Charge on my land?

ANGELA31

i am wondering if i can have some help?

I have been divorced for 3 years, my house is still in my name and my ex husband's name as on paper i don't earn enough to have the mortgage on my own. It was agreed verbally that I would pay all bills and mortgage and his name is just on the mortgage thats all which has worked fine. Yesterday I got a letter through the door saying that a solicitor is putting a charge on my land as my ex husband has run up a debt and isn't paying it £6,000. I phoned the solicitor and they have basically said they won't ask me to sell the house now but when i sell i then have to pay them the £6,000 from the sale of my house, I am gutted as my equity is only about £10,000 so have nothing left now, my ex husband is useless saying that although he knew this was happening technically he does still own half the house. I am so mad, the reason we still haven't transferred the mortgage to my now current partner was because he said if we did that then i would have to take on complete payment of a loan we both have £250 a month which i can't afford on my own so had to leave the mortgage in both our names. What really upsets me is the fact that we always agreed that the huse would be for our daughter when she came of age to have a house of her own. Last night he also dropped the bombshell that there may be another two debtors that may do this aswell, it really upsets me i work 44 hours a week in order to pay my bills and my loans and he just stops paying. I am now thinking of either putting the house into his name and letting him deal the problems or go bankrupt and starting again in rented accomadation, i know its my fault that i should of changed the mortgage but like i said i felt he had my over a barrell and there was nothing i could do. Has anyone got any advice?

Thanks

silvercar

Don't beat yourself up about it. The mortgage lender wouldn't have allowed you to put the home in your name if you don't earn enough.

I thought there was something you could register on the property (something to do with the Marital homes act?) that would prevent further charges being put on the property without you knowing about it. Hazy memory, sorry.

ANGELA31

Thanks silver car, i just feel gutted, he had an affair and went and lived with the woman, they are now planning on getting married, which for them is great while i take on his debts, will look into legal advice, although i don't think anything can be done!

ermine

This doesn't look like it's going to a good place if he is increasingly in debt. It's probably worth going to see someone like the CAB. If a charge is being put against his assets there are two ways of looking at it.

On the one hand the house is still half his, and he is paying half towards the mortgage and you are getting full use of the house. This is greatly in your favour. He is, therefore entitled to use his half of the house, which otherwise isn't doing him any good, as security for loans he takes out.

BUT

he is increasingly in financial trouble by the looks of it, and you don't know why or how.
You could end up jointly and severally liable for these unknown loans if the house is used as security, because you don't know the terms of the loans.
This could reduce the equity you have left in the house.

So you need to get help to sort out what your liabilities could be.

What really upsets me is the fact that we always agreed that the huse would be for our daughter when she came of age to have a house of her own.

Laudable, perhaps, but you have to face facts. Neither you or your ex is rich enough to make such generous promises. Most people have to buy their own house using the results of their own work or rent.

So this is highly irrational, and it sounds like it won't happen either, with increasing loans being charged to the equity. It is almost as if your ex is using your collective feelings of guilt towards your daughter to keep the situation fuzzy so he can charge loans against the whole house and get the value of it that way.

But maybe I am being overly suspicious and this is c0ck-up not conspiracy. Either way, get an appointment with the CAB so they can point you in the direction of where to go to find out what liabilities you are on the hook for. You need to know where you stand.