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joint mortgage, problems with ex, advice needed please.

Hi all,

Posting on behalf of my daughter. She brought a house 5 years ago with her fellla, after 18 months he was unfaithful and moved out. They spent a couple of years trying to reconcile and remained friends so there was no rush to sort the mortgage out.

My daughter realised the relationship was now going nowhere and asked if he wanted come off the mortgage several months ago and he never gave her a straight answer. Two months ago he asked my daughter to pay to have his name taken off and he didnt want any equity out of the home as she paid the 12k deposit and all of the household bills including mortgage payments all through the relationship and when he lived there he just paid for weekly food shop as he was on a low income.

My daughter arranged for new mortgage and transfer of equity in her name and paid the mortgage fees, she instructed a solicitor to sort out transfer of deeds etc. The forms were sent out this week and he is now refusing to sign, his pathetic excuse is he doesnt want to go to get his ID forms signed by hm registry officer and doesnt want to go to the trouble of going see and independant solicitlor to witness his signature on the relevant forms. My daughter is obvioulsy annoyed as she has gone to the trouble and expense of sorting this out only for him to not sign. He now says any more letters he recieves from a solicitor he will just ignore. Has anyone any ideas or advice on how to proceed, my daughter cant afford lose anymore money on legal advise if he is just going to ignore.

Comments

  • Not a lot you can do without more cost which would be the legal route.

    It's rarely straight forward when relationships breakdown.
  • cooltt
    cooltt Posts: 852 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    This is a common and costly problem with a relationship break down.



    The 2 options are

    1) Legal action to remove his name

    2) Sell the property


    That's it I'm afraid.

    If your daughter can easily demonstrate she's essentially paid for everything then although a court case can be costly, there is a high chance of success.
  • She said she would sell, but would be in the same position again as he wouldn't sign anything or give permission. We don't understand why he just doesn't want to cut ties. Thanks for reply
  • cooltt
    cooltt Posts: 852 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Nigel19651 wrote: »
    She said she would sell, but would be in the same position again as he wouldn't sign anything or give permission. We don't understand why he just doesn't want to cut ties. Thanks for reply


    She needs to go down the route of a forced sale, again it involves solicitors and unfortunately the ex can claim a percentage which answers your other question of why he's refusing to cooperate. Someone has already told him to sit tight and wait for his ill gotten gains to arrive.



    The situation stinks but it's the law and a lesson to think carefully before taking out a joint mortgage. The solicitor your daughter is already using can discuss these options with her.
  • Hi, If she went down the route of a forced sale, would she be able to recover legal/court costs? as some research on internet has suggested it could cost several thousand pounds.Thanks
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    cooltt wrote: »
    If your daughter can easily demonstrate she's essentially paid for everything then although a court case can be costly, there is a high chance of success.

    Who pays for what is normally disregarded. As relationships are rarely equally balanced financially. The starting point is normally a 50/50 split of equity. Subject to any provisions made with a Declaration of Trust.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Nigel19651 wrote: »
    Hi, If she went down the route of a forced sale, would she be able to recover legal/court costs? as some research on internet has suggested it could cost several thousand pounds.Thanks

    Is there sufficient equity in the property to cover the costs? High probability that costs would be awarded in the absence of any lack of defence.
  • Thanks Thrugelmir, We understand that he would be entitled to half the equity regardless of who put the deposit down. If she continues to pay the mortgage because of lack of finances to employ a solicitor at the moment and further down the line tries to sort it out then. Would he be entitled to half the equity from now has the house has just been valued or from say in a couple of years time when her finances are better.?
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