Release from joint mortgage

[Huckles80]

Hi all,

My exH still lives in our former marital home, on which we have a joint mortgage.

In the financial order it's stated that he has 6 months to release me from the mortgage, if he can't do that he needs to put the no debt on the market.

It's now a few weeks off from the 6 months being up and according to the bank nothing is started in way of starting the transfer.

So, my question is, how do I go about to enforce the court order and have him release me from the mortgage? (I'm obviously not able to secure a mortgage for myself while I'm on the joint one, currently renting an overpriced flat)

Thankful for any help!

Sorry, should read that he needs to put the house on the market if he's not able to release me from the mortgage

Have you spoken to him about it?

The Order is enforceable but I would suggest the first step is to put him on notice formally. Write to him asking him to confirm he will put the house on the market or buy out your share by the date in the Order. Ask for a reply within, say, 14 days. Put him on notice that if you have to take it back to Court you will be seeking costs from him.

You can return the matter to Court but they will want to see you have tried to resolve it first.

@HelloBrass thank you for your reply. I haven't spoken to him as we're not really on speaking terms at the moment.

Would it be enough if I write a letter/email to him personally or does it need to be done through solicitors?

You can write to him personally. It doesn't all have to be done through solicitors.

Yes, you can write to him yourself - make sure you keep copies.

It will be quicker, easier and cheaper if he co-operates so try to make your letter neutral and reasonable.

Dig out the Order first to double check dates etc. Also check to see whether the Order specified which Estate Agent is to be used. If not, perhaps suggest three and ask him to choose, or ask him for his preference.

Again, the Order might say but it's likely the Estate Agent will be on a joint instruction so make sure they have your details. They will need to be able to contact you when offers etc come in. You should both have to agree to accept an offer.

Try to have a good relationship with the EA too, because if your ex is difficult or obstructive, they might be able to write you a letter to support an application for enforcement if that becomes necessary later on.

I've now had some communication with the exH, his reply is that he's had it confirmed by his solicitor that "all he has to do is put the house on the market" if he can't sort out the transfer of my part of the mortgage without selling, and then added that "there's no telling how long that could take" [getting the house sold].

I suspected that the reply would be along those lines as he's been extremely uncooperative all the way through.

So, can he just drag his heels on this forever? He can just turn down offers or pretend he hasn't had any?

The court order specifies that he is responsible for either transferring my part to a family member etc. or, if not able to do so, the house should be put on the market for sale by date XX. I am not to be involved in the sale of the house as he was rewarded 100% of it. I just want to be off the mortgage so I can go and get a new one of my one (I won't have any capital gain from a possible sale of the FMH)

He’s sort of right, but he must be able to demonstrate that he’s taking estate agents advice and does not accept reasonable offers.

*does not refuse to accept

Sounds like this is going to drag out for ages then. How do I ask for disclosure of any offers etc? It states in the court order that he's responsible for contact with EA re the sale. How long would be reasonable to let him drag this out before taking any other action (if there is anything I can do)?