Help and advice - financial settlement remortgage declined

[Freedomplease]

Some advice and any please. I’m 5 years down the line of trying to get divorced, DH has a mortgage with his Dad and Brother (complete nightmare) I was living in the house from start of the build until I left (he had an affair) 17 years later. Paid bills etc and have 3 children together.
5 long years of trying to get this sorted and we reached an agreement on a financial settlement, much lower than I feel I’m entitled too and should be getting but at this I actually just want out with something to help sort a future. However….he has now tried to remortgage (along with brother and dad) and it has been declined. I have no idea what to do next, where to turn and how I’ll ever get this resolved. I’m renting a house with my children living with me and don’t have any money for a solicitor so feel a bit lost and unsure what to do.
any help would be gratefully received, if you need more info happy to answer questions, I realise I’ve typed this out super quick in my panicked state.

Then he will have to sell if he cant buy you out.

Soontobe60 - this is what I would think but i don’t think a court can force the sale as the mortgage is 3 ways with his Dad and Brother. His Dad is a farmer (so I’m up against it)

You need to check with a solicitor but I would have thought it was possible to force a sale. Otherwise everyone trying to avoid a fair split of assets on divorce would just buy somewhere with a family member, shrug and say ‘oopsie’.

Do Dad and Brother live in the house as well?

You can force a sale.

It's known as tolata.

www.wilsonbrowne.co.uk/personal/family-matrimonial-law/trusts-of-land-and-appointment-of-trustees-act-tolata-resolving-property-disputes/

Yes true, I just have no clue how this all works. I can’t afford a solicitor, I wish I could. I just feel like it’s going to drag on for years (it’s been 5 already)

Can you, even if the others are on the mortgage too, the house is linked, so they class it as one house, with part of it being an annex. But, one look inside and you can clearly see it is two totally separate houses/families living there. Brother is in ‘house’ next door, soon to be Ex husband is in what’s called the annex

So it’s classes as one house with the side of the house that we lived in as a family being called an annex, and the brother and his family in what would be classes as main house. It is very definitely from the inside two separate houses with two families living there, but it has been set up on mortgage/deeds as one house. With the brother and Dad on it. The Dad lives in farmhouse on same farm but not in the house in question. Hope that makes some sort of sense

As if they ever planned on selling up and giving you any of the equity at all

You need legal advice and I thought lawyers let you pay the bill once the outcome is concluded? How much is your share worth?

Why has it took 5 years? I suspect they are playing you here!

And I guess the judge would look at whether they can afford to buy him out which they will have to if they don’t want to sell the whole house!

You’re quite right they have definitely stitched me up here. The 5 years is the ex literally dragging out everything, I have kept all the messages where I’m asking politely and amicably to get this sorted, and all his excuses etc, and the messages telling me to f.o! Delightful!
So ex owns at least 33% of everything, it’s worth £750,000. So I should be entitled to half of the equity on his 33%. Mortgage is only 6 years from being paid off so there will be a lot of equity in the house.
I thought the same, but now all solicitors want to bill everything monthly, which makes it virtually impossible

Please double check your belief that solicitors won’t give credit - alert them to your potential gain

Oh and please do not let them get away with doing this to you - the fact you have waited 5 years must delight them

Do you get child maintenance?

You need a solicitor OP. Either he buys you out or the house needs to be sold to pay you your share. I don't think a judge would let your ex prevent you from moving on in this way especially as you've already waited 5 years. He is being very unreasonable.

Thank you, I really appreciate your advice and kind words. I do get child maintenance with no hassle and he does see the children regularly, so that’s one good thing

Thank you. I know, so unreasonable and unfair. I hate confrontation and bad feeling and this has led to me being too nice and letting it go on. I have tried to talk to him about it so many times but he gets so defensive and angry. I am renting and although it’s a nice home for me and the children I’d like somewhere of our own. I really have no spare money for a solicitor though, this is where it is tricky. I will see if any will invoice on settlement

Go to the County Court and ask the desk staff about how you would list the matter for a directions hearing. If you are low income you might be eligible for an exemption/discount on the filing fee.

The NFU may be able to signpost towards some legal direction here: this is a relatively common scenario in farming families where property and land are owned and occupied intergenerationally and therefore not free for sale or remortgage.

I suspect it isn’t likely to be quite as simple as forcing a sale and obtaining the £750k you think the property is worth: a multi-family farmhouse situated on agricultural land which is owned and being actively farmed by your DH’s family isn’t going to have the same market value as an otherwise equal house elsewhere because there’s a far smaller market of people who’ll want that sort of arrangement, and fewer mortgage lenders who will lend on it. Add the outstanding mortgage to that and your DH’s third isn’t a third of the selling price but a third of the selling price less a third of the outstanding mortgage. I presume there has been mediation around an alternative way of obtaining a financial settlement?

OP, I had a deal with the solicitor whereby I can pay him on settlement.. so have owed him ££ for over a year now. Otherwise, could you apply to court and represent yourself? Loads of advice out there and sounds like you have a strong case. Only costs £275 to apply then and will take 6-9 months probably.

You might find that he’ll settle before going all the way through the court system… once he has done his Form E, you’ll have all his numbers. You can request things like mortgage capacity reports. Surely if he can’t afford to get the mortgage, his share will have to be sold to his Dad and brother?

What is he suggesting then?

Nothing, he is saying he will try and get something sorted. It’s been 5 years and he doesn’t move fast on anything, slower than slow.

You would think, but his Dad is 70 so won’t get a mortgage to buy his share, all his other money is conveniently tied up in the farm, the brother could possibly mortgage on his own to buy the share but it would be years down the line. It just doesn’t seem fair that he is sitting in a very large four bed house which he owns and will be mortgage free in 6 years, meanwhile I’m paying through the nose to rent a house with no way of buying anywhere

I would happily represent myself in court so that’s an option. I’ll have a ring round today and see what info I can get on any solicitors that will take payment on settlement. Thank you

I wasted loads of ££ with solicitors because without full financial disclosure (Form E) there is not much they can do (and charge for chasing ex, replying to letters etc).

If I had my time again, I would:

• Apply to court
• There is then a legal obligation to complete Form E before court
• Once I have the completed form E, pay for 2-3 hours legal advice based on the financial disclosure.
• prepare case based on solicitor advice and represent self.
• you may find it is settled before court anyway, especially if they stand to lose out.

I’ve just finally settled out of court but has taken 2 years to get here!

Thank you so much. Great advice. I had actually thought that it is a good job I haven’t got the money for a solicitor as I would have wasted so much chasing with letters etc for the ex to drag his heels and still not move forward