Selling a house after a break up

Ian815

Hi, my partner and I have broken up, but we are both still living in the house we bought together 2 years ago.
I want to spend a couple of years working in Australia, but would have to leave in September to take advantage of the new scheme.
Problem is, my ex has said he will make it difficult to sell the house as he has no where else to go. 

Any ideas would be most welcome.
Thanks

HampshireH

Ian815 said:

Hi, my partner and I have broken up, but we are both still living in the house we bought together 2 years ago.
I want to spend a couple of years working in Australia, but would have to leave in September to take advantage of the new scheme.
Problem is, my ex has said he will make it difficult to sell the house as he has no where else to go. 

Any ideas would be most welcome.
Thanks

Can your ex buy you out?

canaldumidi

I assume you are not married? (yes, makes a difference).

House can be sold in one of two ways:

1) mutual agreement. You agree what price you'd both accept, and how to share the equity generated (perhaps dependant on who contributed what)

2) court order to sell. Takes ages, lots of stress, expensive....

The alternative might be to keep the property and your ex to pay you rent for your 'half' (they get a whole house to themselves), but that depends on trust- would they keeppaying especially if you are aborad and unable to hassle them.......?

Also it prolongs the agony and the practicalities of the split-up, which is never a good thing.

Perhaps being generous with what you'd accept in scenario 1 above would motivate him?

lisyloo

Could he rent your half from you?

TheJP

lisyloo said:

Could he rent your half from you?

That would be at a loss of equity for the OP surely?

Atomix

If you co-own 50/50, and want to sell, you may have to apply for a court order, to force the sale, which may mean you'll need some legal advice. However,  Im pretty certain the person who wants to sell (no kids involved etc) wins that battle.

Exodi

TheJP said:

lisyloo said:

Could he rent your half from you?

That would be at a loss of equity for the OP surely?

If they owned as joint tenants (which is what I suspect, but would appreciate the OP confirming) then wouldit not be the opposite?

I.e. the equity in the property would continue to increase as the mortgage is paid, of which the equity is jointly split. Add to this the suggestion to include 'rent' on top of this - which may be unaffordable/unattractive given that the OP's partner would need to pay double the mortgage payment (as they are no longer sharing it), double the utilities AND rent.

As these situations require negotiation to unravel, I'd try to be more diplomatic.

Unless he's on another planet and expects you to continue paying the mortgage! (you do see it on these forums sometimes... people can be completely unrealistic unfortunately).

If he doesn't immediately plan on buying you out, it'll probably play on his mind over the years that he's paying into a mortgage that's building equity that he inevitably needs to share with you.

At the end of the day though, if he doesn't want to buy you out and he doesn't want to sell - you are left with two options, talk him round or go to court to force the sale.

Ian815

HampshireH said:

Ian815 said:

Hi, my partner and I have broken up, but we are both still living in the house we bought together 2 years ago.
I want to spend a couple of years working in Australia, but would have to leave in September to take advantage of the new scheme.
Problem is, my ex has said he will make it difficult to sell the house as he has no where else to go. 

Any ideas would be most welcome.
Thanks

Can your ex buy you out?

Not likely. He doesn't earn enough to cover the mortgage himself.

HampshireH

Ian815 said:

HampshireH said:

Ian815 said:

Hi, my partner and I have broken up, but we are both still living in the house we bought together 2 years ago.
I want to spend a couple of years working in Australia, but would have to leave in September to take advantage of the new scheme.
Problem is, my ex has said he will make it difficult to sell the house as he has no where else to go. 

Any ideas would be most welcome.
Thanks

Can your ex buy you out?

Not likely. He doesn't earn enough to cover the mortgage himself.

Then without wishing to sound rude....he needs a reality check.

However, September is only 4 months away and it's unlikely you will have sold and completed in that time (though not impossible)

lisyloo

TheJP said:

lisyloo said:

Could he rent your half from you?

That would be at a loss of equity for the OP surely?

Landlords don’t lose equity to their tenants so I’m not sure what you are getting at.

lisyloo

HampshireH said:

Ian815 said:

HampshireH said:

Ian815 said:

Hi, my partner and I have broken up, but we are both still living in the house we bought together 2 years ago.
I want to spend a couple of years working in Australia, but would have to leave in September to take advantage of the new scheme.
Problem is, my ex has said he will make it difficult to sell the house as he has no where else to go. 

Any ideas would be most welcome.
Thanks

Can your ex buy you out?

Not likely. He doesn't earn enough to cover the mortgage himself.

Then without wishing to sound rude....he needs a reality check.

However, September is only 4 months away and it's unlikely you will have sold and completed in that time (though not impossible)

I say it’s impossible if the joint owner isn’t going to cooperate.