Joint mortgage after relationship breakdown.

heoljm26

Hey! Thank you in advance for any advice you’re able to give!

Long story short, my current mortgage deal is coming to an end - I’m wanting to remortgage, however it’s a joint mortgage and I don’t want to remortgage with my ex partner. For context, ex partner has not contributed a penny toward the mortgage in over 4 years, meaning I’ve paid over £30k while he’s paid £0.

To make this more complicated - when we brought the property, my ex partner put £60k towards the deposit, and I signed a document which agreed if we sold the house, he’d get the full £60k back. 

We are currently going through family court due to domestic abuse. There is also a non-molestation order, therefore he is not allowed to contact me. 

I guess where I need advice is;

• How do I go about remortgaging on my own?
• Is there anyway of ‘getting back’ the money my ex did not contribute (£15k) to the mortgage over the last 4 years?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you! :) 

Flugelhorn

I doubt you can get back the mortgage you paid unless you had that mentioned in the agreement. Are you planning to buy him out?

caprikid1

"For context, ex partner has not contributed a penny toward the mortgage in over 4 years, meaning I’ve paid over £30k while he’s paid £0."

Have you paid any rent for the 1/2 a house he has owned not been able to occupy ?

Work out what the rent would be for the whole house divide that by two x 4 years. Once you know how much rent you owe him work out half the interest and see who owe's who (Make sure you count interest not repayments). Add also to the interest any repairs.

Exodi

To be clear, do you own the house as 'joint tenants' or 'tenants in common'?

I presume the latter, as it sounds like there is a Deed of Trust in place, which defines the initial contributions.

If this is the case, then firstly you should check the Deed of Trust to see more completely what it states.

For example, is the £60k a fixed figure or a % of the house value? Obviously the former benefits you if the house increases in value.

Secondly, what does it say about splitting the remaining equity? Does it include anything about who is responsible for paying the mortgage? Mine for example specifically states that we are jointly responsible for the mortgage and repairs.

If it can be shown that he has reneged on his agreement to pay half (or any of) the mortgage, you could reasonably argue that he should be entitled to his deposit back, as stipulated by the DoT, but you should be entitled to the remaining equity.

Unfortunately, we can only speculate without sight of the DoT.

One other thing to mention, is if you both agree otherwise, you don't have to follow what is stated in the DoT. Do you know his position on the whole thing? Do you know if he's looking for his deposit + half the equity, or if he'd accept just his deposit back?

To your specific questions:

heoljm26

How do I go about remortgaging on my own?

You don't need to re-mortgage - most lenders allow a 'change of parties'. What's more, this can be done irrespective of whether you're in a fixed deal or not and does not invoke ERC. If you needed additional borrowing, this can be done by a 'Further Advance' - effectively a second mortgage that runs alongside the first but has its own fixed term and rate. The big question here is whether you meet affordability on your own to not only take over the mortgage, but to buy him out. If you don't and can't find the cash from somewhere else then the whole thing is a no-goer and the house will likely need to be sold to release the equity. If you can meet affordability solo, you will pay a negligible fee for the change of parties, and will need a solicitor involved to handle the simultaneous transfer of equity. Maybe a grand or so in total (you'll need to agree who's funding this).

heoljm26

Is there anyway of ‘getting back’ the money my ex did not contribute (£15k) to the mortgage over the last 4 years?

Unfortunately mortgage payments do not equal equity. Depending on the interest rate, term, etc a third, or a half could have gone towards interest. While I genuinely sympathise with this, I think realistically you stand little chance of reclaiming the mortgage interest you've paid, especially with no stipulation to do so in the DoT.

EDIT:

heoljm26

Have you paid any rent for the 1/2 a house he has owned not been able to occupy ?

This is an extremely good point which I apologise for missing.

Inevitably he doesn't live there any more - how long has he not lived there for? As he'll presumably have his own housing related expenses now and it's usually considered not reasonable to expect someone to pay the mortgage on a property they don't live.

heoljm26

Thank you all for the replies.

Unfortunately, I don’t have access to the DoT. He took everything relating to the sale of the house when he left and has refused to share anything in it since. I don’t know where to start about getting copies etc. He was removed from the house by police, then there was an occupation order put on the house to protect myself and our children. All I know is the £60k he put in, was to be returned upon sale of the house and the equity to be split 50/50.

I tried to raise the topic of selling the house a few years ago, he refused to acknowledge it. Recently again, my solicitor has raised the topic, but he has refused to speak about it (ignored all correspondence about that, but replies to everything else my solicitor raises).

Exodi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81916469#Comment_81916469

Do you know which solicitor firm did the conveyancing? It's worth a shot reaching out to them and asking if they have a copy of the agreement - you are a party to the agreement.

Unfortunately the Deed of Trust is not directly registered with the Land Registry, just it's existence noted on the title as a restriction.

Realistically, until you have visibility of the agreement, I can't see that you could come to any agreement with regards to the equity. It is also his in his interests to share it, given that the agreement seemingly protects his initial contributions. That said, I think I've made a few too many assumptions.

I understand he has not paid the mortgage in over 4 years, but then reading between the lines it sounds like he also hasn't lived there for at least several years.

Is it the case that he just hasn't paid the mortgage since the time he stopped living there? Was he paying it beforehand? It puts a totally different spin on the situation and if the case, I would generally say you might be the one being unreasonable expecting him to pay the mortgage on a house he doesn't live, while presumably not paying him rent and him having his own housing costs.

I think if your solicitor asks him for a copy of the Deed of Trust (or to procure one if he's list it), then you could be agreeable to selling the house and splitting the equity as stipulated. If it's the case he doesn't pay the mortgage because he doesn't live there, I'd probably back down on your insistence for a larger chunk of the equity. It may resolve the current conflict.

ACG

Strictly speaking, it would be the ex gets their cut and then you split the difference 50/50.

Im going to be really blunt, your complaining about paying down the mortgage without them making any contribution yet your trying to secure a new product. Sell the house, take your cut and go your separate ways.

That £30k you have paid, its only going to go up and up and realistically your likely to lose half of it.

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81916857#Comment_81916857

I tried to raise the topic of selling the house a few years ago, he refused to acknowledge it. Recently again, my solicitor has raised the topic, but he has refused to speak about it (ignored all correspondence about that, but replies to everything else my solicitor raises).

Can the OP sell without his agreement?

ACG

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81917288#Comment_81917288

Ooops. I missed the second post.

They could take it to court.

They could also make a payment late to see if they could force the issue with the ex. Make out they cant afford it so need to sell otherwise it will get repossessed? Obviously not ideal as it will affect both of them. But it might help to force the matter. Whats the alternative? Pay off a house for someone else?