Deeds of trust and my rights

Rossjude

Hello all this is a long story so please bare with me,
4 years ago I split from my ex and I left, we took out a deeds of trust that she would take responsibility over the payments for mortgage and loan ( for the deposit) and I would have my name on the deeds as she could not buy me out on her own and was in negative equity, anyway 4 years later I have a 2 year old son and partner and rent ridiculous prices, a few weeks ago I received a letter from a debt collector acting on behalf of the bank we got the deposit loan for stating that it hadn't been paid for 6 months and that I now owe them 14000 pounds. I nearly fainted as I believed the deeds of trust protected me from this. I managed to get through to my ex and she explained that because she couldn't afford the loan payments she took out a avi? Which basically she pays wot she can for 5 years and the debt get scrapped, she also said that she would try to take my name off in the month as the house was coming up for renewal, she hasn't done this and am stil on the mortgage! I went to citizens advice and they didn't help me whatsoever and I do not know where to turn to, I desperately want my name off and feel if I am expected to pay this loan debt then how can she get a renewal mortgage and also she have property when I have literally nothing
Please someone help me

Annisele

I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anything you're going to want to hear.

I suspect that what happened is:

You and your ex took out a joint mortgage and a joint loan. You were "jointly and severally" liable for those loans, meaning the lender could come after either of you for the whole of the money.

You then agreed with your ex that she'd take responsibility for the payments. At the time, you didn't agree anything with either of the lenders - so your original agreements with the lenders are unchanged, and the lenders can still come after you for the whole of the debt.

Then your ex hit a period of financial difficulty, and possibly entered an IVA (I think you might mean IVA rather than AVI).

If all of that is true - and I don't know whether it is - then so far as the lenders are concerned you're liable for the whole of the debts. So far as you and your ex are concerned, you can sue her for the money you have to pay to the lender - but that won't help you because she doesn't actually have the money.

If your ex is in an IVA, I can't see any lender being prepared to release you from your obligations.

From what you've said, I think your two best hopes are: I've misunderstood and you were never jointly liable for the loans; or that the property is no longer in negative equity and can be sold to repay the whole debt.

You could get in touch with a charity like Stepchange to see whether they're able to help you.

Yorkie1

Yous post is a little hard to understand.

You refer to a "deposit loan". Do you mean that you bought the house with a mortgage AND that a separate loan was taken out for the deposit? Or just that there is a mortgage?

As I understand it, while your name remains on the mortgage or loan agreement (i.e. until the lender releases you from the agreement) then you are jointly liable for the whole debt. This is irrespective of any agreement you may have reached with your ex about who would be responsible for the repayments.

Was the deed of trust just between you and your ex, or was the lender also a signatory?

Assuming that it was just between you and your ex, your ex has, it appears, stuffed up by failing to repay the loan / mortgage, and because your name is still on the documents then your credit rating may also be implicated too - the lender can come after you. It is really very irresponsible for your ex not to have notified you of this, assuming she had your contact details still.

You'll need to get in touch with lender and sort out what the position is.

getmore4less

You will need specialist debt based legal advice.

Chances are the lender gets the money off you and then you get the money of the EX.

It may be that the IVA is suspect, check if they are paying for the IVA or using a free service.

You need to know what happens if they go bankrupt.

louisejude

thank you guys for your advice

i have logged in as another member as i cant get in through mine,

yes you were right the loan was what we took out for the deposit of the mortgage so there are two seperate payments.


would i be able to make her sell the property??? as i am still liable to pay the lenders, i.e the deeds of trust was just between me and my ex, no lenders were involved in it.
i feel that this may be the best option as i dont have anything and im sure the house is out of negative equity now.

also would she of been able to remortgage the house with the same lenders this year without my signature?.

kind regards

zzzLazyDaisy

She cannot remortgage without your signature

In any case it is highly unlikely that any lender will touch her if she is in IVA

What makes you think that a house that was in negative equity four years ago will be out of negative equity now? House prices have been pretty static in that time. Also, it is possible that the lender has allowed her to go interest free for some or all of that time given her financial difficulties, in which case there will have been no capital paid off the mortgage at all.

As others have said, as private agreement between you and her about who will make the repayments does not bind the lender, and you are still legally liable for the repayments as far as the lender is concerned.

GDB2222

louisejude wrote: »

thank you guys for your advice

i have logged in as another member as i cant get in through mine,

yes you were right the loan was what we took out for the deposit of the mortgage so there are two seperate payments.


would i be able to make her sell the property??? as i am still liable to pay the lenders, i.e the deeds of trust was just between me and my ex, no lenders were involved in it.
i feel that this may be the best option as i dont have anything and im sure the house is out of negative equity now.

also would she of been able to remortgage the house with the same lenders this year without my signature?.

kind regards

Yes, you can make her sell the property, although you might need a court order. Before you could do that, you would need to find out exactly how much is owed and how much the house is realistically worth. At the moment, you are just panicking, without any hard facts - or at least you haven't told us the numbers.

If the debts are more than the house, you should consider going bankrupt. That way, you get rid of all your liabilities, once and for all, and you finally disentangle yourself from your ex-.

louisejude

thank you,

i feel whether the the flat is still in negative equity or not, she is reaping the benefits of living there, that is what im trying to say, i struggle now and with this debt coming to me, its the same as if she sold and we owed equally what is left to pay.
do i have any rights to make her sell? as im still on the lender.

she remortgaged the property in january this year and i have recieved no forms to sign, i went to the bank and i am definatly still on the mortgage.

louisejude

i have just looked to see what the property is worth, i paid 174,000 for it and it is now worth 171,000.

zzzLazyDaisy

louisejude wrote: »

thank you,

i feel whether the the flat is still in negative equity or not, she is reaping the benefits of living there, that is what im trying to say, i struggle now and with this debt coming to me, its the same as if she sold and we owed equally what is left to pay.

As far as the lender is concerned you would both be equally liable for the negative equity, so they could choose to chase you for the whole amount and probably would, seeing as she is in IVA

do i have any rights to make her sell? as im still on the lender.

she remortgaged the property in january this year and i have recieved no forms to sign, i went to the bank and i am definatly still on the mortgage.

It is not possible for her to remortgage the property without your signature, as the change of lender would have to be registered at the landregistry and this needs your signature. Do you mean that she changed to another mortgage product with the same lender? Is it possible that the original mortgage agreement came to an end and she has gone onto the lender's standard mortgage? (this would be automatic).

Dx .

GDB2222

louisejude wrote: »

i have just looked to see what the property is worth, i paid 174,000 for it and it is now worth 171,000.

Is that a Zoopla valuation?

How much is owed in total?