Buying house from divorcing couple

AnotherJoe

molenpad wrote: »

Popped into the estate agents on the way to work today and it transpires that 'they believe' the wife owns the house outright and it's only her name on it therefore she is selling it herself. The have been separated a while and the house has been empty for a couple of months with both of them moved out.

The husband has no stake in the property and the reason she doesn't want it showing as sold is because if he sees it's sold he will contact her and pester her about what she sold it for. I guess while it's still showing as for sale he has no reason to contact her.

My worry is if he is so concerned then why not register his interest in it and demand a share. That would complicate for us, as he may not agree to the price we have had accepted, for example. When could he actually do that if he wants to? I am sure his divorce lawyer will be asking about the house and what's happening with it in terms of the sale price and equity.

Not sure if it matters but for context, they both own their own separate businesses and the husband, I am led to believe, is in the process of moving abroad.

The woman selling it has given you guidance as to how to avoid hassle. I suggest you stick with that and Get on and get it sold ASAP without trying to burrow into the details.

molenpad

Yes you're 100% right AnotherJoe.

We have already had to withdraw from house due to some complexities so I'm just a bit worried, probably too worried, about the details.

Dogran

Having been in a similar situation (albeit from the other side where we were purchasing a property following a separation) I would agreed that you should just crack on and treat this transaction for what it is, and proceed on the basis of the information you been given by the Estate Agent.

Crashy_Time

What has changed with the property in four years to give this woman, or couple a "handsome lump sum"? Or is the OP who is getting a good discount?

buggy_boy

Crashy_Time wrote: »

What has changed with the property in four years to give this woman, or couple a "handsome lump sum"? Or is the OP who is getting a good discount?

Guess what house prices have gone up in the last 4 years in a lot of areas. Sorry if this bursts your bubble of there being a crash for last 6+ years or however long you have been bleating on about it.

molenpad

Houses sell very well at the moment in this area. Rarely on the market longer than a week and prices have grown mainly due to the regeneration of the surrounding areas, extension of the tram network and investment in green spaces.

davidmichaels

Get the documents checked by a legal advisory here, because it is an alarming situation and should not be taken lightly.

molenpad

Our solicitor is aware of the context regarding the house so I assume they have that in hand.

Land_Registry

If I have understood correctly then

The wife is the sole registered legal owner and has been for circa 4 years
The soon to be ex-husband has no registered interest and does not live in the home
You have made an offer which has been accepted

You will be buying the registered property from the sole legal owner. The conveyancing process will deal with that and if the soon to be ex-husband has an unregistered interest then that will be in the proceeds of sale as things currently stand

Whilst I can understand your uncertainty/concerns you are perhaps looking too far into what the EA has stated. Remember they marketed the house, dealt with the viewings and now want to take their sign down.
Your conveyancer will deal with the legalities involved and to date nothing seems to have caused the process to stop re the points you make re soon to be ex-husband and his hassling her to get more

LSLDN

I am also buying from a divorcing couple, except in my case they are both registered as owners.

First listed at 415k which was hideously ambitious and dropped within 10 days to 400k.
They accepted at 390 but mortgage valuation knocked 10k further off due to some works needed (not a retention).

Agreed to proceed at 380 after 10 days of back and forth between the two vendors.

Since then (2 weeks ago) we’ve not progressed at all - turns out the husband is abroad and has suddenly decided he’s not happy with the price drop but won’t speak to either the agent or his wife to explain further.

Not sure where to go from here! I’ve kept an eye on listings and there’s very little of interest at the moment, unlikely to be until Jan.
But equally they are unlikely to get a better price and I am a very proceedable buyer (no chain, mortgage in place)

This whole business is immensely frustrating!!