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Stuck on a mortgage
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Madball
Posts: 10 Forumite

Hello,
I have a question around a joint mortgage with my ex-wife. We separated over 15 years ago and since then I've been stuck on the mortgage, unable to move on with my life financially. Two reasons why I've not contacted solicitors during that time is because, my son lived in the house and I did not want to make him homeless and the other was because during that time I never made enough money to afford a solicitor.
My current situation is that my son is now 19 and he no longer lives in the marital home, my ex-wife has remarried 10 years ago and I'm looking to buy my own home. Over the years I've reached out to my ex-wife about getting my name off the mortgage and each time there is some excuse or I get ignored.
I would like to know if my only option is to take her to court and force the sale of the property? How long does the process usually take? How much does it usually cost?
I have a question around a joint mortgage with my ex-wife. We separated over 15 years ago and since then I've been stuck on the mortgage, unable to move on with my life financially. Two reasons why I've not contacted solicitors during that time is because, my son lived in the house and I did not want to make him homeless and the other was because during that time I never made enough money to afford a solicitor.
My current situation is that my son is now 19 and he no longer lives in the marital home, my ex-wife has remarried 10 years ago and I'm looking to buy my own home. Over the years I've reached out to my ex-wife about getting my name off the mortgage and each time there is some excuse or I get ignored.
I would like to know if my only option is to take her to court and force the sale of the property? How long does the process usually take? How much does it usually cost?
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Comments
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You might want ask a mod to move this to house buying board, the cost if you have to force a same is likely to be prohibitive. Was the sale of the house not agreed at a future date when you divorced?
You could try a letter before action (templates available) which warns her you are taking legal action which might do the trick. Is there equity in the house that you are expecting or do you just want your name off the mortgage/deeds?"You've been reading SOS when it's just your clock reading 5:05 "1 -
Did your divorce not include a timescale to sell, or a clause requiring her to sell if she remarried?0
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This seems rather odd there was no clause in the financial settlement that the house had to be sold if she remarried or the child turned 18.
Did you perhaps not have a financial settlement during the divorce?
Are you wanting to claim any equity in the house? Did you have the house valued at the time of the divorce?
It might be a good starting point to WRITE to your ex wife stating that as your son is no longer a child, then either the house needs to be sold, or you need to be bought out of the mortgage. Give her a deadline (28 days) to respond. If she doesn't respond, then you will need to send a more formal letter from a solicitor threatening legal action if she doesn't take action.
Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')
No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)2 -
Post from 12th Feb 2014 for context...Madball said:
Hello,
Over the past 7 years I've been battling with my ex-wife over joint debt and the joint mortgage and I'm stuck in a situation where I feel there is nothing I can do without it costing my a lot of money (solicitors) which I do not have.
The back story is that I separated from my wife in 2007, we have joint debt over £17K and a joint mortgage of £68K. My ex-wife is living in the home with a new partner.
When we first separated we went through mediation because we cannot afford going through the courts. During the mediation my ex-wife agreed to pay an equal share of the debt along with attempting to get my name off the mortgage, which she went back on immediately.
The joint debt (17K), I'm paying over £200 per month (which I cannot really afford), yet she is only paying £1 per month. I believe this is totally unfair, yet the loan provider says that they chase both parties equally (doesn't seem so to me).
The mortgage lender will not take my name off the house because my ex-wife and her new partner are not making enough money between them to take on the mortgage themselves (supposedly). Not only that she is only paying interest only repayments to the mortgage so the capital is not being reduced.
Due to this, my credit score has dropped dramatically, and I am not eligible for a mortgage as I'm already on one. I want to move on with my life however it seems my ex-wife just wants me to rot.
I would like to know if there are any legal avenues I can take to force her to pay more to the joint debt or to get my name of the mortgage before she bankrupts me?
Sincerely
Jon
Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')
No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)0 -
If you’re stuck on the mortgage are you also stuck on the deeds (Land Registry)? The house ought to be worth more now. If she’s defaulted on a mediation agreement go back to Court and get the finances sorted.Fashion on the Ration
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Di you have an order s part of the divorce? What does it sa?
If you didn't, then assuming that you haven't remarried, you can still apply to the court to resolve things.
But yes, if she won't cooperate then applying to court is the only way to force her.
I'd suggest that you talk to a solicitor and get them to do a formal letter with a set timescale .
Costs will depend on whether there is a n existing order and whether she cooperates at all, and if so, at what point.
If there is an order and she is breaching it then you may be able to claim some of your costs back from her, if you do have to take it to court.All posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)0 -
Hello,
Thanks for all the responses, there is a lot of questions, so I'll try and answer them all.- I spent a lot of time after the separation paying down joint loans that we had together, which I finally all paid off. I paid it all off, whereas she only paid £1 per month.
- I've tried to reach out to her on numerous occasions to try and get my name off the mortgage or other options like me buying her out and her leaving. She won't allow anyone in the property to get it valued or to see what work needs to be done.
- She and her new partner (now husband) have always said that they are unwilling to do anything to the property whilst my name is on it. I have said, "well take my name off it then", but she won't do anything about it.
- My name is on the deeds as well as the mortgage.
- When we divorced we couldn't afford solicitors and the courts, so it ended up being a very cheap divorce with nothing in there other than just getting the decree absolute, so no financial stuff was sorted.
- Unfortunately my ex-wife will threaten to stop paying the mortgage, and because I am looking to buy, I don't want my credit history being ruined by her, so it would mean that I would have to pay the mortgage until this is resolved.
- The last communication with her today she basically said that she tried to apply for a credit card to see if she would be accepted and was declined, also the boiler has broken. She also said that if I give her £4K she would move out and give the house to me, but in all honesty I don't want the house, I want it sold or taking out of my name so that I can move on and buy a house of my own.
- When it comes to equity, the mortgage lender estimates that the house is worth around £114K, and the mortgage is currently standing at £70K. Personally if she gets my name off it, she can keep the equity and I can just get on with my own life, however if I have to go through the courts, and I end up having to pay the mortgage I want that paid back to me out of any money left once the house is sold.
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Umm if she has offered you the house for £4k (and you think that's a genuine offer) you get that documented by a solicitor, bite her hand off, then sell it.
£4k is a LOT less than it will cost you to force a sale through the courts and it'll be a lot quicker that way also. even if you then share the equity its still worth it.0 -
Two options are:
Look at your decree to see if it gives you the option of forcing the financial split using the ancillary relief process. It would have to be you because she’s remarried. I suspect at the end of the process you would be better off, and it’s much harder for her to derail this as it’s a Court process. So it might be useful as your backstop for what you will do if she continues to mess about.
Or if you’re genuinely willing to give up the equity, and she is willing to move out, isn’t the solution to agree to sell it, cover costs from the equity and she takes the rest? That then motivates her to be cooperative with the sale process and you’re not paying anything to her upfront.Fashion on the Ration
2024 - 43/66 coupons used, carry forward 23
2025 - 62/890 -
tightauldgit said:Umm if she has offered you the house for £4k (and you think that's a genuine offer) you get that documented by a solicitor, bite her hand off, then sell it.
£4k is a LOT less than it will cost you to force a sale through the courts and it'll be a lot quicker that way also. even if you then share the equity its still worth it.0
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