seperation and default on mortgage payment by partner.

hrm34

Hi guys, Im after a bit of chat and friendly advice please.

The situation is this, my partner and I have been together for a year and half and are currently renting privately. My partners ex of about two and half years currently lives in and pays the mortgage on a property that was purchased when my partner and her were together - they have a young son.

The problem is that 'the ex' ( apologies if i Cause offence but its quicker this way!) has been defaulting on the mortgage. The mortgage is in joint names with my partners name as the lead name. The ex has threatened to stop paying the mortage after christmas as my ex is not helping her pay. she has previously defaulted in the last six months also. My question is where does this leave us?

Obviously Im concerned that if she defaults on the mortgage they are going to come to my partner and i for the money which we don't have and besides the point do not see why we have to pay! Is there anything we can do, are we really liable for her defaults. It is not an option to remove my parner from the mortgage as the ex would not be able to remortgage on her money. My main concern is that they will come chasing us for money that we don't have and will eventually reposess the house probably leading to a defecit in the mortgage!!

Any advice would be welcome.

Many thanks hx

DVardysShadow

Your partner will be accumulating these defaults on his credit record. The fair split of payments is that the ex should pay half the mortgage plus half a fair rent and your partner should make up the difference. If that arrangement is not going to work, then you need to insist that the place is sold.

Annisele

Sorry, this isn't going to be what you want to hear...

If you partner and his ex have a joint mortgage, then they are "jointly and severally liable" for that mortgage. That means that both of them are liable for the entire debt - so if the ex doesn't pay, the lender is within its rights to go after your partner for the entire debt. If the ex doesn't pay, then it isn't "her" default, it's "their" default - the ex and your partner are equally liable, and (to the lender) the fact that he doesn't live there anymore is irrelevant.

He might be able to force a sale - but given that his son presumably lives in the house, there's a good chance that any attempt to force a sale would get precisely nowhere.

Do you think the ex's problem is "can't pay" or "won't pay"? Is your partner paying maintenance for his son?

hrm34

Thanks you for both replies.

You're right it isn't what I wanted to hear but unfortunately what I was expecting!

My partner is paying CSA through the relevant agencies though the 'ex' complains constantly that this is not enough!

She works just part time, and cannot afford the mortgage though is under the impression that if she stops paying they can just repossess the house and this will be all my partners fault - at present she is not being partically amicable.

I am aware that as his name is on the mortgage he is liable and we already have poor credit ourselves and have resigned ourselves to the fact that we will never have our own mortgage etc.
The long and short unfortunately is that we CANNOT afford to pay anything at all, we are in our own mess and made our own mistakes and cannot take on hers too!!!

The matter is further complicated by the current market, the state of the property and the fact that my partners mother has £40,000 invested in the property.

I am really unhappy about the whole situation but by the looks of it gotta grin and bear it!! Why we have to face up to her bloody idiocy is a mystery to me!!! ( sorry rant over )

again many thanks guys

hx

DVardysShadow

hrm34 wrote: »

... The matter is further complicated by the current market, the state of the property and the fact that my partners mother has £40,000 invested in the property.

Tell us more about this - what is in place to record this investment?

hcb42

with respect, it is not just her b***** idiocy. They both agreed to the mortgage, they both allowed someone to invest in the property for them.....

all you can do is sit down with ex, try and agree the sale, and make sure that the support is sufficient for a home for his child going forward, as presumably they will need to rent.

You can do something together about the state of it - by making sensible improvements to presentation or any other issues which might prevent a sale, which might need a little bit of investment, only the two of them and you can decide if the expense is worth it or you cut your losses and sell cheap.

hrm34

As far as i know there is involvment and written contracts with a solicitor to protect my mother in laws investment. She put up £40,000 as a deposit with a contract in place to state that upon sale of the property she will be returned her money. This is as much as i know about that bit.

Obviously she is as concerned as we are about the situation and her investment and so is looking into the situation.
The long and short is thet the ex will NEVER be able to afford the mortgage, so we are left with a major problem!!!

hrm34

hcb42 wrote: »

with respect, it is not just her b***** idiocy. They both agreed to the mortgage, they both allowed someone to invest in the property for them.....

This comment was not in relation to the actual initial agreement, but simply to how she has behaved regarding this mortgage, she has lied, kept back information and put herself, my stepson and my partner's and my future in jepardy by her actions. That is what I consider to be 'b*****' idiocy.

DVardysShadow

hrm34 wrote: »

As far as i know there is involvment and written contracts with a solicitor to protect my mother in laws investment. She put up £40,000 as a deposit with a contract in place to state that upon sale of the property she will be returned her money. This is as much as i know about that bit.

Obviously she is as concerned as we are about the situation and her investment and so is looking into the situation.
The long and short is thet the ex will NEVER be able to afford the mortgage, so we are left with a major problem!!!

Far from expert advice here, because the child support arrangements complicate things. It looks to me like his mother's investment is very vulnerable. It can't be helped.

Focus now on the child. Is it going to be feasible to keep him in the house? If ex defaults, is your partner going to be able to keep the mortgage up? He needs to look at his finances and work out a sustainable plan to keep a roof over his son's head, either where he is or in something as near to that standard as can be afforded.

It has to be a fair plan - not one which means he is just tossing a few scraps in his son's direction. And he then needs to discuss the plan with the ex, with going bankrupt as the bottom line. And ex needs to see that letting him go bankrupt is not in her best interests.

hrm34

what ever happens no.one will be.chucked on the street and no scraps will be thrown!!! we adore his.son and would.do anything for him we are looking into taking him in ourselves as we rent privately. our concern is that he is cared for and that our finances are not put in jeopardy meaning we cannot support ourselves and him.

we do not have enough money to pay the mortgage and we wouldn't want to anyway as we feel that there are better options, us paying for her is not going to achieve anything. The best solution is to sell the property, she would be entitled to help with rent and aplace on the housing list anyway she just doesn't want to do that.

basically we cannot pay the mortgage and neither can she I just hope that she has the foresight to realise what a Ness she.is making of everything by acting this way. Apologies of I sound harsh but this has been going on for a while now and I am.feeling very peeved that our finances are being messed with in this way. Some how it just doesn't seem fair....

hcb42

I hate to be harsh again, as I realise it is not a situation of your making...but please read that second paragraph again...

you (i.e. he, they) do not want to pay the mortgage as there are 'better options'.....she would be entitled to rent and a place on the housing list....they do have join and several liability for their past actions, and that doesnt mean the state is the easy one.