Splitting up - can i keep house

hard_up_and_fed_up

I am splitting up with my partner and we have a mortgage together.
I think it would be good for one of us to keep the house as investment and he doesn't want to.
I want to but cannot afford the mortgage and bills by myself. If i went for an interest only mortgage, am i likey to get one on my own?? It will be short term and then i will sell up once it is ready.
The rent for a 1 bed flat will be £50 less than keeping the 3 bed house on interest only BUT...Second problem - we have a secured loan on the house that was to pay off (mainly his but also my) previous debts. If i was to take on the mortgage, would i inherit this debt?
If so, the monthly payments on the interest only takes me £150 over my budget.

Any help/advice apprecited.

Pal

You need to see a solicitor. Go to your local CAB and get some advice. They will sort out a free half hour with a solicitor who can run you through the basics.

Moses

Always try to work out your differences out together as adults before taking the easy way out and contacting a solicitor, they will love to argue on both your behalf @ over a £100 per hour you will both end up losers. Try to list anything of cash value on paper within the split, the house to include estate agents fees of witch will be one big saving if one of you agrees to buy the other half out, solicitor fee's ect. Loans, endowments.
It is best if you can afford a purchase mortgage, I am not a fan of endowments although you have to look at all your options. And if you are serious in wanting to keep your house then you will have to put up with a lodger or even two lodgers this will take a lot of pressure of your finances and it needn’t be permanent.
The loan secured against your property, you would have to juggle and negotiate a settlement with your partner if you are buying his half of your assets. It is also a good Idea to explain your split up with the loan company and see if it is possible to arrange a reduced settlement fee, there is no harm in asking if they say no you wont be any worse off.
A lot depends on the value of the property and what percentage you need to loan as a mortgage there is always some one who is prepared to give you a mortgage, tread carefully as the easiest to get hold of could be costly look at several offers, there are loads of tempting low start payments but can be costly to opt out or change mortgages.

All the best, not on here very often, you can pass things by me on ** Can i ask members to PM Peter if they want to contact him? This is to prevent Peter's personal email address to be on a public forum - Edited by Abuse Controller ** if I can help

margaretclare

I don't understand what you mean about 'it will be short term then I can sell up when it is ready'. What does that mean? You said you wanted to keep the house as an investment but your partner (soon to be your ex) doesn't want to.

I don't know about all over the country, but in our area there are no 'free half hour' sessions with any solicitor.

You want to take on a mortgage on your own and there is also a loan secured on the property. If you took on a new mortgage it is possible/probable that the mortgage lender would want that loan paid off before granting the new mortgage.

Do you really want to have all the responsibility of a 3-bedroom house on your own, all the maintenance, upkeep, everything?

Have you really thought it through?

Aunty Margaret

jazzyjustlaw

Moses wrote:

Always try to work out your differences out together as adults before taking the easy way out and contacting a solicitor, they will love to argue on both your behalf @ over a £100 per hour you will both end up losers. Try to list anything of cash value on paper within the split, the house to include estate agents fees of witch will be one big saving if one of you agrees to buy the other half out, solicitor fee's ect. Loans, endowments.
It is best if you can afford a purchase mortgage, I am not a fan of endowments although you have to look at all your options. And if you are serious in wanting to keep your house then you will have to put up with a lodger or even two lodgers this will take a lot of pressure of your finances and it needn’t be permanent.
The loan secured against your property, you would have to juggle and negotiate a settlement with your partner if you are buying his half of your assets. It is also a good Idea to explain your split up with the loan company and see if it is possible to arrange a reduced settlement fee, there is no harm in asking if they say no you wont be any worse off.
A lot depends on the value of the property and what percentage you need to loan as a mortgage there is always some one who is prepared to give you a mortgage, tread carefully as the easiest to get hold of could be costly look at several offers, there are loads of tempting low start payments but can be costly to opt out or change mortgages.

