Husband stuck in mortgage with defaulting ex, help!

Sahara85

My husband moved out of the house he owns with his ex around 6 years ago. They have two children together who stay with us regularly. We have been married for 3 years and have a child together. When he moved out he stayed on the mortgage because the ex wouldn't/couldn't buy him out and he has approx £20k equity in it. He couldn't force her to sell because, if I'm correct, that isn't allowed until their children are 18. They are currently 10 & 12. In 2013 we applied for a mortgage to buy our own house and out of the blue it was rejected because there had been payment defaults on the mortgage with his ex. This was the first we knew of it and only found out when the mortgage application was made. Husband and his ex had both agreed when he moved out that she would continue to make payments alone so whatever husband was owed from the house would freeze from the point he moved out. She was fine with this. Now, our mortgage is in my name only and smaller than we wanted but that is ok. We went through the ombudsman to try and get husband's credit score back up to perfect as he was completely unaware of any defaults but to no avail. The letter we received gave me the impression that they hadn't properly read the facts that we had presented. In the end, as I was pregnant and we were both so busy and stressed we decided to let it lie and wait out the time it took to restore his credit rating.

Flash forward to today and we received a letter saying that two payments had again been defaulted! Husband called the bank and they said the direct debit had been cancelled. Ex refutes this but she just doesn't seem to be doing anything to resolve it. I'm so stressed and frustrated that this is happening again and we seem to just be helpless as now there is no way husband could even come off the mortgage and give up his share of the equity even. I know we need legal advice and I'm getting on that, but does anyone have any wisdom for the time being? It seems so unfair when husband is very careful with money, has never been in debt and yet can't force the sale of the house to retrieve his money but more importantly to stop his credit score being any more seriously battered. We can't really afford to buy her out and she refuses that anyway. This is all a bit new to me and I'm a bit clueless. Any advice or reassurance would be much appreciated, thanks.

Thrugelmir

One cannot simply walk away from a contractual arrangement. Irrespective of what is agreed between the parties on separation/divorce. Your husband is jointly and severally liable for the old mortgage until such time as it is discharged. It's up to the parties themselves to find a solution. However difficult this maybe.

Far from an uncommon situation unfortunately. Needs everyone concerned to discuss the matter in a grown up manner and not stick their heads in the sand.

ACG

He signed an agreement to be jointly liable for 100% of the mortgage.
That means between them they both have to pay 100% of the repayments, the lender does not care who pays it so long as it gets paid.

If the house is reposessed and there is a shortfall it means they could come after your husband, so it is probably not a bad thing that his name is not on your house.

On the one hand, I would be thinking let it get reposessed, at least then it draws a line under it and although it will look bad on his credit report for the next 6 years at least it is the beginning of the end. However, if there is a shortfall you could find bailiffs knocking at your door.

Tricky one, but unless he is prepared to stump up the monthly repayments there is not a lot you can do.

FBaby

Can your OH access the account so he can check if the monthly payments are made? Then at least he would have a choice to make the payment that month so not hurting his credit.

Of course, that wouldn't solve the issue of ex not paying. Does she work? Has her situation change that explains why she isn't paying. Assuming that she is working and not lost her job, got her hours cut etc..., then it might be that a judge would rule in your favour to force the sale of the house considering the fact she is not paying, especially if there is decent equity in the property. Definitely need to seek legal advice.

Thrugelmir

FBaby wrote: »

then it might be that a judge would rule in your favour to force the sale of the house considering the fact she is not paying, especially if there is decent equity in the property. Definitely need to seek legal advice.

Court will automatically step in and act as the guardians of the childrens welfare. Not quite so straightforward. Nor is it a cheap option. Who is going to fund the legal bills? Probably cheaper to pay the mortgage and modify the separation agreement.

elsien

Is it an ex-wife or an ex partner that he was not married to?

Rileybaby

The court no longer leave a parent in the house until the children are 18. The starting point is now50/50 and the court works from there.

I'd take her to court to force a sale

Kynthia

Wad the house dealt with as part of a divorce as often tge financial settlement will state that tge one staying in the house has to make best efforts to remortgage and remove tge other party's name. I believe this allows you to go back to court if you have good reason to believe they aren't doing this. If tgey weren't married then you have just assumed a court won't do anything until the children are 18. I wouldn't assume this, especially with evidence that payments aren't being made and that it's damaging your husbands credit. So o would get legal advice from someone with experience in dealing with forcing sales and breakdowns of unmarried families.

Thrugelmir

Kynthia wrote: »

Wad the house dealt with as part of a divorce as often tge financial settlement will state that tge one staying in the house has to make best efforts to remortgage and remove tge other party's name.

In reality few people can , if children are involved. In addition the mortgage is most likely in it's earlier stages of repayment. That's if it is a repayment mortgage, as interest only mortgages still exist in abundance.

Sahara85

Thanks for all taking the time to reply. Husband was not married to his ex, and there was no separation agreement; they have kept things as stable and civil as possible for the children and somehow it just never got sorted. Clearly becoming an issue now though. Obviously the children's wellbeing is the most important thing, but unless the house is sold I can't see how this matter can be saved from getting worse for husband, as we can't really afford to pay her mortgage payments too (she does have a good job and partner who is financially comfortable). She is very difficult to communicate with and just doesn't play ball with things like this. If we hadn't really pushed her to look further into this today she would have just let it slide and let both herself and husband get into a worse situation. Thanks for the suggestions, I think it's going to have to be legal advice to see what our options are.

silvercar

Instead of paying maintenance to the ex and hoping that she pays the mortgage, could he pay the mortgage directly out of the maintenance money?