Ex-Partner wanting name off property

Columbus88

Hi,

My partner and I bought a house back in 2013 with Help to Buy but separated mid-2014. I said I would leave but she wouldn't stay in the house so she moved out and I continued to pay the bills and mortgage while we decided what to do with the house.

The original plan was to sell it and for me to move back in with my Grandfather, however that is no longer an issue. So I had a friend move in with me to help with the bills (which I cleared with my ex first) and I've been paying the mortgage ever since. Money has been a bit tight but I've survived.

Now, a year after we separated, my ex-partner is putting pressure on me to get her name off the mortgage, asking me to pay half the cost (which I simply refuse to do since I'm still paying the mortgage ans her life insurance etc)

I spoke with my financial adviser who told me that if she can't remove her name then she could force me to sell the property, and I'm absolutely stressing out because I have this horrible gut feeling that I'm about to lose every penny I've put into this place (I paid the deposit myself) and I'm going to end up with a massive bill even if the house is sold.

Has anyone been in a similar situation and able to give me advice?

Pixie5740

Do you have a Declaration of Trust showing that you put in the full deposit?

Can you get a mortgage in your name only effectively buying her out. If she contributed zero to the deposit and only paid the mortgage for a few months then she will hardly have any equity in the property.

I can understand her wanting to severe the financial tie since you are no longer together, it's the sensible thing to do.

dancingfairy

She can't just get her name taken off the mortgage. You would have to buy her out, or sell and split the money (in whatever proportion) or leave things as they are until such time as you buy her out or sell up.
In theory she *could* force you to sell up but this will cost her time and money and it sounds like she won't get much (if anything) out of that.
It might be worth having a chat with a solicitor just to see where you stand and how much you would have to give her if you sold up. You can hopefully use this information as a starting point for a sensible conversation with her about why this isn't possible (and how much in legal fees it's likely to cost her!).
df

agrinnall

Given that your original plan was to sell the property I'm unsure why you now think you would suffer such a huge financial hit by selling. To me it would be the sensible thing to do, to give you full financial separation from your ex and to allow you to make a clean start.

Kynthia

What is her aim do you think, to sever financial ties or to get some of the property value?

Being on the mortgage with you means in theory they could chase her for the money if you don't pay, your credit histories are linked so if you don't pay your bills you can ruin her score, she will struggle to get another mortgage while on this one, and emotionally its hard to move on when you're still linked to an ex like this. When there's no children involved there's no reason why someone should be forced to remain named on a property for long after a split.

If she's wanting some of the property value then you'll need to agree an amount she'll accept. Then if you can't raise that amount and remortgage in your own name, you'll have to sell.

getmore4less

Can you take on the mortgage?

If that is not an option then the only other option is sell.

There are a number of ways to come up with figures for any equity split and there won't be that big a range between most ways to do it being reasonable.
Will depend what te original agreement was or if there is a trust deed spelling it out.

What you can be sure of if you don't agree there will be a lot less for both of you.

TBagpuss

why do you feel you should not contribute to the cost of getting her released from the mortgage?

In fact, since what would be happening would be you remortgaging and transferring the property from joint names to your sole name, it would be normal for you to pay the costs of that and for her to pay just the cost of getting any advice she needs about signing the paperwork.

Yes, you have been paying the mortgage, but you have also been living in the property, so you have had the benefits of those payments.

If she is seeking a share of any equity then the issue comes up as to whether you have any kind of declaration of trust and if not, whether you can prove you paid the deposit and that there was a mutual expectation that you would get that back.

ethank

She has no right to stop paying the mortgage whilst she continues to be an owner.

I would not pay her costs either.

Kynthia

ethank wrote: »

She has no right to stop paying the mortgage whilst she continues to be an owner.

I would not pay her costs either.

