Buying out ex-partner: do we have to value the house?

mrsammyp

Of course he has the right to benefit from the increase in house prices, he's been paying half of the mortgage (even though he isn't living there) and owns part of an asset which has increased in value.

Poppy9

You have no children so a clean break is needed so I wouldn't go for a deal of x now and y when it's sold.

As others have pointed out it's only fair he has 50% share of current value. He invested in property and he's continued to pay his share of mortgage while you live there. He's lost out here. If you had moved out would you be happy paying the mortgage on a house you are not living in?

Remortgage, give him his 50% share and move on with your life.

Mojisola

espritlibre87 wrote: »

I recently had a payout and have put some money aside as his share in the house. I calculated this based on half of the deposit we paid, and half of the capital paid off to date. I told him that I have this money set aside for him.

However he then insisted that we get the house valued and that his share be based on its current value. The house is worth roughly £40k more than it was when we first bought it, so he would profit hugely from this.

I have no intention of selling the house right now - it's my home. My feeling is that he should get back what he has paid in, rather than profiting from current house prices. I pointed this out - what if I sold several years down the line but the house wasn't worth as much - I would end up with less money than him despite being the one to continue to pay.

If you're worried about losing out on the value of the house at some point in the future, the only option is to sell it now and split the money.

If you want to stay in the house, you have to pay him according to what the property is worth now - anything else would be unfair.

ACG

I really can not see your argument. If he has paid half towards everything then he is entitled to half of the value of the property. Saying it may be worth less in the future is ridiculous. If your worried about the future value then sell up now split it 50/50 and start again afresh.

When you cut your ties you do it based on things as they stand. Will you not get divored incase he wins the lottery in the future?

You also say you have no intention of moving, if there are no kids involved he could force the sale of the property and get half that way.

The only thing I could suggest in your favour would be to say 50% minus say £1-2k for money that would otherwise go to an estate agent.

davidmcn

Thrugelmir wrote: »

You need to consult a solicitor and resolve matters formally.

Yes, apart from the house it would be best to check what else they haven't properly considered yet in their divorce calculations.

Mummyto4kids

I have been through this situation and you need a court order in place to sever your finances if you are getting divorced. My ex and I settled ours via consent order - the house transferred to me for nil consideration because we were in negative equity.


A court looks at things like salaries, pension pots etc as well as your property value. Even if you come up with an agreement and buy him out of the house he can come back later and make a financial claim on you as you can to him - I would say get a solicitor and some proper advice. The TR1 in my case cost me £395.00

Trying_to_be_good

I wanted my now ex-husband out of my life, so paid him over the odds to get on with my life. I didn't chase him for a share of his (generous) pension, just wanted it all over and finished, for my sanity (as Thrugelmir has said).

It's up to you whether you want to be accurate on who's entitled to what and keep arguing should you disagree, or bite the bullet and move on. I'd recommend the latter if there's any way you can afford it.

I haven't had the financial stuff go through court - I'm still very confident that he'd owe me money should there be a claim, and I refuse to let him turn me into some money-grabbing evil cow. Well, no more than I already am :-).

Take a look at the overall financial picture, imagine yourself in his position and what he's likely to settle for (and enable you both to get on with your lives).

_CC_

Probably better off seeking professional help than asking on this forum.

By the sounds of it he owns half of the equity in the property, which obviously includes any increase to the market value. Not too sure why you think he shouldn't be entitled to it, it's just as much his property as it is yours.

pathtofreedom

Are you able to afford the mortgage by yourself with the new MMR affordability rules now? Just because you might be able to afford the payments, doesn't mean you'd automatically get a mortgage in your own name to buy the house outright. It all depends on your income, the multiples of that the bank might lend you, the ltv and affordability tests. Then you'll have possible mortage fees, eg early repayment charge, valuation, setup fee, and solicitors costs. Some of the mortgage fees you might be able to wrap into a new deal, but it all depends what you will be able to afford really.

If you're not planning to get divorced at the same time as doing this, I'd think you'd need some extra solicitor time to draw up some agreement that after you decide a payment he has no future claim to the house. I'm not sure how legally binding that might really be though until you do get divorced.