Trapped in property as Ex won’t sell

henteaser

Purchased a property with my wife in 2006. Both named on the mortgage and title deeds. 

I paid the deposit, and the mortgage was approved based on my income alone (she didn’t work at the time).

We split up and she moved out, and I continued to live in the house.

As we were both named on the title deeds 50/50 the house wasn’t sold as part of the divorce.

Present day, I now have a new wife and 2 children.

We desperately need somewhere bigger, and have approached Ex to have her removed from the mortgage via a sale or buy-out.

She won’t sign the TR1 (transfer of equity) to remove her from the mortgage, nor will she agree to a sale to pay off the mortgage and allow us to move on.

It also means I’m stuck on a variable rate mortgage as I can’t remortgage while she is still on the title deeds.

Are there any legal avenues I might not be aware of to force a sale? 

Am I trapped? 

canaldumidi

Yes. You can apply for a court order forcing her to sell.

It will be costly and time-consuming esp if she contests it.

Why on earth was it not dealt wth as part of the divorce settlement?

henteaser

Thank you! I know, it’s a mess.

Is there any possibility of deducting the amount I have paid from her share of the equity as part of the court process and subsequent sale?

I’ve paid £70k + in repayments and she has paid zero. 

Thrugelmir

henteaser said:

Is there any possibility of deducting the amount I have paid from her share of the equity as part of the court process and subsequent sale?

Potentially yes. If the matter goes to Court. Courts aren't arbitrators between warring parties . 

Did you have a financial consent order drafted when you divorced? 

canaldumidi

I'm no expert in this and suggest you consult a solicitor specialising in family law.

But unless the original divorce settlement dealt with ownership and rights regarding the property, which seems unlikely since the property was not transfered or sold at the time, then I suspect the court now would simply force a sale. As you and ex are joint owners, I suspect that means 50% each.

I may be wrong but I doubt the court will look into who contributed what (the deposit, mortgage payments etc) as that should have been done by the judge at the time of the divorce.

And just to throw another spanner in the works: how much rent have you been paying your ex? She has had no use or benefit of the property despite being a joint owner, whereas you have had full exclusive use of the property despite only owning 50%.........

pinkshoes

Do some maths and then write to her.

Work out what the house was worth when she left and therefore how much of the equity she is entitled to, OR take the deposit from the equity, then split the equity 50/50 less what she owes for her half of the mortgage.

e.g. if the house is worth £400k with £100k remaining on the mortgage, then equity is £300k, less the deposit you paid is perhaps £250k, so £125k equity each, less the £35k for her half of payments, so offer her £90k?

Put the offer in writing, and make it clear that the offer is valid for 28 days, if she refuses your more than fair offer you will deem her behaviour unreasonable in refusing to be bought out, and you will then force the sale through the court where all costs will be deducted from her share so she will receive a lot LESS than the £90k now on offer.

You might not want to give her that much equity, but for the sake of piece and quiet and moving on, then it's worth it. 

GDB2222

henteaser said:

Thank you! I know, it’s a mess.

Is there any possibility of deducting the amount I have paid from her share of the equity as part of the court process and subsequent sale?

I’ve paid £70k + in repayments and she has paid zero. 

£70k in repayments. But you have been living there, paying no rent.

You need to be realistic, as ideally you want to reach a mutually agreeable split. And you apparently want it more than her. So, either be reasonable, or get the court to sort it out.  

To get this all looked at by the court, I’m guessing £10-20k in fees. And, that’s money you can divide between you, if you can reach an agreement. 

Rosa_Damascena

Ask yourself, does your ex have reason to be angry with you? The answer will give you a sense of how likely you are to get an6 co-operation from her. 

Give her half the MV and end it fairly.

Annisele

henteaser said:

She won’t sign the TR1 (transfer of equity) to remove her from the mortgage, nor will she agree to a sale to pay off the mortgage and allow us to move on.

Has she said why not?

"You're not offering me enough money" is very different from "I want to make your life as difficult as possible". And that's different again from "I think that getting a large lump sum will mess with my benefits".

Ultimately, so long as there's enough equity to cover the mortgage and any court/legal fees, you will be able to force a sale. But resolving this amicably will be massively cheaper - and make sure you sort out the whole of your financial settlement whilst you're at it!

GDB2222

Annisele said:

henteaser said:

She won’t sign the TR1 (transfer of equity) to remove her from the mortgage, nor will she agree to a sale to pay off the mortgage and allow us to move on.

Has she said why not?

"You're not offering me enough money" is very different from "I want to make your life as difficult as possible". And that's different again from "I think that getting a large lump sum will mess with my benefits".

Ultimately, so long as there's enough equity to cover the mortgage and any court/legal fees, you will be able to force a sale. But resolving this amicably will be massively cheaper - and make sure you sort out the whole of your financial settlement whilst you're at it!

I have a feeling that, ludicrous as it seems, the OP wasn’t offering her anything. 

Rosa_Damascena

GDB2222 said:

Annisele said:

henteaser said:

She won’t sign the TR1 (transfer of equity) to remove her from the mortgage, nor will she agree to a sale to pay off the mortgage and allow us to move on.

Has she said why not?

"You're not offering me enough money" is very different from "I want to make your life as difficult as possible". And that's different again from "I think that getting a large lump sum will mess with my benefits".

Ultimately, so long as there's enough equity to cover the mortgage and any court/legal fees, you will be able to force a sale. But resolving this amicably will be massively cheaper - and make sure you sort out the whole of your financial settlement whilst you're at it!

I have a feeling that, ludicrous as it seems, the OP wasn’t offering her anything. 

It is a crucial detail that seems to be missing, but we do know he feels he is the only one that has made the financial contribution towards the bricks and mortar.