Girlfriends ex husband will not sell their houses

Hamish2505

Hi, I hope someone can give me some advice?

My girlfriend divorced her husband 6 years ago. They still jointly own 2 properties which both have at least 100k equity in them. The ex rents them out at a total of £1300 pm for which he gives my girlfriend nothing.

He is refusing to sell them or pay her a penny from the rental income. She has asked him for a settlement figure of 60k but is refusing.

He is getting very abusive, abusive towards her and towards me. We have obviously kept the texts saying all this.

Some advice as to what she should do, apart from see a solicitor for which we dont have the money, would be greatly appreciated. Can we get a court order on him without going through a solicitor?

Thanks in advance

Guest101

Forcing a house sale costs thousands if not tens of thousands.

As a joint owner your girlfriend can evict the tenants and move on, assuming the divorce didn't grant him both properties.

Need more info on what happened 6 years ago, how long married, how property owned etc etc

Fosterdog

Why weren't the properties sorted during the divorce?

Ozzuk

Does he earn a lot more than her? How long were they married? She could try a solicitors letter warning about taking action including going after his pension, moving back into property etc might help him focus or at least talk.

Or could wind him up further. Tough one. I take it no financial settlement in place?

Another thoughts, is there permission from the mortgage companies to let the house out? I doubt he'd have got permission to change the mortgage without your approval.

elsien

Who is paying the mortgage and maintenance on the properties?

Hamish2505

Hi, thanks for the replies.

He is paying the mortgage on the properties out of the rent he gets. They were married for 22 years and she got no divorce settlement. The only thing she got as his life insurance which she actually pays for not him. And no, the mortgage company does not know that he is renting them out. And she is currently unemployed and he owns a large number of properties for which he receives a substantial income.

And both properties are on a joint mortgage

Guest101

Hamish2505 wrote: »

Hi, thanks for the replies.

He is paying the mortgage on the properties out of the rent he gets. They were married for 22 years and she got no divorce settlement. The only thing she got as his life insurance which she actually pays for not him. And no, the mortgage company does not know that he is renting them out. And she is currently unemployed and he owns a large number of properties for which he receives a substantial income.

And both properties are on a joint mortgage

Why was this not sorted 6 years ago?


Her case is so much weaker now

WillowCat

You can get an order without going through a solicitor, though there will be fees to pay (if you are also unemployed or on a low income then you may be able to get help with the court fees - the fee remission system works on household income).

She needs to apply to the court for a financial order. Her case is a little weaker if it is 6 years since the decree absolute, but not desperately so, especially as she was married for so long.

More details here: http://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/how-apply-financial-order-without-help-lawyer

She will need to attend a MIAM (mediation) meeting first and he will also be invited to do so as the courts prefer these cases to be kept out of court if it is possible to do so. However as he has been abusive towards her the mediator may well decide that mediation is not the suitable route and allow her to progress directly to court (the mediator will sign a page of the court application form).

If it does go to court your girlfriend can represent herself - it's stressful but not particularly difficult and I found that the judges were very keen to ensure in my own case that I understood the process.

The mediation and the court process will look at all of the finances of the marriage - pensions, savings etc as well as the properties.

There is a lot of help over on wikivorce.co.uk so you may wish to ask the question there as well.

Kynthia

As the post above states, the properties should be dealt with as part of a whole financial settlement. This is usually done at tge same time as the divorce and it is more complicated to do it years later, but it's the best way as it will look at all marital assets (property, savings, pensions, etc) and bring an end to it all.

Get advice on how to do this from someone qualified and experienced.

AylesburyDuck

Hamish2505 wrote: »

Hi, I hope someone can give me some advice?

My girlfriend divorced her husband 6 years ago. They still jointly own 2 properties which both have at least 100k equity in them. The ex rents them out at a total of £1300 pm for which he gives my girlfriend nothing.

He is refusing to sell them or pay her a penny from the rental income. She has asked him for a settlement figure of 60k but is refusing.

He is getting very abusive, abusive towards her and towards me. We have obviously kept the texts saying all this.

Some advice as to what she should do, apart from see a solicitor for which we dont have the money, would be greatly appreciated. Can we get a court order on him without going through a solicitor?

Thanks in advance

Trouble is i suspect this is what got her into this mess in the first place, pay a solicitor as suggested by some above and do it right, should have been included the first time round.

Tigsteroonie

For advice regarding divorce and financial settlement (so in the OP case, the latter), I recommend the Wikivorce website and forum.

Incidentally, if they are joint mortgages, she can inform the mortgage company that they are being commercially let and see what they say. They should be as willing to talk with her as with her ex-husband.