House Sale

[Dogmum45]

NC for this

I’ve taken the house as part of my divorce settlement due to the equity.
I can’t take the joint mortgage on myself as I don’t earn enough so the house is on the market and has been for a few months.
Ex can’t get another mortgage as he’s named on this. He refuses to rent even though he could afford it so he’s moved in with his GF and her parents 30 minutes away (rent free)

The pressure for the house to sell is immense!
However, I’m loathe to reduce the asking price (priced in the middle of the 3 valuations) as we’ve calculated the amount I get based on the house selling for a certain amount.

i can just about afford the bills etc if I’m careful but can my ex put pressure legally on me to reduce the house?
We both need it to sell so we can move forward but I’m not prepared to lose out even more financially than I already have (he has a VERY good solicitor)

Any advice? It’s so anxiety inducing 😢

You must get a very good solicitor, and listen to them.

I have a solicitor and I’ve listened to them. The Financial Order is signed.
I’ve taken the house equity as my share of the marital assets.
The idea was to sign the mortgage into my name. I had it sorted but at the last minute, the mortgage company decided my wage wasn’t high enough! 😵‍💫
So the house has the be sold as EX doesn’t want it either.

If it’s stipulated in the agreed and signed consent order that the house is to be sold - if your EH isn’t happy with the timings of the sale / he believes it is taking too long. Then he can take it back to court to order the immediate sale of the house (and if the judge agrees with him - the judge will force the sale and sign on your behalf).

Who advised you on what the house was worth for the divorce settlement?

Unfortunately a house is only worth what someone will pay for it and it seems it's not worth the asking price.

Have you thought about earning g more so that you can afford it?

No one has offered on the house. I’ve had 1 viewer in 2 months.

How do the courts force a sale if it's already on the market and not selling? Can they insist on a price drop?

I can’t increase my hours any more than I have already. I’m almost full time. I would have to try and get a second job but I don’t know how I would do it round childcare.
It’s an impossible situation.

The house was valued by 3 EA and we went for the middle valuation. It’s defintely not overvalued.
it’s just a rubbish time of year to sell.

That’s what I need to know. I can’t afford to drop the price as otherwise my share of the marital assets is unfair.

Only 1 viewing in 2 months means it is not priced well basically. He could take it back to court and can argue that the price needs to be reduced to get the property sold, if judge agrees (and in a situation where there has been so little interest in 2 months it’s not unlikely that they would) then they can force the price.

Yes the court can order a price drop.

It's only worth what someone will pay for it.

The housing market has been a nightmare this past year. Houses on our street were selling for 290k 2 years ago. Now people are having to drop to 260k to sell.

If you're not getting viewings then it's priced too high for the current market or for the condition of the house.

Unfortunately it doesn't work like that. It was fair at the time of the order based on a valuation you agreed to. Unfortunately if you accepted an asset that turned out to be worth less than you thought, that is your hard luck I'm afraid.

I would recommend that you drop the price. It will be cheaper than not dropping the price, continuing to engage with solicitors, going to court, possibly being slapped with a costs order to pay his legal fees too and then being ordered to sell it for a lower price anyway.

Could you rent out a room to help with mortgage affordability or have family willing act as guarantor?

No, I have young DC and I would never risk having a stranger move in. EXH wouldn’t let that happen either! He would go to court for full custody as he would see if as a massive safe guarding issue.

Just to add, it’s not overvalued.
All houses prices in this range haven’t sold since before Christmas.
The market isn’t moving at the moment so I would appeal against having to drop the price. He couldn’t afford to take me to court to get the price reduced
I've also just found out his GF has bought a house nearby so he’s moving in with her so that probably takes the pressure off for a bit.

Surely he should be paying half the mortgage until it's sold especially if there are children involved

Sorry, the first two lines are a contradiction. If nothing is selling and all the houses are valued the same, then logically they are all overpriced.

He could easily afford to take you to court if this is the strength of your argument, because he'd have a very good chance of being awarded costs. Your argument is very weak I'm afraid.

Why?

I find a lot of people on Mumsnet really don't understand this concept in divorce. OP has sole use of the property and the ex cannot access his equity. The advantage to the OP and disadvantage to the ex comes at a price which is that the person with use of the property pays for it until it sells.

Also, if he started paying half the mortgage he could ask CMS to reduce how much he pays by the same amount anyway, so it is a moot point.

I'm afraid @ShinyShona is right. If it's not selling at its current price then it's over valued. You can either hang on in the hope the market shifts or you can change the price and sell.

@ShinyShona fully understand divorce been through one myself
My point being surely he wants his children to be safe and looked after whilst waiting for the house to sell

I’ve had a Google and he could ask for the price to be reduced but not at the moment. It’s not been on the market for very long.
I hope things start to move in the Spring.
A colleague has their house for sale and has only had 1 viewer as well (priced lower than
mine) & after speaking to another owner whose house is for sale for more than mine,
theiy haven’t had any viewers since mid December so I think it’s the time of year.

I will sit tight and see what happens in the next few months.

Housing market prediction, raising of 26% in the coming year. Prices are going up....good luck.

I'm sure he does but he has to tread a fine line doesn't he? The trouble is a lot of weaker financial parties in divorce try and use emotional blackmail ("think of the kids") whilst not taking any steps to improve their own financial situation. In other words, they expect their ex to make much bigger sacrifices for the children than they are willing to make themselves (e.g. by working more hours).

The stronger financial party should absolutely think about the children but it's not really in anyone's interests to make the resident parent comfortable unless they are making a decent effort to help themselves first.

I think you've missed a decimal point out there. This is from Which magazine 3 weeks ago - and we know that not a very area of the UK reacts in the same way.