Forcer of house sale / share cut

mekimbo

Heya,

I'm trying to help a friend who is a joint mortgagee on a property with their previous partner. They received an email from the previous partner's solicitor recently, asking to leave the mortgage for large sum payment which does not reflect the value of the property - which I advised my friend to ignore. My friend wants to re-mortgage with their current partner. I am currently helping them gather documents and helping them gain Mortgage In Principles. The previous partner and their solicitor have been very pushy and now a 2nd email has arrived with a 'deadline' for next week, despite claiming that the previous partner would like to resolve this 'amicably'. My friend has both verbally and via text message told the previous partner they are doing all they to progress.

Any advice please? . While I am good with mortgages I'm not too sure where my friend stands legally. Should they reply to the solicitor's message or ignore? The previous partner could force a sale if they wanted to but surely that would be costly, time consuming and not of either interest!

Any advice is very welcome

user1977

If they're replying directly to their ex then there's no particular need to also reply to the solicitor. Then again, it's not going to do any harm to copy them in.

mekimbo

Thanks user1977. I was worried about joinder and so on if she made contact with the solicitor, so I might advise them to respond.

mekimbo

any suggestions on how to deal with the previous partner's demand for their cut?

Caz3121

mekimbo said:

any suggestions on how to deal with the previous partner's demand for their cut?

value of property less outstanding mortgage = equity
split of equity based on how owned...if joint tenants then 50/50, if tenants in common then % based on deed

Has the ex assumed the property is worth more of that they are due a higher %...how far out are the figures?

Gavin83

So your friend lives in the house owned by both them and their ex partner?

Ultimately I think it’s best to sever the link ASAP. There are many disadvantages to still being linked in this way, including them being able to force a sale (as you’ve mentioned), the potential issues should they fall into financial difficulties and of course they could always move back in….

How different is their payment request to what their share of the house is actually worth? Ultimately it’s all about negotiation and it’s within both their interests to come to an agreement.

mekimbo

Hi, thanks for the replies. I think we're talking  10 grand or so out with regards to their demand in cut. I have calculated this both on my friend's and their previous partner's house valuations. I'm trying to keep this abstract as possible as they may see this post.

Basically they split up around 10 years ago, the current partner should have been paying child support but had a 'free card' when my friend agreed for them to simply pay the interest payments on the house which is half the child support amount would have been. Because of this very little if any equity was paid by the ex. Very amicable so far.  They are both named on the mortgage.

mekimbo

mekimbo said:

Hi, thanks for the replies. I think we're talking  10 grand or so out with regards to their demand in cut. I have calculated this both on my friend's and their previous partner's house valuations. I'm trying to keep this abstract as possible as they may see this post.

Basically they split up around 10 years ago, the current partner should have been paying child support but had a 'free card' when my friend agreed for them to simply pay the interest payments on the house which is half the child support amount would have been. Because of this very little if any equity was paid by the ex. Very amicable so far.  They are both named on the mortgage.

Sorry, when I say 10 grand I meant this by how much over they are asking for, in regards to the equity, not the amount they are demanding.

getmore4less

If it's been 10years with just interest share being paid it won't be a straightforward calculation.

mekimbo

getmore4less said:

If it's been 10years with just interest share being paid it won't be a straightforward calculation.

Any suggestions on how it may or should be calculated?

[Deleted User]

mekimbo said:

Heya,

I'm trying to help a friend who is a joint mortgagee on a property with their previous partner. They received an email from the previous partner's solicitor recently, asking to leave the mortgage for large sum payment which does not reflect the value of the property - which I advised my friend to ignore. My friend wants to re-mortgage with their current partner. I am currently helping them gather documents and helping them gain Mortgage In Principles. The previous partner and their solicitor have been very pushy and now a 2nd email has arrived with a 'deadline' for next week, despite claiming that the previous partner would like to resolve this 'amicably'. My friend has both verbally and via text message told the previous partner they are doing all they to progress.

Any advice please? . While I am good with mortgages I'm not too sure where my friend stands legally. Should they reply to the solicitor's message or ignore? The previous partner could force a sale if they wanted to but surely that would be costly, time consuming and not of either interest!

Any advice is very welcome

Without the ex’s consent your friend and her partner will not be getting a mortgage to buy the ex out. I don’t think it was wise to advise your friend to ignore the first letter and nor do I think your friend should continue with text messages and discussing the matter with the ex if the ex has now engaged a solicitor. Your friend needs to start putting pen to paper and I’d suggest responding to the ex via his solicitor since he’s chosen to go down that route. 

How has your friend valued the property? Has she engaged a surveyor, has the ex? How is the property owned? Joint tenants or tenants in common? Is there a Deed of Trust in place? If so what does it say? 

It is costly and time consuming to force the sale of a property. Money can be deducted for someone’s share of the equity by the court to pay for the other side’s cost if the court believes one party is dragging things out unnecessarily. The quickest way for your friend and the ex is to resolve this through negotiation rather than court. The £10,000 extra could be the ex’s opening gambit giving him wiggle room to reduce his original offer. 

How old is the child(ren)? Should child maintenance still be getting paid?

I am concerned that you are helping your friend and partner get mortgages in principles, plural. Perhaps the mortgage side would be best left to a professional mortgage broker.