All advice welcome - selling a house!

Confused2015_2

Hi guys,

I have just spent the last hour or so reading various related topics to what I am about to post, but as none of them are identical to my own situation, I wanted some fresh ears (or eyes!)

I bought a house almost 8yrs ago with my (now) ex-girlfriend. We are joint mortgagees. We lived in the property together for the first 18 months, and then the relationship broke down. We both wanted to take the property on individually, but as my ex-girlfriend's parents had given us a larger share of the deposit, I reluctantly agreed to let her continue living in the property. She took in a friend as a lodger and lived there for 2 years, at which point she took a job abroad and the property was rented out. The property has been continually tenanted for the last 4 years.

The property has now sold and we have reached the point where we need to agree an equity split. My ex-girlfriend has offered me an amount which is equivalent to around 15% of the profit made on the property, claiming that I have had no involvement in the property since I moved out 6 years ago. This is true and I agree with what she is saying, but my argument is that she also walked away from the property and left it as a self-sufficient rental property for the last 4 years.

Ok, I accept that she lived in the property alone for 2 years and made some small improvements to the property during this time. However, am I right to feel a little disappointed by her proposed equity split of 85/15 in her favour?

What is my best course of action? Are there any ways of dealing with this without the need of instructing solicitors at a high cost?

Any comments would be appreciated tremendously

Thanks in advance

kingstreet

If you had no deed of trust drawn up before you purchased, then no, there is no formula to settle this now. You either work it out between you, or you troop off to Court and find a legal solution.

lee111s

On the face of it, yes I think 15% is a little harsh.






When you moved out, did you continue to make any payments towards the mortgage?


Has the rent covered the whole of the mortgage in the past 4 years or have there been any shortfalls that she has had to cover?


What % of a deposit did you contribute in terms of the property value at the time of purchase?


What do you feel is a fair amount you should be getting?

kingstreet

You might want to have a read of Jones v Kernott which appears to be pretty much on point;-

http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed89313

stalkah

kingstreet wrote: »

You might want to have a read of Jones v Kernott which appears to be pretty much on point;-

http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed89313

I get an error when trying to get to that link


EDIT: Ignore that worked the 3rd time...

kingstreet

It's not working for me now either.

Either use the bailli link;-

http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2011/53.html

or wiki for the non-legal jargon, but less reliable version;-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_v_Kernott

Confused2015_2

lee111s wrote: »

On the face of it, yes I think 15% is a little harsh.






When you moved out, did you continue to make any payments towards the mortgage?


Has the rent covered the whole of the mortgage in the past 4 years or have there been any shortfalls that she has had to cover?


What % of a deposit did you contribute in terms of the property value at the time of purchase?


What do you feel is a fair amount you should be getting?

For the first 18 months we divided everything equally.

For the 2 year period that she lived there with a lodger I made no contribution as the rent received from the lodger paid 50% of the mortgage.

For the last 4 years, neither of us have had to contribute anything as the rent has covered the mortgage payment in full.

I have suggested settling 70/30 in her favour to factor in the 2 year period where she was solely responsible for the property. I believe this to be a fair settlement

mambo69

how much deposit did you put in initially?

Confused2015_2

mambo69 wrote: »

how much deposit did you put in initially?

Neither of us personally contributed anything, but her parents gave around 90% of the deposit and my parents around 10%

Will that go against me?

mambo69

no but look at it logically you/your parents put in 10% and she/her parents put in 90%. when its sold why should you now get 30%?

personally i think 15% is fair

lee111s

He paid towards the mortgage for 2 years. That's why.


The property he was still jointly and severally liable for was also rented out for 4 years, I assume paying off capital, why should the other partner benefit from all of that?


In future, if you buy another property with someone you're not married to, look at getting a deed of trust sorted out.