Need some advice please: selling house/exwife/debts!

lexgriff

My partner and I are after some advice re his house. He owns the house with his wife, from whom he has been separated for 6 years. they have a joint mortgage still, though she has refused to pay her half since she moved out. The mortgage was in arrears when his wife left. He contacted the mortgage company and they agreed an interest only payment and arranged a repayment plan for the arrears. My partner has worked 3 jobs and got lodgers in in order to make payments. Unfortunately mortgage companies don't care where the money comes from if it is being paid so they have not contacted his wife for money.

We are now in a position where we no longer want to live in such a big house with a high mortgage and have decided we would like to sell the property. We have done a lot of work and spent a lot of money on getting the house in better decorative order etc but still would love to get it sold asap so that we can make a fresh start.
My partner has been told within the last 2 years that his wife has secured loans against the property recently, and her non payment of these have resulted in charges against the house. He was appalled to find when he questioned the sum of these with the mortgage company, they are not allowed to disclose this information to him, despite him being on the mortgage!
There are several areas on which we are not clear and wondered if anyone on here can give us some advice or who has had similar experiences?
Firstly, IF there is any profit to come from the sale of the house, do the charges get paid from the money as a whole, or from her half of it? (These debts are solely in her name). Is there a way that he can stop her from putting more charges against the house?
Secondly, if my partner found a buyer and a price for the house, can his wife contest this and prevent him from selling?
Thirdly, with all of the above in mind would it be more or less beneficial to divorce first or after the house is sold?

I hope someone can give us some advice, everything seems very overwhelming at the moment.

Many thanks in anticipation.

ACG

Is the property tenants in common or joint tenancy? the answer to this will determine whether the loans get paid from her half or not.

Can one person secure loans against a joint property? I didnt think they could? It could be that she has forged your partners signature... that would put you in a very strong position to threaten legal proceedings against her for fraud.

lexgriff

ACG thanks for your reply. It is a joint mortgage, both names on deed, but what do tenancy in common and joint tenancy mean exactly? sorry for my ignorance!

ACG

They both mean the property is owned jointly but Tenancy in common means effectively you own a share of the property (usually 50/50).

I think you need legal advice.

Look at the third bullet point here - http://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/buying-a-home-with-a-partner-or-friend-what-to-watch-for/

I think there has potentially been some wrong doing on her side, securing a loan against a jointly held property, I do not think it can be done without both parties signing for it.

I would also argue that your partner is due more than 50% of any equity based on the fact they have been paying it for however long.

I think my first port of call is finding out how legit these loans are, whether fraud has been committed, if so can they be enforced on your partners equity. If not, I would then be looking to agree with any settlement that you are due over 50% (if you want to potentially go through the courts).

But I would see a solicitor.

lexgriff

sorry it is joint tenancy!

lexgriff

ACG - Thank you for your help. My partner needs to find out first exactly what is held against the property exactly as the information he was given was very minimal!

Dave_Ham

There is no short cut to formal, legal advice on this one I am afraid.


The secured loans could be a misinterpretation and may be unsecured credit, with a County Court Judgement put as a secured charge on the house.


You need to know what you are dealing with firstly though and a Solicitor will be able to confirm pretty quickly.


Good luck

sockpuppet

You need to get a copy of the house entry on the land register, anyone can do this on the website for about £3. This will show any charges on the house as well as the mortgage.
Get two or three valuations too from local estate agents to give you an idea of possible value.
Then it will be a solicitor, unfortunately not cheap!
As others have said, i am fairly sure you cant get a secured loan on a property without both parties signing, so any there may be fraudulent.