Tenants in Common - Advise Urgently Needed

BellaBella200

A friend has recently split from his girlfriend with whom he shared a house on a tenants in common basis.

The fixed term on their mortgage comes to an end later this year and he will try and remortgage by himself.

In the meantime, she has moved out and is not currently contributing to the mortgage.

In the event that he is unable to remortgage the house will need to be sold, however she believes that she will not be responsible for any associated fees as they are tenants in common.

There is no equity in the property so she would not benefit from any proceeds from a sale.

She has also been advised that she can force a sale at any time.

Could someone please confirm if this is correct?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

kingstreet

The mortgage is a joint and several liability, so she doesn't get to walk away scot-free regardless of how the property is owned - joint tenancy or tenants in common.

She can go to court and force the sale and she will be responsible for half the costs. If the property sells for less than the outstanding mortgage, she will be responsible for half the negative equity which will normally be payable before the property can be sold and the mortgage discharged.

He will be able to take on sole responsibility for the mortgage by carrying out a transfer of equity. He will need to show the current mortgage lender he can afford the mortgage alone, or will have to demonstrate similar affordability to a new lender when remortgaging. The latter is unlikely to be possible if there is no equity.

Either way, the matter is passed to a solicitor once the lender has agreed and the transfer of equity is completed by the parties signing to confirm their acceptance.

The cost of a transfer of equity is normally £400 to £600.

star4876

If she wanted to sell the house and he was refusing to co operate [i.e. he hasn't taken any steps to refinance and is refusing to sell] then he may be liable to pay the legal fees, if it goes to Court and they grant the order.
The best thing to do is come to a mutual agreement to sell, esp if the house is in neg equity - dragging through Court will only add more cost to an already expensive process, but yes it is possible to do it. Most banks also charge a reapplication fee for a proposal to change mortgage details/transfer equity, I know Santander charge £140. So this will be on top of your Solicitors fee to alter the paperwork. If its not likely that he can refinance on his own, he could consider an application with another person - i.e. parents, other relative, friend, providing they meet the banks acceptance criteria over age etc.