Help following separation from domestic abuse, fleeing from home and trying to agree terms of sale

Anon365

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting; please accept my apologies if this is long winded.  I separated from my ex-partner last year.  Following 10 years of domestic abuse, and recent psychological and emotional abuse, including parental alienation towards myself and our son, I have obtained a non-molestation order granted by the court to protect myself and my son from my ex-partner.  I fled the property that we jointly own with my son to a safe location.  My ex-partner is refusing to leave the property, despite the fact that this means my son can't go to school, and I cannot go to work as we had to leave for our safety.  I have applied to the court for an occupation order, but the hearing will take months and there's no guarantee I will get granted the order anyway.

Despite having contributed nothing to the deposit for the house, which we bought less than two years ago, my ex-partner is demanding I either buy him out or agree to sell, splitting all profit 50/50.  Whilst I am utterly devastated that I have put all the money into the deposit and he nothing, I understand that as tenants in common, the law will find us 50/50 owners, and would find that all monies should be split following the sale.  This is not the reason for my post.  I want to get the house sold asap so we can have a clean break and I can afford to get myself and my son back to the area, back to school and back to work.  However, I want to try to settle the terms of sale outside of the court, as I have already borrowed thousands of pounds from family for a solicitor to deal with the protective orders, the child arrangement order and the occupation order.  My solicitor does not deal with cohabitation law so cannot advise me, and I simply cannot afford a separate solicitor to help with the sale of the house.  I am not entitled to legal aid.

My question is, I want to send a letter to my ex-partners solicitor outlining my terms of the sale of the property;
- I want to suggest that as I contributed 100% of the deposit (of which I have proof), that I appeal to his 'better' nature and offer we split the profit of the property following the sale 65%/35% in my favour
- That the 'profit' means any monies left after any and all fees have been paid (including, but not limited to; conveyancing solicitor fees, estate agent fees, early mortgage repayment fees etc.)
- That if, for any reason following the sale, we are owing monies, that we each are 50% responsible for total costs
- That my ex-partner agrees to vacate the property for 1 week at a mutually agreeable time to enable me to move my property out
- That I rightfully take all large items that belong to me; the washing machine, dishwasher, fridge, piano and bed from master bedroom
- That he agrees to sell the property through a nominated agent, using a nominated conveyancing solicitor (who is impartial and has no tie to either party) 
- That he agrees to make the property available for viewings, managed through an online 'hub' to which we both have independent access, and that he agree to keep the property in a good, clean standard in order to achieve maximum sale price.  Viewings will be undertaken by an appointed agent.
- That he actively engages with the online sale 'hub' in order to view feedback from viewings, decide on offers and valuations, maintain an online diary of viewings etc.

I want to ensure that I am covering myself legally, as he has a cohabitation solicitor and I don't.  I want to make sure I've covered everything, and that legally I can ask for all of the above.  Please can anyone advise on if I can write this to his solicitor, if I need to include anything else, or if I shouldn't say any of this?

Thank you all so much in advance

propertyrental

'partner'......

Are you married? It makes a big difference.

Anon365

no we weren't married, we are tenants in common on our deeds for the property

Annisele

I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to achieve. Appealing to his better nature sounds unlikely to work; if he had one of those I suspect you'd never have been granted (or even sought) the non-molestation order.

If you're sure that he'd get 50% of the profit if you went to court, then I don't see the point in offering him less than that for a quick sale.

From his point of view, if he'd get 50% of the profit by making life as difficult for you as possible, why would he accept only 35% now?

Sadly, I think your goals of "get the house sold asap" and "walk away with more than 50% of any profit" might be incompatible.

propertyrental

Annisele said:

I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to achieve. Appealing to his better nature sounds unlikely to work; if he had one of those I suspect you'd never have been granted (or even sought) the non-molestation order.

If you're sure that he'd get 50% of the profit if you went to court, then I don't see the point in offering him less than that for a quick sale.

From his point of view, if he'd get 50% of the profit by making life as difficult for you as possible, why would he accept only 35% now?

Sadly, I think your goals of "get the house sold asap" and "walk away with more than 50% of any profit" might be incompatible.

Indeed. To achieve  "get the house sold asap" you will have to offer more than 50%, irrespective of how it makes you feel.

Anon365

I'm definitely not going to offer more than 50% as he put zero into the house in the first place!  His only motivator is money so he wants the house sold, too.

I know I will get a counter offer from his solicitor so my thoughts are if I go in at 65%, we may be able to negotiate a fair deal.  I will be the losing party in this, but seeing as I have been subjected to ongoing financial abuse, I don't see it fair than I get less than that

gwynlas

Why offer him anything if you are going forward with an occupation order a court date might come up sooner that you would be in a position to complete on a sale? I am presuming that you could afford mortgage payments on your own. You paid the deposit and own the house 50/50 but having only owned it for two years unless you have made improvements after estate agent and solicitors costs it might not generate a profit. Any monies you both spent on mortgage payments were probably less that you would have spent renting the equivalent. You might not have had a deed of trust but given the circumstances a court is likely to look at financial contributions made particularly as purchase so recent. If you were married for this only two years they would look at returning you to your single financiaI positions. I would not advise not claiming parental financial support for your child but you might consider relinquishing this if it means he gives up his claim on your home