Ex-partner won't allow me to exit the mortgage

SicariusD

I'm posting this on behalf of my partner.

My partner and her ex-boyfriend ended their relationship in May 2015 after months of emotional and mental abuse towards my partner. She has suffered from emotional neglect since she was a child and has been diagnosed with major anxiety and mental insecurity for which she has prescription medication. Her ex-boyfriend always played the control game keeping her under thumb and making her feel little. Eventually the police got involved and agreed there was a case for emotional and mental domestic abuse (he has a previous warning for harassment against a previous partner)

My partner and her ex were never married or engaged and in May 2014, before termination of the relationship, they entered into a mortgage backed by the government help2buy scheme. Since the breakup, she has wanted off the mortgage. Her ex paid the majority of the deposit (around £9000), solicitor fees and ground payments with my partner contributing around £4000 towards furnishings. He does not want to sell as he has financial interest in the property. He'll only sell if she signs over 100% of her claim to the sale share to him. He has a previous default against his credit score and is not allowed further credit and the bank will not allow him to buy her out. He is of the opinion that because he paid more towards the house then he deserves most/all of the profit driven by the increase in house value.

He has sought a solicitor and sent a draft letter detailing his demands which do not include removing her from the mortgage, rather making her sign over her share of the house with further legal action should she not comply (stating the courts would agree with him because he has contributed a majority to the overall cost of the property)

What can she do? She and I can't hope to get our own mortgage whilst she is on her current mortgage. Her ex will only force a sale if he can have all the money tied up in it and will do whatever he can to see she is left with as little as possible. Is this how it works? Because he out more in is he entitled to a bias split in sale if it the house is sold? How would she go about forcing a sale even if he doesn't want too?

CKhalvashi

This wouldn't necessarily be the case.....Judges can be extremely difficult to predict.

-If she wants additional terms, write back and state this.
-If she wants the profit split 50/50, write back and state this
-If she wants to refuse any transfer until her name is off the mortgage (very sensible IMO) then write back and state this.

Currently, the ball is in her court to reach a negotiation.

dimbo61

Yourpartner needs help and should speak to shelter.
She needs to make sure her Ex cannot borrow any more money in her name or on the property.
You can force a sale of the property via the courts but this can be very expensive.
She may need to contact the lender

libf

If he can't take on the mortgage by himself then the only option is to force a sale. Unless it was declared that they own unequal portions of the property then each will receive half of any profit after sale costs and mortgage redemption.

maninthestreet

I'm confused - the title of this thread 'Ex-partner won't allow me to exit the mortgage', but it is your partner that has the problem, not you???

antrobus

SicariusD wrote: »

....Is this how it works? Because he out more in is he entitled to a bias split in sale if it the house is sold? How would she go about forcing a sale even if he doesn't want too?

The relevant law would be the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, commonly known as TOLATA. From what I can see the starting point would be the decleration of beneficial interest declared on form TR1 filed with the Land Registry.

See, for example
http://www.familylaw.co.uk/news_and_comment/recurring-misconceptions-in-tolata-cases#.Ve1UvJdKUig

CKhalvashi wrote: »

...-If she wants to refuse any transfer until her name is off the mortgage (very sensible IMO) then write back and state this....

Tricky. Since only the lender has that power.

Lungboy

maninthestreet wrote: »

I'm confused - the title of this thread 'Ex-partner won't allow me to exit the mortgage', but it is your partner that has the problem, not you???

The title refers to the ex-partner of the OPs partner. It's confusing in that it says the ex-partner won't allow the exiting of the mortgage, but it sounds more like the lender that won't allow it.

StuC75

Both Parties need a solicitor to deal with the transfer of equity and what they are looking for in settlement..

12 months in to the purchase there may not be a lot of equity, has your girlfriend taken her items out of the house, say anything of note that the 4k bought?

Thrugelmir

What does your partner want financially?

How much equity is in the property?

Can the ex afford the mortgage in his own right?

Mojisola

SicariusD wrote: »

My partner and her ex-boyfriend ended their relationship in May 2015 after months of emotional and mental abuse towards my partner.

Her ex-boyfriend always played the control game keeping her under thumb and making her feel little. Eventually the police got involved and agreed there was a case for emotional and mental domestic abuse (he has a previous warning for harassment against a previous partner)

He has sought a solicitor and sent a draft letter detailing his demands which do not include removing her from the mortgage, rather making her sign over her share of the house with further legal action should she not comply (stating the courts would agree with him because he has contributed a majority to the overall cost of the property)

Has she had any contact with Women's Aid? They will have helped other women through similar problems.

SicariusD

Sorry for the delay. I'll collate responses to questions here!

I've posted this on behalf of my partner with her present. I don't expect everyone to understand the emotional torment or mental stress put on the shoulders of those in a similar position, but it's easier if I do this for her, with her.

- To clarify, he (her ex-partner) is now only interested in securing, in his words, 100% of what they stand to inherit with the sale of the property. He is of the opinion that since he invested MORE money into the initial deposit, he deserves the profit from the increase in value (no matter how small the increase is). Ridiculous, I know.

- She has not taken any of her initial contribution out of the property. Her investment (around £4,000) is still present in the house, albeit largely in furnishings.

- It is he who refuses to allow a sale of the house. The house is the only thing keeping them in anyway 'linked'. They both live there (although he has temporarily moved out and into a friends, probably because of police intervention regarding domestic abuse) and unless his demands of her surrendering her share of the property are met, he will not comply with the sale of the house.

- The lender will NOT allow him to buy her out or for her to be taken off the mortgage leaving him the sole contributor. He has a default against his name already preventing him from getting any credit. He HAS taken out credit cards in her name (rather, convinced her to do it for him) but these have since been revoked AND he has paid what he spent.

The ultimate question is, with only half the property holder wanting to sell, how do you instigate a sale? The mortgage is the only link they still have and for as long as my partner has a mortgage obligation, we cannot hope to get our own or move on.

This sounds really petty, and it is. Instead of this simply being a 'we fell out, let's agree to go our own separate ways and be done with' it has become a 'I want to screw you over because I'm a narcissistic demon' owing to his controlling and aggressive behaviour (something the police are well aware of).

Thank you for all the replies so far! I am reading and we do really, really appreciate any help offered.