How to deal with difficult ex when trying to sell house

joozey

Hi I am also having enormous problems as I am trying to sell my house as I am struggling to pay the mortgage since my husband and I separated. The house has been on the market for 18 months but the trouble is it is too highly priced but my soon to be ex husband refuses to lower the market price to the price advised by the estate agents so that it will actually sell. I am paying the mortgage on my own and struggling to do this with other debts I have as well. I am taking him to court to try and get this resolved but I have now just been told that my final hearing date isn't until 5 April which means I have another 3 months to pay before I get a decision and even after then I still have to sell the house. My soon to be ex does not care about the house getting repossessed and has not paid and does not intend to pay anything towards the mortgage.
Any advice anybody can give me will be gratefully received.

minimoneysaver

Could you tell him you can't afford to pay it anymore? Surely it is in his best interests to ensure that you are still able to pay and if he wants to keep the price high, then maybe he should be helping pay towards the mortgage?

I'm no expert, but I wouldn't be happy paying a mortage for him when he is demanding that the price stay high and therefore gets no interest.

joozey

Already told him I am struggling to pay but bottom line is he just doesn't care. He has moved into private rented accommodation and he gets housing benefit to help him pay. He is really just playing a game and just trying to make me suffer. I wouldn't mind paying the mortgage myself if the house was marketed at a realistic price but it isn't. The estate agents tell me that because I need his signature too we need to agree on marketing and accepting price but he is being completely unrealistic. I just really wanted to know if there was anybody else that had gone through similar experience and could perhaps pass on their wisdom. I don't know which way to turn!

caeler

If this is part of a divorce there could be an angle that way? At least you could recoup some of the additional mortgage payments in terms of splitting some of the equity (if there is any) through a consent order, resisting the actual divorce until he agrees to one that is.

If not, you don't need you ex's permission to market the property at a lower price, only to sell it for that price. Do you think he would decline to sign on the dotted line if you did find a sale but at a lower price? At the point he could be free and maybe receive money from the sale he may well sign? Risky of course and it wouldn't be fair on some unsuspecting buyers.

Good luck.

marisco_2

joozey wrote: »

The house has been on the market for 18 months but the trouble is it is too highly priced but my soon to be ex husband refuses to lower the market price to the price advised by the estate agents so that it will actually sell.

Even when a property is marketed at the right price few buyers offer the full asking price. A realistically priced property gets interested viewers through the door. The location, size and general appearance then sells it.

Why is your husband so keen for the property not to sell? Is there little to no equity in the property, meaning that he has little to lose by not selling it now.

Is he aware that the longer the property is on the market the more likely it is that you will be made low offers. If it gets to the stage whereby the property is repossessed you could both really lose out financially. I wonder if he has taken all this into account.

What does your solicitor have to say about it all?

joozey

I have told him this and so have solicitors and estate agents but he just doesn't seem to care. I think he doesn't want the matter solved so that he still has some sort of power over me still.
That is why I am having to drag it through the courts in the hope that he will have to abide by judge's decision when it is finally made in April. I am worried that even then he might still refuse to sign the papers to sell the house. While this continues my legal costs continue to rise as well as struggling to pay mortgage and other debts. It is difficult to keep positive! :mad:

marisco_2

It must be so awful for you. I wish I could offer more advice. The ony other thing I can think of is to speak with CAB. I doubt they would be able to offer any further insight, to that which you have from solicitors and estate agents already. However I have always found them to be excellent when I have been in sticky situations. It might be worth a go.

When you mention your ex having power over you, have you come out of an abusive relationship? It rang an alarm bell with me because I have been in that position. I really hope you are okay.

Dunroamin

Your husband probably doesn't want the property to sell because, when it does, his share of the equity will affect his ability to claim LHA/HB on his rented property. The DWP could be very interested to learn that he isn't making a realistic attempt to sell the property and you might be able to use this fact to lever him into being reasonable on the price

joozey

Thanks Marisco. I will try CAB as anything is worth a try. Luckily it was not a physically abusive relationship. It must be terrible for you and anybody else that has experienced that. Thanks for your kind words. I will try and keep positive!

marisco_2

Abuse does not have to be physical. Emotional abuse can be just as bad. I hope you haven't experienced it previously, but the way he is treating you now is indicative of just that. Good luck with the CAB and I really hope things work out quickly for you. All the best.

ruby-roo_2

Dunroamin wrote: »

Your husband probably doesn't want the property to sell because, when it does, his share of the equity will affect his ability to claim LHA/HB on his rented property. The DWP could be very interested to learn that he isn't making a realistic attempt to sell the property and you might be able to use this fact to lever him into being reasonable on the price

I agree 100% with this. Might be worth contacting DWP and letting them know that someone claiming LHA/HB etc has assets in a property he refuses to market appropriately so it will sell. I think they would take a very dim view of him not being honest about his financial affairs.