Not Sure What Do After Buying House And It Hasnt Worked Out

whomy5

Hi everyone,


The past 12 months have been a bit of a nightmare and in order for me to move forward I just wondered if anyone could offer some advise. I apologise for the rather long post.


My partner & I bought a house last year, FTB's, both in our late 40's, joint mortgage and house is in both our names.


Things have not worked out between us and due to various circumstances and incidents I need to move out and find somewhere to rent. I've rented all my adult life but as my now ex partner wanted to buy I agreed, he had savings so put the deposit down and paid solicitors fees etc.


From the start we agreed that as he had put all the money upfront, I would pay the full monthly mortgage amount as in half the amount would be my half of the mortgage and the other half paying off the costs. i.e. my partner doesn't need to pay anything towards the mortgage for the next 3 years which is when I would have paid what I owed him and we would have then shared the monthly mortgage payment for the rest of the term.


Obviously things have not worked and I need to move out, I don't have any savings/money at all, only the money I earn from my full time job.


My partner has no intention of leaving the house even though he earns less than me and has more outgoings he is confident that he can manage the house just fine whereas I know I would struggle to keep up with all the bills and responsibility, so am happy to put it all behind me and give it up.


I have been looking at flats to rent but am a little worried that agents are asking what the situation is with me having a house/mortgage and don't seem very positive? I can afford to rent on my own and manage my bills, I have no pets, don't smoke and have worked full time paying rent for donkeys years. I admit because I have no savings I will have to use my credit cards for a deposit and the admin fees, but I've already used a fair bit of credit buying things for this damned house!


I am starting to think that I will end up homeless, I've looked into staying in hostels but it seems so depressing that this maybe my only option? I'm a working woman in a responsible job but I feel like I've been brought down to living like someone who has nothing...and even though I work I feel like I literally have nothing other than my personal belongings.


I cant afford to live in a hotel, I don't have any family and to be honest I don't want to ask any friends for help.


Also what happens to my name on the mortgage? I cant afford to get it taken off, is this something my ex can do on his own? I know he can afford to and as I'm coming out of all this with nothing all, I don't feel why I should bother paying for it to be done? He will never sell it.


And another thing... will I still need to pay my life insurance that is to cover the mortgage?


I'm sure there must be plenty of people who have been in this situation, can you offer any advise? I'm just worried that I will become stuck living in a house in a situation I hate or living in some horrible place that will make me feel even more depressed than I already am....


Buying a house was the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life!:(

ACG

Ensure your name comes off the mortgage, either that or force the sale.

If your name does not come off the mortgage and he does struggle to pay it, post will be going to the house and not you. This could ruin your credit report.

You do not need to keep the life insurance that is purely optional.

princeofpounds

I know it's stressful but relax a little bit if you can, you aren't going to be homeless.

Letting agents may credit check you; as long as you have no CCJs should be fine. They will care about earnings, which you have. They may want a reference.

They will probably ask about your current situation but very few are likely to probe into affordability issues of an owned house. You can basically tell them what you want; that you are selling up, letting it out for some reason. Whatever.

As for the house itself... You need to get your ex to buy you out, or to sell up. The former is preferable but may be tricky given his situation. He will not need to pay you much money as you don't own much equity in the house. Maybe even nothing, given costs are involved and a clean break will be valuable enough. But he will need to convince the mortgage company he can afford it on his own so they will allow the deeds and mortgage to be in his name solo.

If that doesn't fly, then you may need to demand a sale. If he refuses, you may need to ask a court for an order for sale. That will cost some money and hassle.

Or, you make it clear that if he does not sell then you keep using the house as a home, given you are on the deeds and have no choice. He may not want this and agree to sell anyway.

Or, you take the risk of leaving him in place until one of the above options becomes possible.

Pixie5740

Firstly you won't end up homeless. You shouldn't have a problem finding somewhere to rent as agency credit checks are very basis and just throw up CCJs and bankruptcy so if neither of those apply to you, you'll be fine.

Secondly, seek legal advice. You don't want to remain jointly and severally liable for the debt on a property you no longer live in. Did you and your ex sign a declaration of trust when you bought the property? Do you own it as joint tenants or tenants in common?

whomy5

Hi,


Many thanks for the replies... much appreciated and noted.


We bought the property as Tenants In Common which was not something I was that's happy with as I would have preferred it as Joint Tenants, but I don't suppose it make any difference now.


Thanks again

Pixie5740

Shelter has a guide about housing rights for couples when the relationship breaks down. You might find some useful information in it.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/23393/ShelterGuide_RelationshipBreakdown.pdf

ruggedtoast

I dont understand why you want to give him the house. Is there no equity in there? You must be entitled to something.

whodathunkit

Do you earn enough to buy him out?

MobileSaver

ruggedtoast wrote: »

I dont understand why you want to give him the house. Is there no equity in there? You must be entitled to something.

The house has only been owned for one year and the OP's partner paid all the upfront costs including the deposit so very unlikely to be any equity for the OP.

CP26

Don't worry about renting. I'm in the same position as you (joint mortgage, ex staying in house, me leaving to rent) and since I've left I've moved through 2 rental properties without any issue whatsoever. They didn't event ask about the mortgage arrangement.

As long as your credit score is pretty healthy and you have enough income to support the rent they probably won't care about anything else.

As for the mortgage, whether you want equity or not, you need to get yourself off the mortgage. That means he needs to get a sole mortgage for the property, or it has to be sold. I'd recommend getting a free half hour with a solicitor just to see what options you have.

BigAunty

You remain jointly and severally liable for the mortgage even if you cease to occupy it. You seem to indicate that your ex lives above his means and cannot afford to live there solo but intends to remain, or have I misread this?

You say you know he can afford it but then you also say he has less income and higher expenses than you and you can't afford to take it on, so how can he?! If so, there remains a risk that he will get into mortgage arrears and the lender approaches you to pay it.

Can your ex afford to take over the mortgage in his sole name based on his salary and the current mortgage? Check with a mortgage affordability calculator. You seem to think he can manage it but it's not up to him or you, it's down to purely the calculations on loan to income that the lender will make on his sole income. If you couldn't contribute upfront, then I assume he couldn't afford to buy it in his sole name to protect his interest in the property and needed your salary to satisfy the lender to grant the mortgage?

Is he going to insist that you keep paying the mortgage for the next 3 years as you planned or will he let you off? Was this a verbal agreement or is there a legal document or written proof that you came to this arrangement?

Is there anyway to divvy up the house so you can both live there with a degree of privacy, such as making the lounge and separate bedroom (if it's a 1 bed) into two bed-sitting rooms? As a joint owner, you are entitled to occupy the property. Splitting the cost of the house and bills is surely cheaper than taking on a new place?

If he can't take over the mortgage, then court action to force a sale can be time consuming and expensive. To do nothing will cause you issues in the future, such as a damaged credit record if he defaults on the mortgage, or if you meet a new partner and want to buy a place, that original property loan will cause you problems with getting another mortgage.

You may well find your partner hostile or apathetic to taking on the mortgage in his sole name even if he can afford to - his life isn't particularly affected if its in joint names and you move out, so he's quite comfortable. You may have to draw to his attention the fact that you can take up occupation whenever you like in the future.