In need of advice please re mortgages and ex

tallulah-bell-duchess

My ex and I split up 2010 after 7 years together. During that time we bought two houses together. The two of us both have new partners that live with each of us respectively.

Both houses have joint mortgages in both our names. The house that my ex lives in, I put down 10k of the 15k deposit. The mortgage for the house is £97k and the house is valued at around £95k, putting it into negative equatity. My ex wants to have my name removed and put his fiance on it instead. I understand that he would need my consent to do this and I would have to sign the relevant paperwork and there would be fees involved. Can my ex force me to do it? He also says that since the property is in negative value, I have no right to claim to my 10K back, is he right?

Any help/advice would be great;y appreciated. The other house is an entirely different matter that is also in the process of getting sorted!

kingstreet

You cannot be forced into a transfer of equity.

Your former partner could go to court and force a sale, but that doesn't sound like an option.

He has a fair point about any equity if the house is worth less than the mortgage. That pre-supposes the split has to be done now, while the property value is lower.

I would be asking what the value v mortgage comparison was at the point you split up.

TBH you may be better off just getting rid and getting on with your life. This could go on for years otherwise.

tallulah-bell-duchess

Thanks for the reply. In my opinion there is no rush to get it sorted, as the house I live in (with the ex on the mortgage) cannot be in solely my name or with my fiances on due to his ex wife leaving him with crippling debt.

The vavle v mortgage comparison from when we split up hasnt really changed tbh.

To play devils advokate, could I say yes, I am prepared to wait for the house price to go up in order to get my money back one day? The ex said that when we split up there was no rush at all and I would be stupid to walk away from the house but clearly his opinion has changed now that he's met someone else.

kingstreet

Like I said, all he can do is force a sale. He can't force you to transfer yourself off, or accept something you don't wish to.

Chances are, he wants you off now so that any recovery in house prices goes to him. As he's on "your" deeds, he'll also get a slice of any increase in the value of "your" property too.

tallulah-bell-duchess

Ok thanks. I had an agreement drawn up with the solicitor when we bought the house I live in, basically saying that he has no claimant to the money I put down as a deposit.