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?