Separation agreement - jointly owned home

espritlibre87

(lengthy explanation, sorry!)

I bought my home jointly with my (now separated) husband. We have been separated for over two years now. He moved out mid-2014 and pays me half of the mortgage payment each month (I've had to chase it some months but 99% of the time I get the right amount from him).

At the end of last year we agreed that he would buy my share of the house. In January he told me he'd been to the bank and all was in hand. His dad was going to give him the money to purchase my share. I arranged to get the house valued and from that it transpired that my share was worth £60,000. At this point my ex started complicating things, talking a lot about 'figures' and discussing figure with both the estate agent and the bank. I asked him repeatedly to explain what he was on about - it seemed clear he was unhappy with the figure being higher than he'd hoped - but he just insisted all was in hand and he was meeting with the bank to discuss figures. Eventually I pushed for answers as nothing was moving forward (this entire process should have taken 6-8 weeks) and he then told me he'd changed his plans and was now looking to finance it himself, essentially remortgaging with the bank. He 'assured' me it would be sorted in a matter of months although I questioned how this could be the case when he'd told me months earlier that the bank had only told him he could take on a mortgage of £150k by himself (remortgaging to buy my share would be around £230k of debt). I suspect his plans have fallen through, knowing he is appallingly bad with money and likely has a terrible credit rating (he has had court orders in the past for not paying bills etc).

I haven't heard from him in nearly two months now, and in the meantime I am stuck living in a house that is not convenient for me, with a large mortgage (thankfully he continues to pay his half) and rising bills. I obviously cannot do anything with the house, even put it on the market, without his permission. I am desperate to move now, even if it means renting.

If I wanted to move out and find a property to rent in the interim (leaving him with the mortgage by himself) what rights would I lose? I know we both have the right to live in the property and the right to return, but would I lose any of my stake in the property by not contributing to the mortgage payments? I know obviously I would need his agreement to do this - I'm hoping it might spur a response from him, as he's (voluntarily) lived with his parents for the past two years and I imagine would be happy to return to the property and have it to himself.

Could we draw up a separation agreement whereby he lives in the property and is responsible for the mortgage, but I still retain my stake in the house (or the equivalent of my share up to the date I stop paying the mortgage)? Could this include an agreement that the house is either put on the market or my share purchased within a set period of time, say a year? More importantly, would a separation agreement be legally binding?

Many thanks in advance for advice...

Caroline_a

Why not both agree to sell the house?

Guest101

espritlibre87 wrote: »

(lengthy explanation, sorry!)

I bought my home jointly with my (now separated) husband. We have been separated for over two years now. He moved out mid-2014 and pays me half of the mortgage payment each month (I've had to chase it some months but 99% of the time I get the right amount from him).

At the end of last year we agreed that he would buy my share of the house. In January he told me he'd been to the bank and all was in hand. His dad was going to give him the money to purchase my share. I arranged to get the house valued and from that it transpired that my share was worth £60,000. At this point my ex started complicating things, talking a lot about 'figures' and discussing figure with both the estate agent and the bank. I asked him repeatedly to explain what he was on about - it seemed clear he was unhappy with the figure being higher than he'd hoped - but he just insisted all was in hand and he was meeting with the bank to discuss figures. Eventually I pushed for answers as nothing was moving forward (this entire process should have taken 6-8 weeks) and he then told me he'd changed his plans and was now looking to finance it himself, essentially remortgaging with the bank. He 'assured' me it would be sorted in a matter of months although I questioned how this could be the case when he'd told me months earlier that the bank had only told him he could take on a mortgage of £150k by himself (remortgaging to buy my share would be around £230k of debt). I suspect his plans have fallen through, knowing he is appallingly bad with money and likely has a terrible credit rating (he has had court orders in the past for not paying bills etc).

I haven't heard from him in nearly two months now, and in the meantime I am stuck living in a house that is not convenient for me, with a large mortgage (thankfully he continues to pay his half) and rising bills. I obviously cannot do anything with the house, even put it on the market, without his permission. I am desperate to move now, even if it means renting.

If I wanted to move out and find a property to rent in the interim (leaving him with the mortgage by himself) what rights would I lose? I know we both have the right to live in the property and the right to return, but would I lose any of my stake in the property by not contributing to the mortgage payments? I know obviously I would need his agreement to do this - I'm hoping it might spur a response from him, as he's (voluntarily) lived with his parents for the past two years and I imagine would be happy to return to the property and have it to himself.

Could we draw up a separation agreement whereby he lives in the property and is responsible for the mortgage, but I still retain my stake in the house (or the equivalent of my share up to the date I stop paying the mortgage)? Could this include an agreement that the house is either put on the market or my share purchased within a set period of time, say a year? More importantly, would a separation agreement be legally binding?

Many thanks in advance for advice...

I'm unclear why you think he moves out but continues to pay


You move out and stop paying?


That aside. Your agreement can say whatever you wish. But you'd still have to go to court to enforce it. (and a court can overrule it)

enthusiasticsaver

As guest says your separation agreement can say anything you both agree on. However I think if I was your ex I would be miffed if you moved out and stopped paying the mortgage but still expected 50% of equity. You could of course come to an arrangement when the property is eventually sold in that he gets a higher percentage of the equity.

The simplest thing seems to be you both sell the property as obviously neither of you are in a position to fund the mortgage on your own. You are lucky that your ex is still paying half the mortgage presumably because he does not have rent to pay.

How long have you been married and do you have children as this could have a bearing - ie spousal maintenance and child maintenance? If there are children who do they live with - presumably you if he is living with parents?

motorguy

Caroline_a wrote: »

Why not both agree to sell the house?

Indeed. Seems sensible.

espritlibre87

No children. Moving out was his decision from the start. I am not for one second suggesting I should 'saddle' him with the mortgage payments, but his intention was always to buy me out and take on the mortgage himself. He has clearly had trouble finding a way to do so and I have repeatedly said let's just sell instead and he refuses to. My suggestion is to agree what my share is currently (based on the mortgage we have remaining and the house's current value). If he then wants to make improvements and increase the value then he is the one who would profit from that. Similarly if he paid off more of the mortgage whilst staying here then again he would profit solely as I have stated above my share would be based on what we had paid jointly at the time of me moving out. Currently I am trapped in a mortgage I do not want, because he refuses to sell and hasn't found a way to buy me out. I do not want to live here and he wants to keep the house. But I cannot afford to rent somewhere else and pay into this mortgage, hence my suggestion of an agreement that states my share AS IT STANDS NOW. I would not stand to profit from money he paid into the mortgage without me, or money he spends on doing the house up (if that is what he chooses to do).

TBagpuss

It would be possible to have a separation agreement, or a consent order which specified wht your share was.

So, suppose that on todays figures your share s worth £60K and the total value of the house was £300K, you could have an agreement that your share was 20% of the total value of the house (60 being 20% of 300).

If he then pays the mortgage so the equity goes up, he gets the benefit of that. If the value of the house goes up because house prices are rising, you both get the benefit.

It would normally be reasonable to include a set timescale for him to sort out buying you out - so you might, for instance, allow him another 12 months and have an agreement which provided for the house to be marketed and sold in 12 months time, if he has not bought you out and released you from the mortgage within that timescale.

If you chose to divorce, then it would be possible to apply for a financial order - the court has the power to order that the house is sold. If you want to go down that route then I would advise against moving out, as if you are in the property you are better placed to ensure that it is well presented for viewings etc.