Can I force a sale?

queenplum

Hi!

So long story short I owned a house with my ex ex, my recent ex agreed to go on the mortgage with me 3 years ago so I could remortgage from my ex ex. He was adamant that he didn’t want anything in return, that he just wanted me to have the house for my children and I.
We had a declaration of trust out in place whereby he was to legally be entitled to 1% of all equity over the first £30k, Which was the minimum amount we could put down. He was happy and he signed it.

We were together for 4 years and things have now turned nasty.

We’ve just come to the end of a 3 year fixed term and my mortgage goes up by £290 a month from March 20th!! :eek:

My ex would essentially be entitled to £800 if we sold for market value as is with him getting 1% over first £30k. I have offered him £3k as a gesture of goodwill and whilst he was not happy he had agreed to sign the house over to me.

He has just turned round stating I am f*cking him over with the house and he’s not signing.

This leaves me in somewhat of a predicament as I can’t afford the mortgage repayments each month now, I have had a new mortgage approved and we are on the last stages and he’s now said he won’t sign the transfer of deeds.

Is there any way I can make him sell to me or will I have to sell my home?

Or can i remortgage on my own leaving him on the deeds?

Desperately seeking advice please! Thanks in anticipation!

pinkshoes

I would try again with this ex.

Write a NICE letter stating that the agreement was him getting 1% over the first £30k of equity. As the value is £XXXXX, he is therefore LEGALLY entitled to £800.

As a gesture of goodwill, you are happy to offer him £3000 and pay all fees to have him removed from the mortgage and deeds, and he will have no more involvement in the house.

Give him 21 days to agree to this, otherwise you will take the matter to court to force the house sale, where he will then only end up with £800, plus liability for all legal fees.

(it's wortht a try...)

How much is he demanding?

How much was the house worth 4 years ago, and how much is it worth now? Has he been paying any of the mortgage?

queenplum

Thankyou for replying,

Yes he has lived with us on and off over the last 4 years and he has contributed toward the household bills/mortgage whilst he was living here, and paid child maintenance whilst he wasn’t residing with us.

To be honest the house was undervalued slightly when we took out the mortgage 3 years ago but it was worth £170k according to the valuation, it is now worth approx £230k but my grandparents have paid for our driveway to be block paved in this time and I have also put in a new boiler since my ex has moved out which was back in September. He hasn’t been paying toward the mortgage since not living here.

He is under the impression that because he had to pay a large proportion of his wages toward the household (like any father/partner generally does) or rather transferred it to me as I was responsible for sorting and paying EVERYTHING, that he has been paying for ‘everything’ for the last 3 years.

I think you’re right I may have to write a letter and failing that I will get a letter drawn up from a solicitor.

sniperpenguin

Queenplum wrote: »

Thankyou for replying,

Yes he has lived with us on and off over the last 4 years and he has contributed toward the household bills/mortgage whilst he was living here, and paid child maintenance whilst he wasn’t residing with us.

To be honest the house was undervalued slightly when we took out the mortgage 3 years ago but it was worth £170k according to the valuation, it is now worth approx £230k but my grandparents have paid for our driveway to be block paved in this time and I have also put in a new boiler since my ex has moved out which was back in September. He hasn’t been paying toward the mortgage since not living here.

He is under the impression that because he had to pay a large proportion of his wages toward the household (like any father/partner generally does) or rather transferred it to me as I was responsible for sorting and paying EVERYTHING, that he has been paying for ‘everything’ for the last 3 years.

I think you’re right I may have to write a letter and failing that I will get a letter drawn up from a solicitor.

Just to make you aware, I've put in bold the only two pieces of text in that post that would be legally relevant to he resolution of this.

I had a similar issue. I got three valuations along with estimated sale prices and deducted the costs of sale from each one to show the remaining equity in each case. It was was an eye-opener for the Ex.

steampowered

Queenplum wrote: »

We’ve just come to the end of a 3 year fixed term and my mortgage goes up by £290 a month from March 20th!! :eek:

Have you checked whether it is possible to remortgage at a cheaper rate?

For example by taking a new fixed term deal?

It is very common for lenders' 'standard variable rate' to be much higher than is achievable by shopping around. You can even do this with the same bank. You might need his approval though.

Is there any way I can make him sell to me or will I have to sell my home?

If he is named as an owner with the land registry, you cannot do anything without his signature.

You can't remortgage, sell or do anything else - except with a court order.

I would suggest starting to put things in writing (email is fine) and getting a solicitor involved.