A real mortgage mess

Foggienew

I have ended up in a real mortgage mess and have no idea how to sort it or even where to start.

I purchased a house back in 2004 with my then husband. My grandmother gave me the 25% deposit we needed to buy it.
In 2007 we put it on the market as I had purchased a business in a different county.
Unfortunately it didn't sell as quickly as we had hoped so got permission to get a tenant in, however we were unable to change it to a buy to let mortgage as we didn't have the equity in the property by then that was needed for that type of mortgage.
In 2012 my husband and I divorced. The house prices by this time had crashed and as a result the property was in negative equity and neither of us were in a position to make up the difference. It was agreed during the divorce that I would be responsible for the continued letting of the property until such time it was possible to either transfer it into just my name or sell it. The reason we agreed I would deal with it was because he's absolutely useless with money and he wasn't contributing to his kids let alone be responsible enough to deal with the property.
Since then I have had the same tenant at the house. The rental income doesn't quite cover the mortgage, insurances and agents fees so I have been regularly topping up the account, but no money to maintain the property.
I have remarried and my new husband and I have purchased a house in the south thanks to some inheritance from when my parents died. However my health has deteriorated and as a result I have lost my business and and unable to work so have no income to throw at the house in the north.


My ex husband is now pushing to sell the property as he wants to buy a new place with his girlfriend and can't as he's already named on this mortgage. I think he reckons he's going to get a lump sum of cash out of it too haha. I would love to get rid, but the property is very run down and we would be lucky if the sale generated enough income to clear the outstanding mortgage, let alone clear any legal fees. I am also very worried that trying to sell would scare my tenants and I would be left with no income to cover any bills.


To make matters worse there is now a problem with the roof that needs to be repaired asap. The ex is refusing to contribute to repairs and I am worried about loosing the tenant if it's not sorted quickly.


So basically after all that rambling my questions are:


Is he responsible for paying half the repairs even though the divorce states that I am responsible for the letting etc but he's still named on the mortgage?


What is the easiest way to get rid of the property without jeopardising the house I own with my new husband?


Legally can he force the sale against my wishes? And if so would I still be financially liable to cover any debts incurred in any shortfalls?


I hope all that makes sense. Thanks in advance

csgohan4

your both responsible for the house and perhaps remind him a poorly repaired house will not generate market value


easiest and quickest to get rid of the house is auction but you will not likely sell at full market value


Legally he can force a sale but it will be costly for him and you as well in terms of legal fees e.t.c. Perhaps remind him of this too especially if the house is negative equity


Since your are both named on the mortgage and therefore joint liable, you are both liable for any short fall

Foggienew

I have told him all these points but they just seem to go over his head.


I have also pointed out that if any mortgage payments are defaulted then it's going to affect HIS credit score which won't be as big an issue to me considering I have already purchased a new property.


Would the shortfall become a loan to pay off if we don't have the money available at time of sale?

xyz123

Is the house in negative equity even now. U mentioned you out down 25% deposit so negative equity if mortgage payment are kept up is quite unusual. What is the mortgage amount outstanding, equity, and interest rate u r paying?

Strummer22

Foggienew wrote: »

I have ended up in a real mortgage mess and have no idea how to sort it or even where to start.

I purchased a house back in 2004 with my then husband. My grandmother gave me the 25% deposit we needed to buy it.

The house prices by this time had crashed and as a result the property was in negative equity

we would be lucky if the sale generated enough income to clear the outstanding mortgage

just trying to understand the situation a bit better... I'm surprised that your purchase in 2004, with a 25% deposit, was still in negative equity in 2012 (and possibly still now). The only way I can see that happening is if you have an interest-only mortgage and haven't been repaying any of the capital. Is that the case?

clairebeth

I am also surprised that it's in negative equity after 13 years with a big deposit. Have you had it valued or looked at Zoopla or similar to get a rough estimate?

cns06

Did you re mortgage it at any point, as others have said at half way through the term its unlikely you are still in -ve equity.

silvercar

I'm assuming it is an interest only mortgage if you are still in negative equity.

Time to grab the bull by the horns. Give the tenants notice and price the property to sell. Plenty of buyers love a project.

hounsehunterftb

Save enough for 3-4 months worth of mortgage, bid farewell to your tenants, get the house valuation done and take the plunge. Its not so complicated as you might think.

phillw

Foggienew wrote: »

Would the shortfall become a loan to pay off if we don't have the money available at time of sale?

I'm assuming that as part of the divorce settlement you kept the property 50/50 split.

First get someone from a lettings agency to go in and inspect the property to see what needs to be done and also ask them for the rent and sale value, but tell them that the tenant can only know that it's an inspection.

The lender has a charge on the property, if the sale of the house doesn't raise enough to clear the mortgage then they will block the sale and there is nothing that anyone can do to force them.

So get the value from the agent in writing and send a copy of it with an up to date mortgage statement to your ex, along with a statement of the money that you've been paying to keep the property going & a covering letter that has the value - mortgage - conveyancing fees. Split that in two for yours and his, but add half of the money you've put into the property into your value and take half of it away from his (and vice versa if he's ever put anything in since the divorce). If his number is less than zero and he still contacts a solicitor, then run another copy of it off for them. When he realises he is paying £250 to be told that he isn't getting any money out of the property then he'll hopefully give up.

It doesn't sound like there will be enough equity to cover the mortgage and half your out of pocket expenses and conveyancing, but if there is then find a sales agent that deals with rental properties & get them to market it. They'll know how to deal with sitting tenants.