Buying ex out of house - can't agree what's fair?

Razzmatazz · 8 February 2017 at 12:28PM

Thank you all for your views - it's helpful to get a variety of opinions and in particular how it would be viewed by a court.

I'm definitely happy to compromise on the situation - either by taking the lower valuation and not accounting for cost of sale - or taking the higher valuation and accounting for it - in practice the difference between these two options is only about 1k either way. Taking the midpoint valuation and including sale fees there is a difference of only £250.

If ex-partner isn't willing to compromise though I think we'll have to just put the house up for sale. I think he's expecting that the house will sell instantly for 310k if not more - if that doesn't end up as the reality then hopefully he may rethink his position and be willing to come to a compromise.

gettingtheresometime · 8 February 2017 at 12:28PM

Take the King Soloman approach and suggest selling the house via the EA.

Then 'selling price' minus solicitors costs & EA fees can be deducted and he won't have a chance to moan

Mojisola · 8 February 2017 at 12:37PM

Razzmatazz wrote: »

in practice the difference between these two options is only about 1k either way.

If ex-partner isn't willing to compromise though I think we'll have to just put the house up for sale.

It's easy to get stuck in negotiations over relatively small sums.

Is it really worth going through all the stress of selling the house rather than let him have £1k more than you think he's entitled to?

Razzmatazz · 8 February 2017 at 12:57PM

Mojisola wrote: »

It's easy to get stuck in negotiations over relatively small sums.

Is it really worth going through all the stress of selling the house rather than let him have £1k more than you think he's entitled to?

No - sorry if I wasn't clear, but his current position is that he's demanding effectively 7.5k more. He wants the top value (310k), and not accounting for any EA fees.

My initial suggestion was the middle/lower valuation, and taking the cost of sale into account - however I'm happy to compromise and meet him in the middle - either take the lower value and not account for fees (basically 2.5k more than my first offer) or take the top value but account for the fees (around 4k more).

Both of these options leave him better off than selling the house, where there's every likelihood that he'll end up with the same (if not less) than my initial offer, and his profit will be further eroded by having to pay the mortgage for x months longer.

Mojisola · 8 February 2017 at 1:11PM

Mojisola wrote: »

If he isn't happy with the £300k valuation, suggest he gets a RICS property surveyor to give an opinion.

Razzmatazz wrote: »

No - sorry if I wasn't clear, but his current position is that he's demanding effectively 7.5k more. He wants the top value (310k), and not accounting for any EA fees.

If you can't agree on the house value, get a professional assessment done and agree in advance to accept his/her judgement.

getmore4less · 8 February 2017 at 1:12PM

Tell him that if he is convinced it is worth £310k without fees to you to buy it of him he should buy it of you at £300k on his terms(no fees) and sell it himself and make an easy £10k.

Net proceeds on open market sale is the nominal equity available to share, discount the fees to account for them not being paid by you till the sale actually happens in the future(they don't go away)

getmore4less · 8 February 2017 at 1:13PM

What does some proper research suggest the place will sell for?

GDB2222 · 8 February 2017 at 1:14PM

Razzmatazz wrote: »

Thank you all for your views - it's helpful to get a variety of opinions and in particular how it would be viewed by a court.

I'm definitely happy to compromise on the situation - either by taking the lower valuation and not accounting for cost of sale - or taking the higher valuation and accounting for it - in practice the difference between these two options is only about 1k either way. Taking the midpoint valuation and including sale fees there is a difference of only £250.

If ex-partner isn't willing to compromise though I think we'll have to just put the house up for sale. I think he's expecting that the house will sell instantly for 310k if not more - if that doesn't end up as the reality then hopefully he may rethink his position and be willing to come to a compromise.

You really should get an RICS valuation. The figures agents give you are the maximum figure they will be prepared to market it at, and everybody makes offers. The difference could easily be £30k, and here you are arguing about £5k!

Razzmatazz · 8 February 2017 at 1:26PM

Based on the research I did, the house is worth somewhere between 280 - 310k, in terms of local sold prices for similar properties. It's hard to pin down an exact figure because it's slightly unusual in the local area - it's a 2 bed but on the footprint of a 3 bed and there aren't many directly comparable.

I was always planning to get a proper valuation done anyway as part of the remortgage process - but yes, this is probably a good suggestion to try and move things forwards, although doesn't solve the issue of the EA fees, which is probably the bigger sticking point.

somuchindebt · 8 February 2017 at 1:51PM

I also think that estate agents fees are not part of a deal here, but if he believes you can sell the house for £310k, put it on the market if you are not prepared to up your offer to buy him out. If you don't get a buyer you may be in the position to offer him less.