner in his house that he has a shared mortgage with his ex. After 2 years of trying to get her to agree to sign the house over to him with him taking on her 5k of a joint 10k loan she signed the contract a while back....just after my partner lost his job....


He is now about to start work and wants the contract put back into place again...however she has requested through her solicitors that they attend mediation.


Ok, so she is entitled to whatever she is entitled to....all is fair etc...but she has delayed any action for 28 months and has now demanded that the house is put up for sale. She is going to go to court for this.

My query is why would she get her solicitor to request mediation?? The mediation guy said its simply due to fact that she cant go to court unless mediation has been tried as of new legislation on 6th April.

However my partners solicitor has said that because mediation was requested before 6th April these rules don't apply to her ....but what I dont understand is why his ex would think my partner would want to do this when she sent him an email this week saying she wants house sold end of....no ifs or buts.... so Im thinking that there must be an official reason for her to do this as there is no way she would bother because for the last 2 years she wouldn't even answer her own solicitors letter or phone calls....and now all of a sudden she is uber interested in doing this....I mean if after 28 months her solicitor cant solve it what can mediation do??

It will cost my partner and myself £120 each session he needs to attend and it has already cost him around 3k in solicitors fees to amount to nothing really.

Does anyone know about court fees. Its estimated it would cost around 3-5 k who would have to pay this?? His ex gets legal aid and has done since it all began. If house was sold, would she have to pay costs from any monies made from the house....even though there is only about 15k equity and they owe 10k to a loan company. ???

Would really appreciate some sound legal advice here as well as advice from anyone in similar situation regarding mediation and court...

Thank you x

shortbread

Does mediation really work after 28 months of dispute and an ex who is adamant she wants house sold??

poppysarah

He should go to mediation and point out that he is willing to discuss why she hasn't sold after so long.

Strapped

Sounds to me as though the ex is willing to pay the additional costs to make sure that you are not living in her old home. Perhaps she has requested mediation as well to cause additional expense to your partner if she doesn't have to pay but your partner does. Who knows. Either way I'd start packing.

martinbuckley

Alternatively, you could buy the house off them.

shortbread

You really think a judge will say its best to sell a house that cost 146k and to sell it now its only valued at 130k have it sold and have about 11k equity which the £10,456 joint loan has to be paid from?? Does this really look like what the judge will agree to especially as she delayed any transfer of equity for the last 2 years....???

shortbread

Im wondering if anyone can answer a question....Can someone go to court to get someone taken off the mortgage/Transfer of Equity even if the mortgage company wont agree right now due to lack of income?? Sounds stupid I know....but just wondering about options. There is proof that my partner tried for over 16 months to get this to happen at substantial cost to him while his ex just ignored letter from solicitors and prompts to agree to contract. Will a judge see this as a decent attempt to free his ex from the ties of the property and she simply ignored it?

Anyone.....help seriously appreciated

angelsmomma

I think you are looking at this wrong. The court is not the place for this, the mortgage is on the property and held by your partner and his ex. Only the mortgage company can agree to take her off if they are satisfied that your partner can afford the whole mortgage on his own.

You have stated that he can't afford to get the mortgage on his own. The mortgage company are really not interested in who pays the mortgage as long as someone is. At the moment if the mortgage defaults they have two people to go after, if she is taken off they will only have 1.

I have read through the other thread on this and my guess is his ex is going for mediation so she can exclude you from the process as it really is not your place to get involved in this from her point of view. I know you think because you are paying the mortgage now that it is but the bottom line in law is this house belongs to her and your partner.

shortbread

Angel.....I have nothing to do with this at all...she is the one wanting to go to court to force a sale....Mediation is being sought by her so she can get to court as without mediation the judge wont even consider the case. Its been over 27 months since they split....mediation now is just a means to an end here...

I am paying the mortgage and ofcourse its not my house but it affects me if she is trying to get partner out the house. I have never been included in any issues with her as my partner saw his solicitor from the get go by himself....so I feel you are not looking at this in the correct view...

I asked about court as an option for him if he gets the mortgage agreed in his own name through the building society , something he had previously which she took too long in agreeing to.

It is all simply scenarios to consider....I am here to try to find a way out for my partner....however it does affect me in that I live i the house with my son too...

He has mediation tomorrow....does anyone know what would happen if he did not attend.....does anyone think it is a necessity that he goes....I simply see it as him helping her get to court quicker.

HELP

DVardysShadow

I would agree with you as far as mediation being a waste of time and effort. She seems pig headed, but you seem a bit stubborn about this. If you and your partner can afford to buy it and have the mortgage available, buy it. If you don't have the funds, then you can't. So you would need to sell, because otherwise you are living in part on your partner's ex's equity and you need to let her get on with her life as much as she should be letting you get on with yours.

That is the basic resolution to this situation which people should be able to arrive at without using the courts and as such, it is the resolution that the courts will impose. If you don't have the resources, you can't buy out the ex and anything you try through the courts to get around the fact that you don't have the resources is going to waste even more resources and put the day you have your own home further away.

shortbread

If im honest i couldnt care less about the house, its not my house and never will be because I will not be part of a mortgage in it...its more for my partner who worked hard and paid the mortgage for the last 5 years from his income alone....He doesnt want to go to court obviously....and im not being stubborn, im simply standing by my partner.....he has pride in this home, there is no equity in the house....as she owes almost 6k to a loan....even if my partner could get the mortgage she is refusing to sign off from it......hence the court to force the sale.....thats the reason IM asking about mediation....is him attending just getting her closer to the courts???