Jointly owned property, ex won’t remove me from the mortgage

emilycarnall123

Hello, I was wondering if there was anyone on here who could advise me on my issue.
My ex partner and I bought a house in 2014, we had been together for 6 years at the time. A year after in 2015 we split up and I agreed to move out and he would remain at the house (he has lived there since August 2015 with his new partner). When we bought the property he paid the deposit and I put a few thousand into renovating it and of course paid half towards the mortgage payment and bills every month whilst I was living there. 

When I left he wouldn’t let me take anything apart from my clothes etc. All the furniture and ornaments that I had paid for he kept, even down to items that my parents had bought as gifts. 

He got the ball rolling in getting the house valued and taking over the mortgage, however he let the valuation expire and nothing else was done. 

It has been 6 years now and we are still no further forward, whenever I speak to him about it I am told he will get it sorted. It hasn’t bothered me too much. but now all of a sudden he has stopped making payments and is 5 months in arrears. 

This is of course massively impacting my credit file. When I have called the mortgage company they tell me the ball is in his court really as he is the one who will be remortgaging in his name. I just need to know how can I get the ball rolling and how I go about getting what I am entitled to. 

sassyblue

You need to see a solicitor, you've tried and he hasn’t got the issue sorted so now it’s time to threaten him with the Court process.  You may not end up in Court of course but you have to resolve this issue ASAP.

MobileSaver

emilycarnall123 said:

A year after in 2015 we split up and I agreed to move out ... paid half towards the mortgage payment and bills every month whilst I was living there.

how I go about getting what I am entitled to. 

What do you think you are entitled to from a house where your ex paid the deposit and you stopped paying your half of the mortgage after just a year?

74jax

MobileSaver said:

emilycarnall123 said:

A year after in 2015 we split up and I agreed to move out ... paid half towards the mortgage payment and bills every month whilst I was living there.

how I go about getting what I am entitled to. 

What do you think you are entitled to from a house where your ex paid the deposit and you stopped paying your half of the mortgage after just a year?

The ops name removed? It's the whole point of the question? 

pinkshoes

MobileSaver said:

What do you think you are entitled to from a house where your ex paid the deposit and you stopped paying your half of the mortgage after just a year?

Well as the OP stated that she put in £1000s in renovation costs, and lived there and paid half the mortgage for a year, then the OP would be entitled to half the equity increase from when it was purchased to when she moved out...

But clearly she also wants her name removed from the mortgage, given her ex has now trashed her credit rating by refusing to remove it.

OP, any option you can move back in? That will certainly get the ball rolling.

I think you need to issue your ex with a demand that the property is sold, and giving him 28 days to get in touch and getting it listed. If he does not comply, then send another letter entitled "Letter Before Action" making it clear that if he fails to get in touch and arrange for the house to be sold, then you will be taking the matter to court to force the sale, and all costs of this process will be deducted from his share.

Unfortunately all the furniture will now have very little second hand value...

Do you know WHY he has stopped paying the mortgage?

MobileSaver

74jax said:

MobileSaver said:

emilycarnall123 said:

A year after in 2015 we split up and I agreed to move out ... paid half towards the mortgage payment and bills every month whilst I was living there.

how I go about getting what I am entitled to. 

What do you think you are entitled to from a house where your ex paid the deposit and you stopped paying your half of the mortgage after just a year?

The ops name removed? It's the whole point of the question? 

Is that all the OP wants? If so the comments "I put a few thousand into renovating" and "All the furniture and ornaments that I had paid for he kept" are irrelevant and at least to me suggested the OP may also be looking for a financial settlement.

If the OP could clarify exactly what they think they are entitled to then they may receive more meaningful answers.

theoretica

Now he has stopped paying the mortgage and trashed his credit rating too it seems to me he will have great trouble remortgaging in just his name.  You may need to be looking into forcing a sale.

TBagpuss

legally, she is probably entitled to 50% of the current equity.

OP< speak to a solicitor. Assuming you aren't / weren't married you need someone who deals with ToLATA claims - in some firms this may be the family department, in some, litigation, so ask. 

They will be able to start by writing to him and if he does not cooperate then you can apply to the court for an order for sale and a declarations to how the equity should be divided. If he want's to buy you out at that point rather than the house being sold to a third party, then he is free to make you an offer, and you are free to decline to stop your claim until he actually puts his money where his mouth is, 

MobileSaver

TBagpuss said:

legally, she is probably entitled to 50% of the current equity.

If this went to court I would be surprised if the OP was awarded 50% equity when the OP's Ex solely paid the mortgage for five out of six years. However, as the OP's partner has now stopped paying the mortgage, that equity may turn out to be negative by the time this is resolved.

There's an assumption that the OP and their Ex are jointly liable for the mortgage debt so the prudent option may be for the OP to start paying the mortgage and if feasible move back into the home.

AskAsk

god, i am surprised you have so much patience!  6 years is a lifetime.  i think i would have started screaming after 6 months, let alone 6 years!

as already said above, i think it is time to start consulting a solicitor as he is not going to do anything since it is in his favour to keep the status quo and now he has got himself into debt and not paying the mortgage.  you need to put a stop to it as you are still liable for half of the mortgage payments even if you do not live there.

MovingForwards

AskAsk said:

god, i am surprised you have so much patience!  6 years is a lifetime.  i think i would have started screaming after 6 months, let alone 6 years!

as already said above, i think it is time to start consulting a solicitor as he is not going to do anything since it is in his favour to keep the status quo and now he has got himself into debt and not paying the mortgage.  you need to put a stop to it as you are still liable for half of the mortgage payments even if you do not live there.

Liability is for all the mortgage payments as it's a joint debt, how people decide to apportion payment is between them and not the lender.