HELP please! CSA and mortgage payments!

Trixabell

Hi there! I have recently split with my ex of 7 years, we have a joint mortgage and a 4 year old.

Since splitting up I have been paying the mortgage and the loan. In total just under £550 per month. But not actual maintenance payments.

My ex has their new partner living in the house but claiming single person benefit. I have offered to sign the house over without taking any equity out of it but my ex is refusing saying it is my responsibility to pay whilst our child is still there. My ex only works part time.

I have just moved into a new house as I couldn't stay where I initially moved to as I had to sleep on the sofa when I had our child.

As you can imagine money is very tight so I am trying to avoid solicitors fee's too. Is there anyway out of this??? This is really starting to get to me now!

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

Hmm..

Ok - Mortgage - I would discuss this with a solicitor. Either the ex should buy you out, you walk away with nothing, or you both sell up and split the money

If their partner is living there then they arent entitled to the single persons discount anyway .... so this is benefit fraud

As for maintainence - go with the CSA Calulator and just pay that

Is the loan in joint names? if so, the Ex should pay half too!!!

Poppie68

The problem you most probably will encounter with the house is your ex's ability to buy you out, is she likely to be given a mortgage on a part time wage?

Regarding the benefit claim, are you 100% sure you know she is still claiming as a single person? If you go down the route of reporting her you need to be certain either way. With regards to CSA i would'nt pay or expect a penny until the mortgage was sorted, you are providing for your little one by putting a roof over her head.

shoe*diva79

If the mortgage is in both your names then it makes sense for you to ensure its paid in full and on time each month so your credit rating does not get effected.

She could easily go to the CSA and put a claim in. Your options are to sell the house and split the equity or she buy you out, but if she cant afford to buy you out then selling is the only option.

If your believe she is committing benefit fraud claiming as a single person with a partner living there then obviously you can report that.

Having 1 child with her would be a straight 15% of your salary, less any deductions for overnight stays. This is the MINIMUM you should pay.

Whose name is the loan in?

RAS

Let's take this one point at a time. England, Scotland Wales?
Are you married or not?

There is a fair bit of discussion on here about whether NRPs should pay more than is required by the CSA and whether NRPs should limit their payments to the CSA level and "force" their ex into claiming benefits.

The other side is that despite the law insisting that contact and maintenance are not related in any way, it is very easy for the PWC to prevent contact if they really want to do so.

Is this a joint mortgage or tenants in common? Is there any equity in the property and is there a deed of trust?

shop-to-drop

Poppie68 wrote: »

Regarding the benefit claim, are you 100% sure you know she is still claiming as a single person? If you go down the route of reporting her you need to be certain either way. With regards to CSA i would'nt pay or expect a penny until the mortgage was sorted, you are providing for your little one by putting a roof over her head.

Why does he need to be certain of what they are claiming? If he reports her to the benefit people and she is claiming as a couple with her partner then nothing further would happen.

Trixabell

Thanks for all your replies. It is a joint mortgage but we were never married.

I take on board about CSA payments being a minimum but I think you can all see that I have been more than fair with the financial support.

The loan is in joint names too.

RAS

Please start by contacting your mortgage provider, explaining that the relationship has broken down and provide a new address where they can contact you. Ask for a payment holiday or to go interest only and get a statement of account as of today.

If you are in England or Wales:

Pay your ex 15% of your salary as child support.

She can claim the cost of the interest payments on the mortgage through her benefits.

Obviously you need to make sure that you give her warning that you will be stopping payments on the mortgage and give her time to claim.

Keep very close tabs on whether the payments are being made, as she can screw your credit rating.

Is there any equity and did you have a deed of trust when you bought the house?

Trixabell

We can't have a mortgage holiday as we are not with a high street bank due to my ex's credit rating, plus we got into arrears so I'm trying my hardest to catch up on that. But I informed the mortgage company when I moved out and they already have my new address.

We did have an agreement drawn up when we bought the house as she had more deposit to put down than I did.

RAS

Trixabell wrote: »

We can't have a mortgage holiday as we are not with a high street bank due to my ex's credit rating, plus we got into arrears so I'm trying my hardest to catch up on that. But I informed the mortgage company when I moved out and they already have my new address.

We did have an agreement drawn up when we bought the house as she had more deposit to put down than I did.

So what did the agreement say about what happened if you split up?

And how much of your current payment is interest and how much is capital or payment towards the arrears?

Trixabell

It just said that my ex would get back the money that was put down as deposit before the equity is split.

I pay £120 per month toward the arrears and £280 is the normal payment. As for the interest I am not sure as my ex dealt mainly with this