Joint mortgage shortfall ex won't pay

Family_minded1990

I'm dealing with a horrible situation and would be very grateful for any help or advice please! My partner left an unpleasant relationship over 15 years ago, never married and believed he had signed over the flat to his ex. 2 years ago he received a demand letter to our house stating large arrears/repossession likely and our world imploded! 

Contact was made and the ex assured him this was in hand. In the meantime we lost a house we had almost bought as the arrears hit his credit file. We were unable to buy property or even get credit since! The ex failed to secure the mortgage in their own name, despite us paying off the arrears for them. 

We sought legal advice and didn't want to raise division and sale as we assumed the ex was living there and she portrayed being desperate to keep the property. The ex never got the mortgage but recently advised their circumstances had changed.  They are on benefits and believed the flat should go for sale. They completely stopped paying the mortgage and this is being paid by us! We eventually got access and the property is distressed, we also found mail to a third party and we are sure she has been renting it out all this time! 

A sale would need to be approved by both parties and will lead to a large shortfall.....which she has pinned on us, explaining to the bank she is on benefits and requesting to hand back her keys! We believe the easiest way to resolve the situation would be to put the flat up for auction and we have already paid for the home report (in Scotland) with the bank hopefully being able to make a plan on shortfall with us. 

I have several questions around what is best to do under these circumstances. What if they don't agree to sale? Is there action we can take against them? Are the banks generally okay with dealing with shortfall and would this be us that would pay as the ex has set the scene for their financial difficulty ( whether true or not)? Lastly is handing back the keys ever a decent outcome as the stress is so high we just want this to be over? Thanks so much for reading 

Family_minded1990

I'm dealing with a horrible situation and would be very grateful for any help or advice please! My partner left an unpleasant relationship over 15 years ago, never married and believed he had signed over the flat to his ex. 2 years ago he received a demand letter to our house stating large arrears/repossession likely and our world imploded! 

Contact was made and the ex assured him this was in hand. In the meantime we lost a house we had almost bought as the arrears hit his credit file. We were unable to buy property or even get credit since! The ex failed to secure the mortgage in their own name, despite us paying off the arrears for them. 

We sought legal advice and didn't want to raise division and sale as we assumed the ex was living there and she portrayed being desperate to keep the property. The ex never got the mortgage but recently advised their circumstances had changed.  They are on benefits and believed the flat should go for sale. They completely stopped paying the mortgage and this is being paid by us! We eventually got access and the property is distressed, we also found mail to a third party and we are sure she has been renting it out all this time! 

A sale would need to be approved by both parties and will lead to a large shortfall.....which she has pinned on us, explaining to the bank she is on benefits and requesting to hand back her keys! We believe the easiest way to resolve the situation would be to put the flat up for auction and we have already paid for the home report (in Scotland) with the bank hopefully being able to make a plan on shortfall with us. 

I have several questions around what is best to do under these circumstances. What if they don't agree to sale? Is there action we can take against them? Are the banks generally okay with dealing with shortfall and would this be us that would pay as the ex has set the scene for their financial difficulty ( whether true or not)? Lastly is handing back the keys ever a decent outcome as the stress is so high we just want this to be over? Thanks so much for reading 

Hoenir

After 15 years why is the property in negative equity? Is the property on an interest only mortgage. 

Family_minded1990

It's interest only and it's never had a single upgrade, currently paying around 8 per cent 

Hoenir

How much is the potential shortfall if the property is sold?

Family_minded1990

10 to 15k worst case 

Family_minded1990

But if handed back to bank probably much more 

No19v87

Probably not helpful, but how can you ‘think’ you have signed a property over? It’s not a particularly inconspicuous process.

Putting that to one side, I’d be seeking legal advice as quickly as possible.

Family_minded1990

We do have a solicitor and they are advising us to sell at a loss and deal with the bank, after years of threatening a division and sale. 

Mark_d

So your parther left his ex some 15 years ago and "believed he had signed over the flat to his ex".  What does this mean?  Did he have the land registry updated? Did he have the mortgage updated such that he was no longer jointly liable for the loan amount?  Did his ex buy him out of his share of the flat?
You lost a house because your partner failed to check his credit report before applying for the mortgage? I think it's good practice to keep an eye on your credit report regularly - so you can spot any errors/identity theft etc. - but it's especually important to check credit reports before trying to get a loan.
You didn't want to raise a sale of the property because the ex was desperate to keep the property - so you paid the mortgage whilst the ex stopped paying?
It sounds like you partner still has some sort of relationship/commitment with his ex and whilst he may have physically left the relationship 15 years ago, he never closed out that chapter in his life.

user1977

The OP also has a duplicate thread running on the Mortgages board:

Joint mortgage ex held on mortgage now facing shortfall — MoneySavingExpert Forum