ex wanting his name off mortgage

[Happylander]

Ex partner (not married) walked out on me and 2 year old DS 6 months ago for OW. We have a joint mortgage and he pays nothing towards it now and hasn't for 3 months and we had only had 1.5 years when he left. I only asked him to pay for 3 months or until I got a lodger (which I have and she is lovely so all good there). Anyway he keeps going on about getting his name removed from the mortgage despite me telling him that can't happen yet as I don't earn enough for the mortgage company to give me a mortgage in my own name. The mortgage company have told him they won't release him and so has my solicitor.

Last night I received an email from him saying I have until 31 August to sort my finances out to be able to afford the mortgage on my own or get someone to share the mortgage with me. The only way his name can come off is if we sell which will making myself, DS and dog intentionality homeless and therefore get the joy of being housed in shared accommodation or B and B. He knows all this as I have told him many many times as so shocked he would want this for our DS. This used to be my Grandma's bungalow so has sentimental value to me and it is lovely. There is no equity in it and we owe my mum £47,000 as she paid deposit and also lent us money for house renovations so he would not be getting any money from sale and he would also have to pay back my mum his half of the loans.

I expect it will end up going to court as I have a strong feeling his OW is behind him being so forceful about getting his name off. How much is this going to cost me to try and stop him forcing me to sell it? Can he do this? I am due to get some compensation at some point as I had an extremely traumatic birth and the Dr has been found negligent and struck off but I don't know when that is going to come through and hopefully I will be able to lower the mortgage enough to get it in my sole name. He just won't wait though.

That is all owed to my mum so yes no equity

From your point of view it's best to delay as long as you can but he can apply to court to force a sale. Who did the the renovations out of interest?

I didn't realise they would take lodgers rent into account. I know bugger all about mortgage's as this is my first one at the grand old age of 39 so if I went to a financial advisor would they just hunt around for the best deal for me? How do I go about finding one?

Yes lodger's rent comes under the rent a room scheme so no tax on it.

Renovations were carried out by professionals apart from the painting as I did all of that as well as paid for all the furniture and pretty much everything else!

You could go to a financial advisor or you could do it yourself.
Look in the Saturday/Sunday papers for the current best-buys.

We saw a financial advisor when first buying our house, but actually found a better deal with one of the highstreet banks.

The Halifax website working out what you can borrow from them is:
www.halifax.co.uk/mortgages/forms/minicalc/container.asp

I can't see why you wouldn't be able to take lodgers rent into account - just add that in the 'extra annual income'box.

Have you had the house re-valued since getting all the work done? Easily done my just phoning an estate agent and saying you are thinking of selling.

that's what you get for trawling all the solicitors in town and conning them in to giving you a free half hour

Collaborate I'm not sure you can actually "con" people into giving away what they're offering for free!

That's a pretty dreadful thing to have said.

No it isn't. The idea is that a client might think that they just don't click with you. It's a very personal thing. After half an hour they can make their exscuses and leave, and it doesn't cost them a penny. It's a loss leader. It's designed for people who are genuinely interested in becoming clients rather than those who want to piece together advice rather like a patchwork quilt. (hence"I have been to see a number of Solicitors over the last few weeks").

It's a waste of the solicitor's time and a waste of the client's time, and a dreadful thing for a client to do. If anyone tries to book a meeting with me and tells me they are doing this I refuse to see them.

Well I disagree. I think your comment was unnecessarily disparaging.

It's important for a client to feel comfortable with a solicitor they may be in for a long haul with. However, it's worth noting that while some offer a "free 30 minute consultation" or "first half hour of initial consultation free", others offer a "free half hour advice session".

If prospective clients are offered the latter, that is what they are entitled to expect.

I have to agree with Collaborate to a point. If a client on a free half hour interview is going around seeking advise on various points from various solicitors, then you possibly don't get the full picture if they are drip-feeding and therefore any advice given may not be entirely accurate.

Also, I think it is unecessary to made rude comments aimed at someone who regularly gives exellent free legal advice on here.

I went to three initial half hour consultations & it was useful as a) it confirmed that the advice i was getting was broadly right & b) let me decide which solicitor I felt would best serve me.

Giving excellent free legal advice does not entitle you to be rude, disparaging and rather arrogant with it!

rude, disparaging and rather arrogant

As babyb says - it's my time, and if I choose to give it away I do so on my terms. I don't offer a free public service. I do CAB advice sessions for free. If I see a client for free it's like an initial diagnosis where you take your car into the garage to see if they can fix it for you. I have little regard for those who come and see me never intending to do anything other than get their free half hour. Some people think it's their constitutional right.

Giving excellent free legal advice does not entitle you to be rude, disparaging and rather arrogant with it! LMAO at Olgaga who I saw on a thread yesterday being extremely disparaging and arrogant. Indeed, another poster commented on her sarcasm. Pots, kettles?

I think you'll find plenty of people in plenty of different professions do have to work a hell of a lot of unpaid hours. Plumbers, electricians, builders, all sorts of people will come to your home and spend their time giving you a free quote. Even real estate agents do it! I don't know why you think only solicitors do this.

In any case it certainly doesn't excuse the rudeness of accusing someone of "conning" people by taking advantage of a service they offer!

Yes, MOS - and did you see the outcome on that thread? Turned out I was right... and the huffy albeit well-qualified poster who insisted I couldn't possibly be right was, er, wrong.

babybarrister you are so right. I had to call a plumber out today and the bastard charged me 55 pounds for half an hours work

olgaga, no, didn't see the outcome of that thread. I tend to leave them once it becomes handbags at dawn

No, but possibly a more work than Collaborate's "The idea is that a client might think that they just don't click with you" half an hour of actual work. A builder's quote does after all involve measuring up, calculating the value of labour time and materials and factoring in what the local competition might charge in order to get the job.

Do you think a builder's time has no value? Again, a very revealing comment.

Where is my free half hour of your time then

It sounds as though you too much time on your hands to need any of mine.

What I have to sell is advice. A builder sells their labour. If all I do in that free half hour is listen to the client then give them a cost estimate, fair enough. Ripvanwinkle got something of value each time they went to see a lawyer.

Ripvanwinkle got something of value each time they went to see a lawyer.

Yes, but the point is those lawyers were offering that. Ripvanwinkle wasn't conning them into giving (her/him) a free half hour.

It was quite wrong and unnecessary of you to say that - and in my view it made you sound arrogant, bitter and resentful.

You and the builder are both selling your time, during which you provide a valuable service. It is not true to say a builder is merely selling their labour. A labourer sells their labour. A builder is selling their know-how and skill. Just like you.