Advice if possible (forced sale)

Lewie

Hi Triple
A solicitor has already been asked that.
Apparently not, which I guess is the right thing really.
In this case, the person in the house is being deliberately obstructive and would deserve such treatment, but I guess in other cases the person in the house could be the 'nice' one.
If the law allowed what you suggest then they could have similar uncalled for treatment done to them.
The leaver in this case was mentally, verbally and physically abused to the point they just couldn't stand being in the property any longer.
Not beaten up or anything but harassed to breaking point.
Unfortunately, leaving is the last thing you should do, if you can help it, as it puts the 'squatter' in a strong position.

Lewie

An update.
We are close to 14 months in.
A letter before action has been sent.
The 'buyer' has again decided they no longer want the property and has stated that they will pay 'my half' of the deposit, and agree to put the house on the market, splitting the equity 50/50.
Pretty much the same thing as they stated in January, then went back on.
The leaver, once again, is prepared to accept the proposal.
The solicitor replied with a deadline for the payment of the monies to be deposited into the leaver's account.
They replied stating they had now decided only to pay the deposit money once the property was sold.
Another broken word.
Now they will only agree to put the house on the market at a price £30,000 above 'market value'.
The leaver reluctantly agreed as long as the 'buyer' agreed that the price should be reduced by £10,000 per month until the true market value has been found, ie, it sells.
They have refused despite two agents agreeing that is a typical thing to do if you are 'testing the market', which looks as though the leaver knows it is unlikely to sell at the high price meaning they get more rent free living.
The next step is to get a RICS valuation to present in court.  

GDB2222

Rather than going to court, have you considered a simple bribe? 

I assume that, by now, you should have a pretty good idea of what it will cost you to get a court order requiring the property to be sold. Assuming that you are awarded costs, bear in mind that you will only receive around 70% of your costs (because that’s how the system works). So, you may as well offer a bribe equal to the 30% you cannot recover. Maybe, plus a bit more so as to avoid the worry of a court case. Plus, a bribe may be much quicker.

This would be totally unfair. In effect, rewarding your ex's unreasonable behaviour. Nevertheless, you may be wise to consider this.

Lewie

Thanks for the reply GDB
 
I'm not the leaver, I've just been trying to get advice on where to go, but that aside, from the behaviour of the potential 'buyer', it appears that they really just want to live rent free and never settle, hence the court route.

The amount of compromise from the leaver is staggering.
I personally couldn't have done what they have done.
Bribe wise, in effect they have been offered bribes by way of the leaver reducing their 'fair share'.
The 'buyer' won't budge.

Their latest rant just doesn't make sense.
They state that people are snapping up properties in the area so they insist on putting it on the market £30,000 over the 'market' value.
If they believe it will sell so quickly, why do they refuse to market it for a month to 'test the market'?
Surely it would sell in that first month, based on their 'logic', meaning no reason to reduce the price.
The reason is, they don't want to sell and are happy living rent free.

The leavers barrister has stated they are likely to be awarded costs based on the 'buyers' behaviour, refusal to attend mediation, constantly changing their minds etc.
They are also likely to be successful in claiming occupation rent, 12 months so far.
They have also been told it is reasonable to stop contributing towards the mortgage, which may shift the 'buyers' stance.
If the house gets repossessed then they will both have 5 years of bad credit to deal with, but the leaver cannot keep affording to pay their way in life and finance half of the mortgage.
It's a crazy situation and it has certainly been educational for both the leaver and me.
A hard lesson indeed.