My ex and I broke up at the beginning of the year and he moved out in June. We were not married - joint ownership on house. I took on sole responsibility of the mortgage, household bills, etc and remained the in the house. Childcare 50/50 - one DS - so he only contributes £200 (£100 for a loan we took together but is only in my name, £100 for contribution to CC that isn’t paid by UC).
It’s our first home, we’ve only been here 4 years. I saved the deposit (£10k). I had some valuations done as soon as he left. Equity is about £30k.
I can just about afford everything. I don’t want to sell - £15k would not be enough to get back on the ladder after selling costs, stamp duty, solicitors, etc - and realistically, even something smaller is only going to reduce the mortgage by £30k max (and again, I doubt I’d be offered a mortgage alone). Rents for a small two bed around here would cost me £150-£250 more than I pay on mortgage for our 3 bed house.
He isn’t bothered about looking to buy elsewhere anyway right now, so I’ve asked if he can remain on the mortgage for another 2 year deal because I cannot afford to buy him out - I will then look to remortgage the additional for his share. He thinks he should be entitled to any equity increase over the next two years.
I see him point, but on the other hand I’m paying everything - I feel he should be paying half the mortgage for the next two years if he wants half the equity at that point (assuming house prices still rise) - or he should agree that his equity is calculated from when he stopped paying. If house prices do rise I’ll still be in the exact same position and unable to buy him out.
Who is right here? And is there anything I can do to protect my financial interests?