Can we force sale?

cantcope

My husband is still on the mortgage of a house he had with ex. She still lives there paying the interest only mortgage.
Husband lives with me in my flat.
Until the house he has with ex is sold we have no chance of buying a house together (we would like a family and flat just isnt big enough).

Ex cannot get a mortgage on her own for the property but also doesn't want to sell as in negative equity. She refuses to talk to husband about it and we've not heard from her for about a year despite solicitor letters being sent informing her of his desire to sell

Can we force a sale and if we can, what's the process, costs, time frame etc. I've suggested we buy her out but hubby wants nothing to do with the house. We just want to move on with our lives and accept this might cost us. No children are involved and they were not married. He left the property over 2 years ago after finding somewhere to rent.

Any advice would be great.

holly_hobby

If your Husband is a joint mortgagor - he may seek a forced sale via a court directive.

This option will be facilitated via a Solicitor, and will naturally incur legal costs.

That is one side of it, however how do your Husband and his ex intend to manage any negative equity resulting from the sale ?

Both parties are jointly and singularly liable for the os debt, which will need to be settled for the mortgage lender to release them from liability. The lender may well agree to come to a repayment arrangement to settle the neg equity, or they may want it in one lump sum - but be advised that the lender may continue to pursue your Hubby and his ex for payment, over a period of upto 12 yrs following the event. So some carefull forward planning is reqd.

Hope this helps

Holly

cantcope

We are prepared to pay 50% of the shortfall and have this saved. Would they then still chase hubby? or just his ex?

laurel7172

Both of them, I'm afraid. That's what joint and several liability means.

Thrugelmir

cantcope wrote: »

We are prepared to pay 50% of the shortfall and have this saved. Would they then still chase hubby? or just his ex?

Possible that the lender will accept a lump sum settlement in lieu of your husbands liability.

Your husband should consult a solicitor and also speak to his lender. As open dialogue is the best way of addressing the situation.

holly_hobby

cantcope wrote: »

We are prepared to pay 50% of the shortfall and have this saved. Would they then still chase hubby? or just his ex?

Unfortunately, its not what you are prepared to pay, but what the lender is prepared to accept.

As stated all mortgagors (borrowers) are legally liable to repay the total mge debt, both jointly and on an individual basis - that is the contractual basis they agreed when they effected the mortgage.

Whether the lender would be prepared to accept a 50% payment, and effectively agree to waive any further liability in relation to your Husband, is a question only they can answer - if they decline your offer to remove your Hubbys liability, they may continue to pursue him and his ex for the remaining 50% until fully redeemed or 12th anniversary.

Of course, on the positive, the property sale may not result in any negative equity at all ..... or indeed an amount that your Hubby is able to fully meet, from the funds already put to one side. (ignoring the moral issues re the ex not contributing)

Hope this helps

Holly

cantcope

Thanks for all of your help.
I think we have to accept we may have to pay it all. A solicitor has been instructed but my husband hasn't asked any of these questions and gets upset if u keep asking him. I am trying to protect us and save as much as i can while he clears a large debt mounted up with the help of his ex. He is afraid of confrontation but i need to know this stuff.

He had the house valued in february and it was 10k short of the mortgage. Property prices haven't really moved much in this area since.

I guess this is what makes life interesting eh??

holly_hobby

It must be awfully frustrating, but if any shortfall is relatively low, I do think in the long run and to draw a line under the episode, hubby should repay it (I know its increadibly unfair on balance), but it means everyone can move on.

Men do tend to stick their head in the sand don't they - its a good job your Hubby has you to keep him on course !

Good luck ... (fingers crossed there is no neg equity to contend with at the end of the day )

H x

cantcope

Thanks

I am more than happy to pay it all(i'd happily get a loan if i needed to). she's a spiteful cow and my husband has very little confidence and seems afraid to confront her himself. Just a shame it will put us back but i just want our lives to be free from her.

Wh05apk

holly_hobby wrote: »

Whether the lender would be prepared to accept a 50% payment, and effectively agree to waive any further liability in relation to your Husband, is a question only they can answer - if they decline your offer to remove your Hubbys liability, they may continue to pursue him and his ex for the remaining 50% until fully redeemed or 12th anniversary.

(/QUOTE]

I think the 12 yr bit relates to how long they can chase him after he stops paying, if they agree to a payment plan, then that plan can last longer than 12 years, or if he stops paying after 5 years, they have a further 12 years to restart proceedings again, it's not a case of the debt getting written off after 12 years.

Thrugelmir

cantcope wrote: »

Thanks

my husband has very little confidence and seems afraid to confront her himself.

Use a solicitor. There's no need to have direct contact. Make the matter impersonal.