Ex Partner Equity Entitlement

VixterW

Hi everyone,
Looking for some legal and moral viewpoints please.
I have lived with my boyfriend for seven years. When we got together he had not long split up with his ex. At the end of their relationship, the house they had bought on 105% LTV mortgage only 10 months before was in negative equity (purchased in 2008, relationship ended in 2009) by at least £10k. My boyfriend wanted to live in the house so agreed to let the ex leave without any payment or consideration for the debt. She also took some of the furniture with her.
Unfortunately, due to the drop in the house value, it was impossible for my boyfriend to get the mortgage into his own name, as beside affording the house on his own (on paper), that level of LTV just wasn't available.
At one point a few years back a mortgage was available which he tried to proceed on, but due to the ex delaying in signing the paperwork, the mortgage offer was withdrawn and he was left with the solicitors bills to pay for nothing.
As time has drawn on, the property value is back to what it was at the time they purchased it and we have decided to put the mortgage into my name as a joint tenant. At asking the ex to sign her half over, she has demanded that we "make her an offer" for her signature.
Aside from me finding this morally unpleasant, does her name being on the mortgage give her indisputable legal right to half the equity in the house?
My chap has paid all of the mortgage payments since she left, the mortgage would have still been over 100% LTV when she left due to them having 105% in the first place, and she has been allowed to walk away without being stuck in a small house, impossible to sell, paying enormous mortgage interest rates.
Aside from the law as I understand it being "Name on the mortgage deeds = owns half the house", can anyone advise if there is any legal argument to her claim?
Many thanks everyone for any thoughts or advice.
Vix

kingstreet

Jones V Kernick.

Eventual judgment was that partner who left was entitled to some, but not half.

Not sure if your partner was married though?

VixterW

Hi Kingstreet,


Thanks for the reply, I will have a look into the case.


No they were not married.


I appreciate your input!


Vix

kingstreet

Sorry, it's Jones v Kernott.

Knew it didn't look right when I pressed submit...!

foxy-stoat

On another angle, if the Ex wants money for a signature put it to her, how much does she want to pay for a clean credit record?

If your boyfriend is not bothered about the house, now its barely in positive equity, and he could live with a trashed credit file for 6 years, he could stop paying the mortgage and the lender will come after her as well.

May not be ideal but if she is playing the game, then he can also play - she is still liable for the debt even though she moved out years ago, as well as having a claim to the equity if there was any.

G_M

VixterW wrote: »

Aside from the law as I understand it being "Name on the mortgage deeds = owns half the house", can anyone advise if there is any legal argument to her claim?
Many thanks everyone for any thoughts or advice.
Vix

Ownership is whatever is registered on the Title held at the Land Registry.

£3 will get you a copy here.

However most mortgage lenders insist that the names on the mortgage agreement must match the names on the Title so they are likely to be the same.

She sounds like a chancer - but aren't ex's always?

How much equity is there in the property now? Get a valuation showing the value = the mortgage and offer her half the equity.........

VixterW

Thanks for the replies Foxy and G_M.


Foxy - yes we've considered not paying the mortgage, but really only want to treat that as a last resort. We'd really like to keep it amicable, although it's looking less and less likely for that to be possible.


G_M - I'm positive her name is on all of the ownership documents, it was a straightforward purchase for the two of them at the time, so I can't see any way her name would have disappeared (although it would be nice).
The trouble is, she has visibility of the mortgage balance and a rightmove search shows the values houses are selling for. I don't want to lie or mislead her, I just want her to realise how unfair her demand for money is!