If she continues to pay half the mortgage while not living there then she should also be entitled to receive rent at half the market value from the OP or expect to be able to put a lodger in the spare room to claim rent from. If the ex and the OP came to an agreement that he would live there and pay all the mortgage in exchange then that's fine.

jamesd

Columbus88 wrote: »

My partner and I bought a house back in 2013 with Help to Buy but separated mid-2014. ... she moved out and I continued to pay the bills and mortgage ... (I paid the deposit myself)

It doesn't appear that she has much potential financial interest in the property but just how much did she actually pay, if anything, of the mortgage payments? And how is the ownership registered at the Land registry?

Columbus88 wrote: »

Now, a year after we separated, my ex-partner is putting pressure on me to get her name off the mortgage

Does she just want her name off the mortgage and not anything else? That is:

1. Does she want to retain her ownership as registered at the Land registry, without paying any mortgage cost for it?
2. If the property has increased in value, how would you pay her her share of the increase in value?
3. If the property is dropped in value, how would she pay you her share of the decrease in value?
4. Or does she also envisage transferring 100% of the value of her ownership interest to you for no payment as part of getting her name removed from the mortgage?

Columbus88 wrote: »

my ex-partner is putting pressure on me to get her name off the mortgage, asking me to pay half the cost (which I simply refuse to do since I'm still paying the mortgage ans her life insurance etc)

What are you paying for and who is the beneficiary of any insurance?

For the life insurance are you the named beneficiary and is this locked to prevent her from changing it? If not, contact the insurer and let them know the situation and that you need to be notified if there is a change in beneficiary requested by her, so that you can cancel the policy on the grounds that it is no longer protecting your interests. Barring that, it's you as beneficiary who is benefitting from the insurance on her life so it's fair enough for you to pay for it. But you shouldn't be paying for life insurance on your life that has her as the beneficiary because you don't receive a benefit from that.

Columbus88 wrote: »

I spoke with my financial adviser who told me that if she can't remove her name then she could force me to sell the property

The adviser is right.

It's impossible for her to just remove her name because the mortgage lender will refuse. She is part of their security because she is jointly liable for all payments and arrears and repossession shortfalls while her name is on the mortgage.

To get her name off the mortgage there are just two ways:

1. remortgage in just your name.
2. sell and if necessary repay any shortfall between sale price and mortgage value.

It would also be useful to know just what you mean by "partner". Married? Civil partnership? Something else? This could greatly affect any potential ownership interest that she has in the property.

If not married or in a civil partnership you need to know this about cohabitation and property as background to help you to understand the situation. Don't skip reading it. In particular you need to understand about the doctrine of equitable accounting and how that affects the split of value that you each could get from sale of the property.

If you're able to and if she wants nothing from the proceeds of sale, accept her offer to pay costs to get her off the mortgage and, far more importantly for you, off the Land Registry entry as an owner.

After the background reading your next step should be to discuss your situation with the mortgage lender and find out whether they are willing to allow a remortgage to just you. The income from your tenant should help to boost your income a bit and may be sufficient to get it done. So may an increase in term because affordability is likely to be the limiting factor and longer terms mean lower monthly payments. You might, say, be able to handle a 40 year term for a mortgage that was originally for 25 years. If you can't get a deal from the current lender, a mortgage broker may be able to assist you in finding a lender who would allow you to do it.

jamesd

Pixie5740 wrote: »

If she contributed zero to the deposit and only paid the mortgage for a few months then she will hardly have any equity in the property.

Wrong. She will have exactly the same interest as if she'd paid the lot, all based on just what the entry at the Land Registry says.

What will happen instead is that the doctrine of equitable accounting will be used to factor this into the split of value of the sale, reducing the partner's share by half of the value of the deposit and some portion of the mortgage payment cost.

For example, a 25k deposit on a property bought for £200k and sold for £250k immediately after the split, as joint owners, would leave the partner with a £12.5k gain. Half of the £50k gain minus half of the £25k deposit. If sold for only £190k the partner would have a bill of £17.5k to pay. Half of the £10k loss plus half of the deposit.