Charge on house in divorce settlement now due

Martini_Dry

Hi

Newbie here and just trying to get an understanding regarding a charge I have on my ex marital home that has become due, before I seek legal advice.  I am not in communication with my ex wife.    

Situation

The charge on my ex marital home as part of the divorce settlement has been triggered (3 or 4 months ago).  I am yet to receive it as the house in question was put up for sale when it got triggered.  It did not sell and was them removed to my surprise, but I was then advised by one of my children that was due to my ex's partner having sold their flat and going to move in and pay me off.  That sale is currently going through but I do not have any details and it's only been 3 weeks and these things take time, even if it is a first time cash buyer.

Questions

Do I need my own legal advice at this stage ? or any stage as the % amount of house value I'm due is quite clear from the divorce settlement ? or will this become apparent from her getting a solicitor to deal with this once his property has sold ?
This is me optimistically assuming they do not under value the property given I know what it was up for sale for 2 months ago.

As she has known for many years, should she have prepared for this and I already have the money soon after the final trigger point hit ? i.e. should/would I be due interest from the time past since the trigger point hit ? 

I am not trying to be awkward to my ex and want this sorted as quickly and cheaply as possible all round not to incur soliccitors fees, I just want to protect myself as this will be the first time I can try and get back on the property ladder in a long time.

I'll leave it there for now in case the response to the above clarifies it for me.

thanks in advance

 

ian1246

Just to confirm... when you say it was removed, are you referring to the charge (HUGE red flag!!!) or the house sale? If the charge has been removed, seek immediate legal advice.

Either way, you own the property from the sounds of it alongside your ex and therefore you have a say on its valuation and how much your to be paid for your share. Your ex doesn't get to dictate to you and decide how much they are "buying you out" without your consultation or input.

You need to be in contact woth your ex (or their solicitor) to agree on the property value & therefore the value that your % of it represents.

No agreement = no purchase of your share and the charge remains.

Martini_Dry

The house was removed from sale, my charge is still on it.  I would never have let that happen !!

So at this point, until the new fella has sold his property and got the money to buy me out, I don't really need to do anything ? 

I am thinking of running this past a solicitor atm anyway as it is.

Thanks for your response. 

VyEu

If you have a charge against the property but are not on the title, no you do not own the property.

It looks like (your post is a little jumbled) there was a deferred order for sale, conditioner triggered, house was put on the market but then ex took it off again.

I haven't seen the wording of the order but if she doesn't agree to sell the house for you to get your share it would be an application to enforce the order. however, you should run past the order with a solicitor because they may be a buy out clause in it and it may be quicker to use than then go through a house sale.

Normally it would be a formal letter to ex saying 'i understand the trigger condition of (refer to clause in order here) has been met and therefore the property should be placed on the market, please can you let me know when this is to be done' or something like that.

If she wants to buy you out but there's no variation clause then technically she needs to agree to vary the order by consent (with you). But depends on wording of the order (not all orders can be varied)

silvercar

You don’t remove the charge until you are satisfied that the condition has been met. By definition that means you agreeing what the property is worth, in order to agree your entitlement.

Valuing a property is an art not a science, and there is clearly a value in reaching an agreement. Bear in mind that. Selling a property with a disgruntled part owner, will not show the property in the best light and they may not be aiming to get the highest valuation if you both agree to an independent valuation. 

Being bought out by the new fella, does create a bias on her side to a lower valuation, so you will have this in mind. But the plus side is that you don’t have to pay out for estate agent’s fees, so you share a saving in that respect. It also means that the sale may proceed quicker than on the open market.

Martini_Dry

Thanks for the further comments.

Apologies if I'm not wording perfectly, I was trying to simplify in what may not be an easy to simplify situation in retrospect as dealing with legal stuff.

I have 35% equity in the house as part of my divorce settlement that had triggers.  The final trigger was met in April or May time.  The house was put up for sale and I kept in the loop re valuation and viewings.  It was not getting a great deal of interest and had 1 low ball offer which neither my ex or I were happy with.  Knowing that offer and the valuation that she had it on for, I believe gives me some bargaining power as to the valuation to be used to be bought out at.  

So last question regarding this now as clearly I will need a solicitor to get this done eventually.  should i sound out a solicitor now ? or am I ok to wait until I know the new fellas house has sold and I receive the offer from her solicitor ? as presumably if I'm happy with what I'm offered, I will maybe not even need a solicitor of my own ?

Savvy_Sue

Personally I'd find your solicitor now: you don't have to instruct them to DO anything yet, just get them up to speed and discuss options, because if you wait until you get an offer and then start trying to find one it may hold things up. 

Equally, you may decide that you want to see someone, work out what offer you'd accept, and make a pre-emptive strike as it were. Dear ex, as you know you were due to pay me [£? / ?% of the value of our house] following [this trigger]. This is now overdue, and following the failure to find a buyer at an acceptable price, I understand that you are planning to settle this charge once loverboy has sold his house. It would be helpful if we could agree on the amount I am due and the timescale. Based on the valuation from earlier this year, I believe that I am due £?, and would be glad to know when you anticipate that you will be able to pay this. 

Or a solicitor would word this more formally if you don't communicate directly or you think it would have more force if she knew you had proper advice behind you. Please note the above has nothing except what I consider pragmatism behind it, and a solicitor might advise you to do something completely different, or to wait until she makes you an offer.