Anyone have experience of a TOLATA order for sale of house

silvercar

I can't see why he would be clobbered with all the legal costs of the sale when it is you pressing for the sale!

You would also have the estate agents fees.

I would guess you would clear £4-5k if you sold for full asking price.

If you need a DRO and you are the impatient one, I can understand you feel he is not moving as fast as you would like.

Does he know you want to set up a DRO? The risk of you going bankrupt may encourage him to move faster. better to deal with an ex, than an official receiver who has the power to order a sale.

millie84

silvercar wrote: »

I can't see why he would be clobbered with all the legal costs of the sale when it is you pressing for the sale!

You would also have the estate agents fees.

I would guess you would clear £4-5k if you sold for full asking price.

If you need a DRO and you are the impatient one, I can understand you feel he is not moving as fast as you would like.

Does he know you want to set up a DRO? The risk of you going bankrupt may encourage him to move faster. better to deal with an ex, than an official receiver who has the power to order a sale.

I think, after 4.5 years, I am allowed to be a little impatient.
I've tried to solve this amicably between the two of us, but I was getting nowhere. I'm only pressing for the sale because I have exhausted all other options.
I already have a Debt Management Plan. I was already pursuing the buyout/sale and found out about this DRO option, but I can't go through with it if I own a house, so I need my name off. I also need my name off in case he ever defaulted. I can't afford to pay the mortgage on top of my living expenses.
I've made many attempts to try and sort this, with no success. He is uncooperative.

antrobus

millie84 wrote: »

No trust was made when we bought the property.....

Of course there is a trust.

You are thinking of bringing a case under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act, which would be a tad difficult if there wasn't a trust.

millie84 wrote: »

...For him to buy me out, I had asked for 50% of the equity amount when I left the property. If we have to go to court, I want 50% of the proceeds,....

Well, that's a starting point for negotiations. But since the other party has apparently being paying 100% of the mortgage etc for half the time the property has been in your joint ownership, the counter-offer would be 25% of the equity.

millie84 wrote: »

... and my solicitor says the courts will make him pay all fees on the grounds of him being obstructive and unreasonable in the prolonged delays....

That depends on the extent to which the court agrees with your solicitor.

See for example http://www.bishopandsewell.co.uk/practice-areas/services-for-you/family-relationships-and-divorce/cohabitant-land-dispute-procedure/

millie84 wrote: »

... No matter what, I need my name off his mortgage, I don't need it hanging over my head for the next 24 years. Plus, it is preventing me from obtaining a Debt Relief Order, which could give me a much needed fresh start......

Maybe so, but that's not his fault is it?

millie84 wrote: »

...He just says speak to his solicitor.
...

Why isn't your solicitor speaking to his solicitor?

millie84

Ultimately this should have been sorted a long long time ago, and my ex partner has been causing unnecessary delays. I don't think I am being unreasonable in wanting releasing from the mortgage after over 4 years.
I need to move forwards. The DRO is irrelevant really.
The two solicitors have been communicating but I think his solicitors are a little lacking. They (apparently) never informed my ex of a letter sent by my solicitor to his solicitor saying he has 2 weeks to gain financial advice or give a reason why he can't do so. They are also the people who haven't said what financial advice he has obtained. I believe this may be further delaying tactics on the part of the ex.

G_M

millie84 wrote: »

There is around £12k equity currently.
.

How much is the property now worth?

Let's say £300K. So estate agent fees at 1.5% leaves £7.5K
Conveyancing £500 (probobly more) leaves £7K
Mortgage redemption fees? Let's assume you've already built that into the £12K.......
So (very) optimimistically you get 50% = £3.5K

However as antrobus points out, the ex has been paying the mortgage & costs for around half the period of ownership, so the court is unlikely to give you 50%.

As for the court fees (and solicitors fees to date and/or beyond), there is no guarantee you'd be awarded this. You might, you might not.

So the amount of money you will receive is minimal. Is it really worth the extra time, and stress, involved in court action, given the uncertainty of success and potential gain/costs?

As you have said yourself:

No matter what, I need my name off his mortgage, I don't need it hanging over my head for the next 24 years. Plus, it is preventing me from obtaining a Debt Relief Order,

My advice would be to focus on that, not on sqeezing a few £s out f the deal. Your ex might be far more amenable to a sale if you offered a more realistic arrangement.

millie84

I think it is highly unlikely that the ex can get a mortgage on his own, and he has known this all along, that is why he is delaying things. I think I will have a fight on my hands trying to get him to sell, never mind getting any money out of it, however he has not so far disputed my requests (when he bothers to reply).
But I am going to get this house sold no matter what, if that is what it takes to get my name off the mortgage.

Caz3121

millie84 wrote: »

But I am going to get this house sold no matter what, if that is what it takes to get my name off the mortgage.

lets hope he doesn't behave like my ex who trashed the house to devalue it before valuation...reducing the equity by £100k (slightly different tale as we were married and, although I had moved out, I was still paying 100% of the mortgage together with my own housing costs - he would not pay anything so I had a better case when starting court proceedings)

millie84

Caz3121 wrote: »

lets hope he doesn't behave like my ex who trashed the house to devalue it before valuation...reducing the equity by £100k (slightly different tale as we were married and, although I had moved out, I was still paying 100% of the mortgage together with my own housing costs - he would not pay anything so I had a better case when starting court proceedings)

That sounds awful, fortunately I've already had a valuation done and he was co operative at that point. He had already damaged the internal doors by punching them during the relationship, I'm not sure if they've been replaced yet. Looking back, I made the right decision to leave.
I'm hoping his lack of co operation will help me in the court proceedings. At times, he has totally ignored my correspondence regarding the house for months.