Advice if possible (forced sale)

Lewie

Couple splitting, not married
No kids 
House, joint ownership
One wants to leave, the other doesn't want to sell but has agreed to a buy out
House valued by three agents
All gave same valuations
Leaver paid deposit, buyer expected half of deposit
They have now accepted, likely after advice and working out what the leaver has contributed since, that the leaver is entitled to deposit
Leaver bought most goods in the house but is prepared to leave everything
They just want out
Buyer dragging their heels, already hinted they want to pay less than valuation
It's looking like a forced sale, which I believe would be costly and sloooowwww (isn't everything involving the legal system) 
Apparently the courts would expect mediation first? At around £150 per hour!!! Ludicrous
That aside, anyone gone through this?
Easiest next step? Letter? Whatever?
Cheers

silvercar

To some extent it depends how desperate the leaver is to get out.

In a forced sale, aside from the legal costs of enforcing it, there are estate agent fees, removal fees etc. The leaver just selling their share to the remainer gets rid of all those costs, plus it can go through smoother.

Also, you won't know what price it would achieve on the open market. 3 eager-for-a-sale estate agents valued identically. You can assume they would all expect the final price to be a couple of a percent lower.

Hoenir

Solicitors letter might encourage some action. In the instance of a forced sale the intransigent party picks up the bill. Be pragmatic. While money is important. A new life without all the stress is priceless. 

Lewie

Thanks for the replies both.
silvercar
The leaver just wants to leave but not without what is fair as they need it for a deposit to move forward
They are already the one giving up their job, pets, household goods etc.
They are willing to compromise to a degree and I get the point of costs.
As for the price of the house, as far as I'm aware the valuation is fair and yes, the sale could be for less, or more.
From what I've experienced in the past the valuation is what the house is expected to fetch, then you put your % on top to account for offers, or you put fixed price.
The amount the buyer is trying to knock off would cost the seller £2,500-£5,000 and yes, the seller, again, would, if push came to shove, walk away accepting that loss

Hoenir
I agree, stress can cost health which in turn costs money
As you can see from above, the leaver is willing to compromise in several areas but would be 'stressed' due to not having the funds to move on, a vicious circle

Cheers

pollypenny

Lewie said:

Thanks for the replies both.
silvercar
The leaver just wants to leave but not without what is fair as they need it for a deposit to move forward
They are already the one giving up their job, pets, household goods etc.
They are willing to compromise to a degree and I get the point of costs.
As for the price of the house, as far as I'm aware the valuation is fair and yes, the sale could be for less, or more.
From what I've experienced in the past the valuation is what the house is expected to fetch, then you put your % on top to account for offers, or you put fixed price.
The amount the buyer is trying to knock off would cost the seller £2,500-£5,000 and yes, the seller, again, would, if push came to shove, walk away accepting that loss

Hoenir
I agree, stress can cost health which in turn costs money
As you can see from above, the leaver is willing to compromise in several areas but would be 'stressed' due to not having the funds to move on, a vicious circle

Cheers

While I hope things are sorted for you, you have to realise that estate agents tend to go for a 'test the market' or best hope valuation. That certainly applies here in a good area of North Wales.  Think about a % off the asking price if you need to sell. 

I'm an avid house sale watcher. If properties don't sell quickly, the agent will often reduce the price. 

_Penny_Dreadful

Lewie said:

Couple splitting, not married
No kids 
House, joint ownership
One wants to leave, the other doesn't want to sell but has agreed to a buy out
House valued by three agents
All gave same valuations
Leaver paid deposit, buyer expected half of deposit
They have now accepted, likely after advice and working out what the leaver has contributed since, that the leaver is entitled to deposit
Leaver bought most goods in the house but is prepared to leave everything
They just want out
Buyer dragging their heels, already hinted they want to pay less than valuation
It's looking like a forced sale, which I believe would be costly and sloooowwww (isn't everything involving the legal system) 
Apparently the courts would expect mediation first? At around £150 per hour!!! Ludicrous
That aside, anyone gone through this?
Easiest next step? Letter? Whatever?
Cheers

How is the property owned? Joint tenants or tenants in common? Is there a deed of trust in place to say the leaver gets the deposit repaid to them in the event of the relationship breaking down? 

Lewie

Thanks for the replies Pennies
Yes PP, I understand the issue regarding the house price, and as stated earlier, the leaver will compromise to a point.

PD Joint tenants and no deed of trust, however, the leaver now has written confirmation from the buyer that the leaver is entitled to their deposit on top of any equity

All of that part, the house price, deposit etc isn't an issue
It's what to do now to get the ball rolling
The buyer could just be waiting to see if the leaver will crumble
Best to get something moving than wait until the last minute
I would tell them to try citizens advice but they want to know your shoe size before even giving a word of advice

_Penny_Dreadful

Lewie said:

Thanks for the replies Pennies
Yes PP, I understand the issue regarding the house price, and as stated earlier, the leaver will compromise to a point.

PD Joint tenants and no deed of trust, however, the leaver now has written confirmation from the buyer that the leaver is entitled to their deposit on top of any equity

All of that part, the house price, deposit etc isn't an issue
It's what to do now to get the ball rolling
The buyer could just be waiting to see if the leaver will crumble
Best to get something moving than wait until the last minute
I would tell them to try citizens advice but they want to know your shoe size before even giving a word of advice

With no deed of trust then the stayer is legally entitled to half the equity, the money the leaver paid towards the deposit was not ring-fenced or protected in anyway. If half the deposit is worth more than £2,500 to £5,000 then I don’t see this playing out how the leaver thinks should they decide to force the sale through the courts. 

GDB2222

I can’t see a contested court hearing costing under £10-20k in fees. Unless they are disputing much more than that, they would be better off compromising. Or, even tossing a coin to decide. 

Lewie

Thanks for the replies
PD
From what I've read thus far, if it got as far as court, a judge would take everything into consideration.
Hopefully a written waiver from the buyer would go in the deposit payers favour
On that subject, I'd read about this 'deed of trust' thing, a contradiction in terms depending which way you look at it, and, if they wanted to be fair, it shouldn't just be up to the deposit payer to obtain a 'deed of trust'.
It should work both ways.
A deposit payer needs to get a declaration that the other party agrees they have no claim on the deposit.
Similarly, the 'receiver' should need to obtain a declaration that the deposit payer waives any claim to the deposit.
If neither declaration exists, the deposit payer is reimbursed fully.
A simple solution that would avoid mistakes or confusion, but hey, if legal made things simple...

GDB
I agree, the fees would be ludicrous, as in all dealings with the legal system
What I am thinking is the worst case scenario, that the buyer is delaying indefinitely
Which would mean court no matter what
As for the coin toss, the buyer would likely agree to it, if they won!    
Even that would need a legal paper drawn up
The buyer is bitter as they didn't want the break up, and I understand that

My original reason for asking wasn't to do with the deposit etc, just what/how to go about the next step
The buyer is apparently still 'sorting out finances' but at the moment that needs taking with a pinch of salt
The ball still needs to be rolling just in case
Cheers

_Penny_Dreadful

@Lewie a judge taking everything into consideration would consider the buyer forfeiting their legal entitlement to half the deposit the buyer trying to compromise and move things along whilst the Leaver digs their heels in. As I said before, I don’t think this will play out in court as the Leaver expects. The Leaver is of course free to consult with a solicitor specialising in TOLATA (Trusts of Land and Appointments of Trustees Act 1996) cases for a legal opinion rather than that of internet strangers.