Selling a house after a break up

user1977

Scotbot said:

user1977 said:

Ian815 said:

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.

Do you mean you need to get your hands on your equity before you can afford to go to Australia, or is this just a preference to have things tidied up before you leave?

If the house isn't sold he still needs to pay his share of the mortgage and bills as well as accommodation in Australia 

Yes, just not very clear from the OP whether it's essential that they sell in order to move to Australia (or indeed to anywhere else).

Sistergold

If I were you OP I would stay put until you have resolved BY SELLING the house. Your ex should not force you to keep an asset “because they can not afford to move”. The problem is if you can not do it now he/she will dig in and you will be stuck in the arrangement. Also it is best not to move out as again you will not be able to have access and staying means you can be more effective in forcing a sake hopefully? 

Exodi

TripleH said:

The risk is if you trust him to pay the mortgage if you're not paying anything.

The default position is the OP paying half the mortgage. I really don't see this what you describe as a risk - if he stopped paying the mortgage, the house would eventually be repossessed and any outstanding equity redistributed... which is what the OP wanted in the first place. While there are costs associated in this route, this would be outweighed by the OP's partners other mortgage payments (assuming he didn't stop paying the mortgage immediately). 

TripleH said:

...

Do you trust him not to sell when you're overseas and run off with the money?

The best solution would be to sell and have a clean break before you go but I accept that isn't practical.

Again, I really don't see what the risk is. Selling the house would be the OP's preference, but running off with the money would be clear case of fraud, given that they'd need to mislead a conveyancer and forge OP's consent to faciliate the transaction.

If this was a real concern (which I don't think it should be), OP could set a property alert (https://propertyalert.landregistry.gov.uk/) to notify them of any activity on their house.

The only answer to this sitting down and having a sensible conversation - I think they BOTH have to move on this (as I believe the OP's potential position of "I need the money in less than 4 months" is also unrealistic).

TripleH

The Op would loose out if the house is repossessed as there would be a mark against them for default of payments on a mortgage.

Regarding the property, I have assumed it is not written as an equal split, yes my scenario is an absolute worst case and suspect the purchase is not so detrimentally structured.

I also view that the Op might be looking at a working holiday visa rather than permanent migration.

If permanent migration, then get the visa, go out and activate it then come back and sell the house.

A working holiday visa has a more limited shelf life and is far harder to defer. This is more problematic unless the Op knows they aren't staying permanently.

london21

What does he mean by make it difficult to sell the house. He needs to face the reality of life. 

The only thing is if you both cannot agree amongst yourselves then court will have to take over the case. 

Exodi

TripleH said:

The Op would loose out if the house is repossessed as there would be a mark against them for default of payments on a mortgage.

Regarding the property, I have assumed it is not written as an equal split, yes my scenario is an absolute worst case and suspect the purchase is not so detrimentally structured.

I also view that the Op might be looking at a working holiday visa rather than permanent migration.

If permanent migration, then get the visa, go out and activate it then come back and sell the house.

A working holiday visa has a more limited shelf life and is far harder to defer. This is more problematic unless the Op knows they aren't staying permanently.

All very valid points, I think our differences lie in our assumptions (as does much of this thread).

Could be useful for the OP to clarify the ownership arrangement and the nature of their Australia visit. 

TripleH

The Op wants to work in Oz for 2 years which makes me think 1 year working visa which can be extended by a year (provided you spend enough time working in rural areas). There is an age limit on qualifying for the first visa so its not easy to defer for a year if you are a certain age.

But yes, all supposition at this point.

Exodi

london21 said:

What does he mean by make it difficult to sell the house. He needs to face the reality of life. 

The only thing is if you both cannot agree amongst yourselves then court will have to take over the case. 

Obviously you can only sell a house that is jointly owned (whether held jointly, or as tenants in common) with joint agreement (without court intervention). If he doesn't agree to sell the house then it becomes to difficult to sell the house. I don't think we can conclude he needs to 'face reality' when it's not clear on what's been communicated - it could be intepreted that the OP is requesting that the house is sold immediately because they want to travel soon.

I personally wouldn't rely on 'well I'll go court otherwise' - not only is it expensive and slow, you will obviously ruin any prospect of negotiation AND there is no guarantee the court would even side with the OP.

Immediately in the aftermath of a breakup, couples become stubborn - unwilling to offer the smallest compromise as they feel wronged. In time they learn that they need to put their differences aside, come together and reach a reasonable agreement so they can get on with their lives.

lisyloo

london21 said:

What does he mean by make it difficult to sell the house. He needs to face the reality of life. 

The only thing is if you both cannot agree amongst yourselves then court will have to take over the case. 

He can try to sabotage viewings either actively or passively as he lives there.
he could make access difficult for viewings.
he could also be awkward about documentation that he’d need to sign as part owner.
He cannot put it off forever but he can make it very difficult e.g. delay to the point potential buyers get put off.

lisyloo

I think it's quite drastic to suggest the OP changes their plans particularly if they have friends and family they can trust.
Most things - meetings, paperwork etc. can be done remotely.
For things that couldn't be done remotely e.g. DIY, it's not impossible that the OP has a network to support them.