Guest101

VixterW wrote: »

Hi everyone,
Looking for some legal and moral viewpoints please.
I have lived with my boyfriend for seven years. When we got together he had not long split up with his ex. At the end of their relationship, the house they had bought on 105% LTV mortgage only 10 months before was in negative equity (purchased in 2008, relationship ended in 2009) by at least £10k. My boyfriend wanted to live in the house so agreed to let the ex leave without any payment or consideration for the debt. She also took some of the furniture with her.
Unfortunately, due to the drop in the house value, it was impossible for my boyfriend to get the mortgage into his own name, as beside affording the house on his own (on paper), that level of LTV just wasn't available.
At one point a few years back a mortgage was available which he tried to proceed on, but due to the ex delaying in signing the paperwork, the mortgage offer was withdrawn and he was left with the solicitors bills to pay for nothing.
As time has drawn on, the property value is back to what it was at the time they purchased it and we have decided to put the mortgage into my name as a joint tenant. At asking the ex to sign her half over, she has demanded that we "make her an offer" for her signature.
Aside from me finding this morally unpleasant, does her name being on the mortgage give her indisputable legal right to half the equity in the house?
My chap has paid all of the mortgage payments since she left, the mortgage would have still been over 100% LTV when she left due to them having 105% in the first place, and she has been allowed to walk away without being stuck in a small house, impossible to sell, paying enormous mortgage interest rates.
Aside from the law as I understand it being "Name on the mortgage deeds = owns half the house", can anyone advise if there is any legal argument to her claim?
Many thanks everyone for any thoughts or advice.
Vix

Ofcourse, she owns a share of the property (either as joint tenants or tenants in common)


Moreso, she has been unable to purchase anywhere due to being named on the mortgage and has had to pay her own living costs, probably into rented accommodation.


Your partner could not buy the property himself (clearly, you've said this) and therefore her name was securing the property.


I don't see the issue.

VixterW

Hi Guest101,
Thanks for your input.
The thing is, she was given the chance to be released from the deeds a few years back even while the house was in negative, as I mentioned that she took too long signing the paperwork then and the mortgage offer was withdrawn.
She has never made contact to try to change the situation, so how long could she fairly wait and watch the equity build up? Given her disinterest in coming off the documents, I don't really accept this as a negative for her - she was let off several thousand pounds just by moving out at the time she did.
Also, due to the high interest rates and negative equity, renting would have actually been the preferred and more financially sound position to be in than owning this house - if I had the choice between a house in £10k or more negative equity or renting, I would rent.
In the meantime my partner has paid all the money into the house, so all equity is a direct consequence of his payments. The property hasn't increased from purchase price. There wasn't a deposit at the start of their mortgage, so all losses made are by my partner.
That's an outline of the main issues really.

Cheers,

Vix

Guest101

VixterW wrote: »

Hi Guest101,
Thanks for your input.
The thing is, she was given the chance to be released from the deeds a few years back even while the house was in negative, as I mentioned that she took too long signing the paperwork then and the mortgage offer was withdrawn.
She has never made contact to try to change the situation, so how long could she fairly wait and watch the equity build up? Given her disinterest in coming off the documents, I don't really accept this as a negative for her - she was let off several thousand pounds just by moving out at the time she did.
Also, due to the high interest rates and negative equity, renting would have actually been the preferred and more financially sound position to be in than owning this house - if I had the choice between a house in £10k or more negative equity or renting, I would rent.
In the meantime my partner has paid all the money into the house, so all equity is a direct consequence of his payments. The property hasn't increased from purchase price. There wasn't a deposit at the start of their mortgage, so all losses made are by my partner.
That's an outline of the main issues really.

Cheers,

Vix

Right but it won't be in the future. You could Ofcourse go to court to force a sake, but that'll cost you 10k

She isn't obliged to give up a stake, even in a failing property. Her signature has some value. Why not just pay up?

VixterW

It won't be in the future - do you mean renting won't be the preferred option in the future? That's probably true, but she has the chance to start saving from scratch 7 years ago while my partner was given a handicap.

Why not just pay up? We genuinely can't afford to. We don't have thousands of pounds sitting around. Not that it's massively relevant but she has had a wedding and a child since, and she lives in a bigger house than ours, while my partner and I can't afford these things, so it doesn't feel fair for her to take even more for herself when my partner let her off the debt in good will.
I know this is mainly from my moral standpoint and isn't the kind of thing that would hold up in law, but I am surprised that another individual can't see the principal.