Advice on difficult situation please

lightspeed

Hi All

I recently (June 06) purchased a property for 154K with my partner, this was below market value due to the state the property was in. We put a 10% deposit down leaving a 139K mortgage. Our joint income is 18K (hers) and 23K (mine).

Since the purchase we have not moved into the house because we decided to completely renovate what was a tired 1960's decor, electrics and heating system and have since decorated almost every room installed new electrics and combi heating system.

My partner, somewhat out of the blue, has now said that she no longer wants the house and that she isnt sure about our relationship (great new years eve news).

Part of me thinks that she may have cold feet about moving out of her parents, however, another part of me thinks that she is indeed serious and her decision is final.

Now, if i wanted to keep the house, i would need to not only give her the deposit back but also 2K that her parents provided for solicitors fees (i reckon about 12K should cover it all). On top of this, i would have to finance a 139K mortgage on 23Kpa, this is a little over 6 X my income and would be suicidal.

The house is in a prime location, and has probably increased from the initial 154K to 180 - 190K based on other prices for similar properties in the area. That said, selling the house would make us both a small profit taking early repayment charges, fees and the money spent to renovate the house into account.

My question is, what options are available to me to be able to keep the house?

1) Get a friend to take her side of the house and pay back the deposit? Probably the most sensible option but then i now longer have full control over the house.

2) Use my mum as a guaranteur, she currently has 50K on her own mortgage but earns 36K and has endownments that WILL cover the mortgage on her house. The main problem may be that she is 6 years away from retirement.

3) take over the mortgage myself and get a lodger? Is this possible?

I am 25 years old, have no debt (other than the mortgage).

Thanks in advance

kenshaz

I feel that you are being extremely sensible ,being forced into what must be an emotional situation and rationalizing your options.
I would initially put the property up for sale,and also pursue the lodger option.If a buyer comes along ,then you have choice and meanwhile the mortgage payments are being maintained.
The other options are possible,but only if you are finding the situation difficult ,third parties can complicate and you lose some control
Mum will help ,but I know that you want her to be secure.
Take action short term ,look long term and good luck,you will look back and smile ,perhaps it was for the best.

milkydrink

I think she may also be entitled to a 50% share of the increase in value, you guess that about 30K, so thats 15K.
I could be wrong, but I would have thought so.

MortgageMamma

So sorry to hear you are having problems at this time of year. I myself look at my life in the last two weeks of the year and do a bit of soul searching, christmas and new year and the time off work often triggers that in someone. Hopefully your girlfriend will change her mind if given the space.

Is your mortgage captial repayment or interest only?

alanobrien

If you could do option 2, and then use option 3 to pay your mother back asap
that would allow you to keep control of the property.

Thats what i would go for, mother willing of course !

herbiesjp

You say you have not moved in yet - is that correct?

You could let out the property on a BTL basis - have you considered this as an option - you would need to take your partner off the mortgage/deeds assuming her decision is final.

HTH

MortgageMamma

TBH I think you are wise to consider your options, but don't rush into any decisions until you know the situ with girlfiend is completely unsalvageable. So long as she is still paying her part of the mortgage you have nothing to worry about for the time being. If I was you I'd be concentrating on addressing the relationship rather than worrying about finances at this stage.

lightspeed

Thank you for all of the replies.

Yes the mortgage is IO and yes i do realise the implications of this type of mortgage but it was always going to be a temporary option (i no, i no...), just while we settled in. Despite this i was putting the difference aside each month anyway.


BTL is possbile but only if i can find the money to buy her out and theoretically speaking she is entitled to 50% of everything but i think, all things considered, she would be happy to walk away with what she put into the house 6 - 7 months ago (i estimate this to be around 12K).

Yes we havent moved in yet. I have single handedly renovated the house. My partner was interested at first but this soon resided (should have taken the signs really). I feel that i have put my own stamp on the property for someone else to enjoy and for me to go through it all again, but i will need a home sometime in the future and this is as good as any if it is affordable.

I agree that waiting is my only option at the moment. Why she has bit her tongue until New Years eve to break this news to me, i dont know! (new beginning i suppose, and the timing doesnt bode well for the future of our relationship) The impression that i get at the minute is that there is no turning back and that even if the relationship is salvagable, she would still want to sell the property as she doesnt feel comfortable with the idea of moving out of her parents. We have been together for nearly 10 years, so maybe she might come round and it might have been a case of cold feet, some how i doubt it though.

How the relationship can continue remains to be seen but keeping the house is a priority of mine if at all possible.

Ivrytwr3

why are you giving her parents back £2k? They gave the money to both of you to buy a house, you bought a house which THEIR daughter now doesn't want. Tell her to give them the money back.

Hee hee

brasso

I'd be tempted to try to keep the house, given that you've put so much work into it and seen an increase in value.

If her decision is final, why not put the ball in her court and ask her what she would accept as a settlement? With luck (and you deserve some), she'll suggest a figure below her legal entitlement. You could then MEW (increase the mortgage to release some equity), and pay her off. You could then finish off the renovations ASAP and see how you feel. You could sell up, coming out with a decent lump sum to compensate you for your hard work, or you could think about letting it out or living in it and taking a lodger.

I appreciate that it's a difficult time emotionally and you may want to be as generous as possible 'for old time's sake' but I'd seriously urge you to try (hard as it might be) to keep emotions out of it and put your business head on here. You've done all the work, you've taken the risk, she's let you down. I don't think she should benefit from your input and determination.

I'm not being misogynistic here, believe me. I'd say the same if it was the woman in your position.

If you're going to keep the place, do change to a repayment mortgage as soon as you can. I/Os are a bad idea.

All the best.

silvercar

what happens to the house is as much her responsibility as yours. To offer to take the mortgage on alone and pay her deposit back instantly is overly generous.