Joint mortgage account with ex and voluntary repossession

Xannaoh

Hi all,

I’d be very grateful to get any advice on my situation.

I’ve got a joint mortgage with my ex-husband. For the last 10 years he had the sole occupancy (well, at some point he cohabited with his gf) of the former matrimonial house and paid the mortgage. We couldn’t come to an agreement about the house because he didn’t want to buy me out, sell the house or even go through the mediation process. I was told my only option was to take him to court, but I couldn’t afford it.  

I have now discovered that he stopped paying the mortgage (3 missed payments) and actually applied for a voluntary repossession/surrender by sending the letter to the bank. The bank got in touch with me, but they couldn’t really answer most of my questions. I wonder if anybody here was in a similar situation and can help.

I realise that repossession will affect my credit score and will stay on my record for 7 years (prior to this whole debacle I had an excellent credit score), but I’m not in a position to be able to afford to pay my ex’s mortgage (and, tbh, I wouldn’t want to after everything he put me through). Are there any other consequences of repossession apart from not being able to get a mortgage, loans or credit cards for 7 years? Is a voluntary repossession in any way better than a forced repossession?

The bank has also recommended seeking legal help. Would I need to speak to divorce solicitors or property solicitors?

 We are not on speaking terms and I cannot negotiate with him selling the house and/or considering any alternative solutions to the problem. I don’t have many options really and will probably agree to the voluntary repossession. The mortgage is £80,000, the value of the house is around £160,000 (although I realise that it will probably be sold by auction for less). Once the bank recovered the funds to cover the outstanding mortgage/fees, will they split the equity between my ex and I? Do I need to get some kind of court order to instruct the bank to hold the money in a suspense account and not to pay the full balance into his account? If he has other unsecured loans with the same bank (i.e. credit cards which I suspect he does), will they use the equity to cover his debt first?
 
How long does the whole process take from the moment I agree to go ahead with the voluntary repossession?

Thank you in advance!