How will we ever sell this house?

[TheRumor]

Long story short:

DP bought a house with his girlfriend over 10 years ago. Their relationship broke down around 3 months later, and she moved out.

Since then, his ex hasn't paid a penny towards the mortgage, and contact has been pretty much non-existent.

The house is a 2 bed terrace, bathroom downstairs, yard for a garden.

Me and DP married last year. We have lived together for 4 years now in that house. We both have decided enough is enough and we'd like to move.

We have spoken to an estate agent and had the house valued. It is in negative equity by about 5-10k depending on how much it sells for - the area we live in also has v. low house prices. Together we made the decision that all we would require from his ex was authorisation to make the sale. We would not want any money from her, we would pay solicitors fees and sort out the disparity between sale price and what is left on the mortgage.

A couple of months ago we managed to make contact with her through the estate agent. They explained the situation to her and the valuation, her reply is she does not believe the valuation and will not sell on that basis.

So we are stuck. The valuation is not wrong based on other similar houses in the area. The only way to increase it would be to pour money into it, and even then it may only add a couple of thousand on to the price. S

I really don't know where we go from here. I have no love for the house, it has so much wrong with it and I really don't want to spend money on it either, especially if she would stand to profit.

Is there absolutely anything, legally, we can do to force her hand?

Have you asked the solicitors?

You can get 3 valuations and show her

Why hasn’t he dealt with this before?

You can get an order to sell.

He has attempted before and she asked for money. This was before we were together and admittedly he has buried his head in the sand.

Our next step is to get further valuations to present to her. She does not live locally and will not travel for valuations without being compensated for her time and petrol money.

Thanks @GregoryPeckingDuck

Will look into this!

May be she would like to buy him out or perhaps you could rent it out, she woud be entitled to half the rent however so not a good solution.
As people try to get an order for sale.

Is the ex still on the land registry and deeds of the house ? How much deposit did she pay/ legal fees to buy ? Surely, legally she still owns half the house, even if she hasn't been paying for many years ? I would suggest you take legal advice

She may own half the house but as it’s in negative equity it’s hardly relevant - they aren’t asking her to put he short fall or solicitor fees. She’s getting off lightly!!

One of my friends had a situation with an Ex , where he left, she paid the mortgage on her own for 3 years. He wanted 50%of the profit when they came to sell, and was refusing to sell until she agreed. She took legal advice they sold and the profit was shared pro-rata to the morgage payments .
I know this is different but she was able to force the sale and get the profit shared fairly, so legal advice might be the way to go.

Tell her that you will refuse to pay the mortgage and the house will be repossessed. House will be sold at auction and will sell below current valuation. Mortgage company will then come after her as well as your DP for the balance (maybe as high as £20k). That may change her mind!

@Parky04

This is also something we have talked about.

It seems incredibly risky but also the only way to force her hand at present.

@S0faSl33p6

Yes, she does own half but it isn't worth anything. In fact, it's worth less than nothing with the mortgage.

Such a crap situation for us to be in. I just want rid of it as it's costing us money all the time in repairs/problems. I'm loathe to spend the money it needs.

Just want us to be able to move on now!! And she seems intent on using it to control us!! I've never even met the woman.

A repossession would affect your finances for years and would be a really poor way of dealing with the situation!

She's not happy with the valuations - why is that? Does she feel the house should have appreciated in value (has it been maintained, your comment about 'so much wrong with it' makes me wonder), did she put money in to the deposit for it? How much money did she ask for, was it her deposit?

@ChicCroissant

They got 100% mortgage. No deposit. She hasn't paid a penny.

All of the houses on the street have weird electrics. Our cooker set on fire too and turned out the plug was wired wrong.

It does need new kitchen/bathroom. Considering DP has been living there over 10 years and it's an old house already, it is in need of new fittings.

But

She hasn't paid a penny for years. No deposit. No mortgage. Nothing. And shown no interest in the property until now.

100% mortgage would explain the negative equity issue, unfortunately!

I would also seek legal advice tbh. It's dragged on for far too long regardless, and the ex's name on the mortgage won't have helped her over the years either even if she hasn't paid it.

What a crap situation. The ex is being a nob.

Id get three valuations and send them all to her to show you aren’t trying to con her which may make her agree.

If she still doesn’t agree (which is beyond odd if she has no interest in the property!) you may be able to force the sale - speak to a solicitor. But surely pointing out the time and cost of doing this to her might make her agree to avoid the hassle?!

On the flip side however... I can see why she’d be sceptical about the zero equity point. My first reaction was how is that possible - the house was presumably bought after the recession and decline in house value in 2007/2008, and presumably (if it’s a repayment mortgage) ten years of payments and the usual trend of houses increasing in value would have added something into the pot. If it’s interest only then yes, that’s a really rubbish situation. My friend had to let out her terraced house for years because she was 30k in neg eq and no recourse because it wasn’t missold!

You can obtain an order for sale from the county court under section 14 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996. I would suggest obtaining a fixed price from a solicitor for doing this. I wouldn't think it would be more than 500 pound as it isn't a complex matter. You could do this yourself, but I'm unsure which form you need. Perhaps @Collaborate will advise?

The property is in negative equity and it was no mistake.

Not by a large margin now according to valuation, but I reckon that the house will be bought by a developer looking to rent the property out considering the area. So offers will be on the low side of the valuation.

All the houses on the street are either rented or council owned.

We could try and put it on at more, but am convinced it would never sell. It is old and needs things doing to it. I have done my best to pep it up, but when new builds in the area are on the market for 100k only, we can't compete with that. And I personally am loathe to pour money into it, when if we got it over the line she would stand to profit.

same with renting.

Petty, I know.
I just want it gone. It weighs so heavy on my mind.

Why wasn't this sorted out before you married ?

I wouldn't touch it for £500.

Just to clarify - It would take much more work than would be justified by the fee. What you're getting for your money is a firm's insurance policy to pay you compensation if it's not done right.

You need a compliant letter before action, which would easily take all of the £500 an probably more. You then need the pleadings drafting, and that won't be less than £500. On top of that there's always correspondence to deal with, which adds to the bill.

Still, it's far better to do it properly than get it wrong and pay the price down the line. Orders for costs should be made in favour of the victor in these proceedings.

DH has tried on several occasions over the past 4 years to contact her.

He also sought legal advice previously where he was told if he pushed for her to pay toward the mortgage or sell, she could turn around and charge us rent on her half of the property.

It's all been very messy and even now 10+ years down the line there seems to be a lot of spite going on.

DH is not saint. He has buried his head in the sand. And when I have pushed he has met me with all these previous problems.

I could not and would not let that put me off getting married. It should be a relatively straightforward process. She has lost nothing when it comes to this house. We have offered to absorb all costs. It is frustrating that she is arguing the toss.

I just want rid.

Could he offer to sign it over to her to do what she wants - make her 100% liable - tell she can sell and keep the profit if she is so sure.

Is there any equity in the house at all?

Does she work? Could you partner hand the house over to her, if she wants it and he doesn't? He'd need to talk to their mortgage provider...

@PotteryLady

I have suggested this.

We have a solicitors app next week, so hopefully we can start a productive line of communication through them.

As it is at the moment, we are back and forth through the estate agents and she has flat out refused a sale at this point.

@AnchorDownDeepBreath

What is left on the mortgage exceeds how much the house would go for at market price.

Not by much now. Enough that we could manage to pay fees, etc and make up the difference. We are happy to do this to get rid.

Of course, if it would make any money we would give her half that she is entitled to. Again just for an easy life!