Divorce, house and consent order?

Bonbina321

I hope this is the right place to post, I'm new, so please let me know if this is better placed somewhere else.

I'm about to go through divorce after being separated for two years. I currently live in mortgaged property with my children, with my ex and I paying half the mortgage each. This is the only thing he pays, which we agreed. He lives in a rented house.

The mortgage has a fixed term until 2019 and a 10k early repayment fee. He hasn't pushed to sell before that date due to that fee.

My questions are (if anyone might know?)
- is it possible to have it written into a consent order that the house is either sold or I buy him out when the fixed term ends in 2019?
- if I buy him out, is it less half of what it would cost to sell i.e estate agent fees etc.
- if I decided to remortgage with my new partner on the same house, is that possible?
- can I change it to tenants in common on the deeds if we do that?
- as he has been paying 50% of the mortgage should he get 50% of proceeds/I buy him out at 50%? (Some of my family think I would be crazy to do this because I have the children and he hasn't maintained the house since 2015, I have done it all)

Any advice would be gratefully received :beer:

Rileybaby

My ex got approx 30% of the equity less agents & solicitors fees. This was decided by the Court. Hope this helps x

Bonbina321

Thanks RileyBaby, that does help with trying to get it straight in my mind.

TBagpuss

Bonbina321 wrote: »

My questions are (if anyone might know?)
- is it possible to have it written into a consent order that the house is either sold or I buy him out when the fixed term ends in 2019?

Yes. Very common and perfectly normal.

- if I buy him out, is it less half of what it would cost to sell i.e estate agent fees etc.

Yes, it is usual to take into account 'notional costs of sale'. A court would usually allow 2.5%-3% of the value of the house, when calculating the amount due.

- if I decided to remortgage with my new partner on the same house, is that possible?

Yes, if you and new partner can get a mortgage! New partner would have to be added to the deeds so you and they would then need to discuss, and agree on, how the two of you would own the property, and would be well-advised to have a declaration of trust.

- can I change it to tenants in common on the deeds if we do that?

Yes. If you own as joint tenants then either of the joint owners can serve notice on the other and 'sever' the joint tenancy. It would be possible to have a declaration of trust in the consent order to define what shares you and your ex have in the property over the next few years, and after that to have a declaration of trust setting out the respective shares owned by you and your new partner (if you and new partner chose to own jointly in future)

- as he has been paying 50% of the mortgage should he get 50% of proceeds/I buy him out at 50%? (Some of my family think I would be crazy to do this because I have the children and he hasn't maintained the house since 2015, I have done it all)

Not automatically. The aim is to reach an agreement which is fair to you both. You need to look at the whole of the financial picture, not just the house. the start point is 50/50 but . So take into account things such as your financial needs, your incomes and earning capacity, the housing needs of yourselves and of the children, and the value of all of the assets, including things like pensions and savings, as well as the house. So if you and he have identical incomes and other assets of equal value, and if he is paying child support, then 50% of the net equity in the house may be appropriate. If not, then it is likely that a different share would be fair

You say your husband is paying 50% of the mortgage and that that is all he is paying. Do you mean that he is not paying any child support? If so, how much would he be liable to pay if you were using the CMS, and how does that compare with how much he is paying towards the mortgage?

(e.g., assuming he isn't also providing child support, then if his child support liability was £250 per month and half the mortgage was £400 per month then the net effect is that he would only really be paying £150 towards the mortgage, not half)

I would suggest that you go to see a solicitor once you know what the total assets are - so you would want to have details of your ex's income, pension and any other assets, as well as the value of the house, before you come to an agreement.

Bonbina321

TBagpuss, thank you so so much for such a comprehensive answer and I feel a little guilty that I didn't check the thread since last weekend! You have reassured me so much.

Yes, he pays half the mortgage exactly only of £600 a month, no child maintenance. I looked up the child maintenance calculator and he would be due to pay £267 a month. So could I look at it that he has been paying approx 30% of the mortgage, not 50%?

If I get the house valued, can I just do that by getting estate agents round or do I have to do something else? I've never sold a property.

Thank you again for your help

TBagpuss

You can get agents around in the first instance. tell them you are thinking of selling, and ask them to advise about what they think a realistic sale price would be, s well as their recommended asking price.
Given that you and your ex will need to agree on the value of the house, it would be sensible, if possible, to agree with him which agents to use.
Normally, it's sensible to get 3 agents to advise, and then use the average of the figures they give.

But do see a solicitor before you get too deeply into discussions with your ex,so you have a clear idea about your options and what is/isn't reasonable.