All the best, not on here very often, you can pass things by me on [email="peter_earpcv9@hotmail.com"]** Can i ask members to PM Peter if they want to contact him? This is to prevent Peter's personal email address to be on a public forum - Edited by Abuse Controller **[/email]if I can help

Solicitors do not love to argue on peoples behalf I find that offensive. Solicitors are to encourage mediation between parties where possible. I would suggest initial legal advice is sought because at any time one party can apply to the Court for an Order. Imagine if things are sorted out between you and then your ex decides to apply to the Court and he gets an Order. You could draw up an agreement and then get it incorporated into a Consent Order for protection if your Solicitor so advises. A Solicitor will only negotiate I mean argue if they think you are getting a raw deal because they owe you a fiduciary duty to act in your best interest.

sarahlouise210

margaretclare wrote:

I don't know about all over the country, but in our area there are no 'free half hour' sessions with any solicitor.

Where I live you can easily get a half hour free session with most solicitors..with good planning, fast talking and good listening you can come away with some really good advice. Its always worth finding out.

Fran

sarahlouise210 wrote:

margaretclare wrote:

I don't know about all over the country, but in our area there are no 'free half hour' sessions with any solicitor.

Where I live you can easily get a half hour free session with most solicitors..with good planning, fast talking and good listening you can come away with some really good advice. Its always worth finding out.

It is different in different areas, some do offer a free half hour, in others you can get half hour for £5 for example. However Citizens Advice Bureau is free, they might have enough info on their system to advise you. Presumably there are no children?

Moses

Might have been over the top with my quote regarding solicitors, just my personal experiences, sorry solicitors I have dealt with good uns as well.
I still think it is best to try and sort your issues out prior to developments with solicitors as it could be costly if drawn out.
I feel for you both it is never easy to let go even if you know you have to.

Debt_Free_Chick

hard_up_and_fed_up wrote:

Second problem - we have a secured loan on the house that was to pay off (mainly his but also my) previous debts. If i was to take on the mortgage, would i inherit this debt?

Groan .... you both jointly own this debt now. If you are really going to take over the house, then you need to get your partner to pay off his share in full. Otherwise, you will end up paying off his debts! The fact that the loan is secured against the house is clouding the real issue, which is that some of this is really his debt. However, in law, it is now joint debt, so if he doesn't pay you will be pursued for payment!

If so, the monthly payments on the interest only takes me £150 over my budget.

Any help/advice apprecited.

Think very carefully about an interest only mortgage as you will have to find the money to pay the capital back too! If you don't, then paying the interest only is no different to paying rent, as you will never own the property!

And an investment is not worth anything, unless you can actually afford to buy the thing you're investing in.

Sounds to me like you should sell this house, sort out the finances, then buy a more affordable property.

MiserlyMartin

jazzyjustlaw wrote:

Solicitors do not love to argue on peoples behalf I find that offensive. Solicitors are to encourage mediation between parties where possible. I would suggest initial legal advice is sought because at any time one party can apply to the Court for an Order. Imagine if things are sorted out between you and then your ex decides to apply to the Court and he gets an Order. You could draw up an agreement and then get it incorporated into a Consent Order for protection if your Solicitor so advises. A Solicitor will only negotiate I mean argue if they think you are getting a raw deal because they owe you a fiduciary duty to act in your best interest.

Well in my experience of splitting up with my ex girlfriend , all the solicitor did was make things worse, cause more arguments and cost us loads of money.

It was the same when my parents split, something that was totally straight forward and agreed amicably between both parties was queried by my mums solicitor and it caused no end of friction and a much bigger legal bill which they both had to pay.

So stay clear of solicitors. Draw up your own legal document and have it signed by both parties and witnessed by somebody impartial. Anything which is required will be advised by your mortgage lender, ie transfer of equity and you can phone around solicitors to get the best quote for those things.

Debt_Free_Chick

MiserlyMartin wrote:

It was the same when my parents split, something that was totally straight forward and agreed amicably between both parties was queried by my mums solicitor and it caused no end of friction and a much bigger legal bill which they both had to pay.

Perhaps Mum's solicitor thought that, legally, she was entitled to more. If so, no solicitor would say "OK then". They are duty bound to get the best legal deal for their clients.

"Amicable" agreements can work, but some people will find themselves ripped off for "amicably" agreeing to a split that favours the other party. Unless you are sure of your rights, or if you are relaxed about getting less than you're strictly entitled to, I would suggest a solicitor.

In this case, the OP really does need a solicitor, in my view, as she's found herself legally owning half of her partner's debts. She needs to extract herself from that in a watertight way - otherwise she could lose the house!