Really bad Divorce / buy ex out of house

maxmerlin

Hello

The house is currently up for sale.  My ex's share would be £140k even if the house value drops ( this was agreed in court )

I can buy my ex out of the family home for the £140k but I am worried that she will cause damage to the property before she leaves. ( this is the sort of thing she would do 100% trust me )  

 I thought about offering her £135k and an extrra £5k  - a month after completion if the property is not vandalized. Not sure how to put this in writing....Can anyone help me please ?

DullGreyGuy

How do you think you are incentivising her by offering her what she is entitled to?

ArbitraryRandom

I would suggest you talk to your solicitor. 

Off the top of my head, requiring vacant possession, with simultaneous exchange and completion, and an inspection of the property right before you agree (on the phone) your solicitor can exchange signed contracts. Then you can only agree when you are content damage has not occurred AND you are on hand to change the locks. 

If your ex materially (significant enough for it to be worth the bother) damages the property prior to you completing on the sale you can return to court and request a deduction from her share equivalent to the cost to remedy the damages. 

I'm not a lawyer, but I think the term is 'dissipation of assets', covering the giving away, selling under value, or destroying matrimonial assets during a divorce? 

comeandgo

If she is so bent on causing you grief then there is lots she could do to the house that would not be apparent on completion.

ReadingTim

Why is this your problem?  Surely any vandalism is a problem for the new owner - what recourse do they have to you if they fail to inspect the property prior to exchange/completion?  And if she vandalises the place and they find out, then the sale falls through and she doesn't get any money, plus has to live in somewhere she's just smashed up - so again, how is this a problem for you?  

gettingtheresometime

ReadingTim said:

Why is this your problem?  Surely any vandalism is a problem for the new owner - what recourse do they have to you if they fail to inspect the property prior to exchange/completion?  And if she vandalises the place and they find out, then the sale falls through and she doesn't get any money, plus has to live in somewhere she's just smashed up - so again, how is this a problem for you?  

The OP wants to buy the ex out ....so effectively the OP would be the purchaser so it would be their problem 

london21

Communicate with her or solicitor.

Or start afresh and buy somewhere else. 

Exodi

maxmerlin said:

Hello

The house is currently up for sale.  My ex's share would be £140k even if the house value drops ( this was agreed in court )

But it would also be £140k even if the house value goes up.

I think given that you accept yourself it has been a difficult divorce, I think your suggestion of holding back money until you personally decide whether to give her the full amount (that a court decided) is just adding more fuel to the fire.

What would stop you from saying "I didn't notice the downstairs tap leaking before, I deem that to be an act of vandalism ... the carpets are also a bit grotty, seems intentional to me, I'll be deducting the cost of a professional clean and redecoration" - obviously extreme examples, but you get my point. It's obviously not realistic to expect that you will be able to define every single act that might be considered 'vandalism'.

I think there comes a time where, even though things may not be 'fair', you have to draw a line in the sand and move on.

My current house had a door punched through, knife walks the entire length of the staircase wall, a cracked toilet and a missing bathroom mirror. When you are talking about hundreds of thousands of pounds, all of these jobs are relatively irrelevant, don't fall into extending the trauma by moving to 'it's the principle' logic, just get it sorted.

(it wasn't my ex by the way - I bought a house from a couple that had clearly had a sour divorce... was kinda daft to clearly vandalise the house when it was being sold, but I got it for a bargain).

ReadingTim

gettingtheresometime said:

The OP wants to buy the ex out ....so effectively the OP would be the purchaser so it would be their problem 

Ah, gotcha - thanks.  

OP - given you're no longer living there, I don't see the value of going back. Start somewhere afresh: it's a clean break, and far less risky.  

lookstraightahead

ReadingTim said:

gettingtheresometime said:

The OP wants to buy the ex out ....so effectively the OP would be the purchaser so it would be their problem 

Ah, gotcha - thanks.  

OP - given you're no longer living there, I don't see the value of going back. Start somewhere afresh: it's a clean break, and far less risky.  

Having bought my ex husband out and losing money, I too wish I had wiped the slate clean with a new property.
The above is good advice.

ThisIsWeird

maxmerlin said:

Hello

The house is currently up for sale.  My ex's share would be £140k even if the house value drops ( this was agreed in court )

I can buy my ex out of the family home for the £140k but I am worried that she will cause damage to the property before she leaves. ( this is the sort of thing she would do 100% trust me )  

 I thought about offering her £135k and an extrra £5k  - a month after completion if the property is not vandalized. Not sure how to put this in writing....Can anyone help me please ?

The house is currently for sale? So presumably has plenty of EA photographs giving a good idea of its current condition? And it was on this basis that it was valued?

In which case, I think the same situation would apply here as to a 'normal' sale; you make the £140k offer based on the house's current condition. Once it's accepted, get your insurance cover in place! And add Legal Protection.

With a 'normal' purchase, the buyers should be allowed to view the property immediately before completion, in order to confirm nothing material has changed since the exchange of contracts (or whatever happens when it's a part-owned house)? If you can't do this yourself, is there a mutual friend - or someone very brave - who could?

What happens with a normal sale if damage has been caused between EoC and Comp? No idea. But wouldn't the same apply here?

Once you buy, insurance should cover any mysterious water bursts and stuff...

I think you just have to go with this one, and hope for the best, and follow any guidance by your solicitor - what would they recommend for a 'normal' purchase in order to protect the buyer as fully as possible against intentional vandalism? As said by others, any contractual incentive with your ex to not go loony is unlikely to go down well.