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Original poster

Forcing a House Sale?

15 replies

Mariecat1970 · 27/11/2021 20:36

Hi, posting on behalf of my sister- any advice would be much appreciated.

My sister and her partner (not married) are separating as he’s met someone else. They have a joint mortgage on the house they live in, and have 2 young children together.

Her ex originally wanted the house sold ASAP, got estate agents in and wanted it on the market. This put my sister in a panic- she didn’t want to end up homeless on the day of sale, and didn’t know how long it would take for her to find somewhere for her and the children as she is currently on maternity leave with minimal income to show potential landlords.

So she started asking round and actually found a house to rent almost straight away, which she moves into soon. She will claim universal credit to help with the costs, which she can do for 6 months while still owning a house (by which time I think they would expect the house to have been sold and therefore will stop the payments) She would then use money from the house to pay the rent, as she can’t afford to buy anywhere.

Her ex has now changed his mind and wants to buy her out- however he has poor credit, is self employed with a company which he has just liquidated (not sure if that’s the correct word) due to the debts he owes, and also has £20k personal debts. He starts a new job in Jan.

He has told my sister that he has spoken to the mortgage provider and they’ve said there is a chance that he would be able to take over the mortgage but they’d need 3 months of payslips from his new company so this wouldn’t be able to happen until end of March at the earliest. They’ve also apparently said he may be able to release some equity from the house in order to buy my sister out, but not the £50k he needs so he wants to pay her the remainder at a later date.

I think that he is talking nonsense- with all that debt etc how would he be allowed to take on a mortgage? It feels like he’s just trying to string out staying in the house- my sister could be waiting until March/April to then be told that no he can’t take over the mortgage and they would then have to start the process of selling the house. This would then take her over the 6 months of being allowed to claim universal credit, and she would then not be able to pay the rent as her money is still tied up in the house.

And if he is allowed to take over the mortgage- if he can’t pay her the £50k all in one go then surely that won’t work either?

So after my really long story- can she force the sale now? How do you go about that?

Thank you for any advice

OP posts:
prh47bridge · 27/11/2021 22:20

She may be able to force a sale. She needs to see a solicitor.

Embracelife · 27/11/2021 22:23

She needs to see solicitor

Original poster
Mariecat1970 · 27/11/2021 22:36

Thank you for your replies. Do either of you have any experience with the timescales involved with doing this- and the cost? Thank you

OP posts:
katieak · 27/11/2021 22:46

She can force a sale but it can be a lengthy and costly process. She should get her costs back if she wins but she'd have to find them in the first place.

Who is living in the property now? She should avoid leaving whilst it is ongoing if possible and safe!

Embracelife · 27/11/2021 22:52

Court fees barrister fees several k
What equity is there in the property?

Embracelife · 27/11/2021 22:52

Can take time

Original poster
Mariecat1970 · 27/11/2021 23:01

@katieak

She can force a sale but it can be a lengthy and costly process. She should get her costs back if she wins but she'd have to find them in the first place.

Who is living in the property now? She should avoid leaving whilst it is ongoing if possible and safe!

They are currently both living there, however she is moving out this week as she found herself a rental property when he said they needed to sell the house. It is also affecting her mental health to stay in the same house as him so needs to get out.
OP posts:
Original poster
Mariecat1970 · 27/11/2021 23:02

@Embracelife

Court fees barrister fees several k What equity is there in the property?
There’s approx £100k equity which would be split 50/50
OP posts:
Embracelife · 27/11/2021 23:07

She needs to speak to a solicitor
About TOLATA
what zbout child maintenance?

Jessie75 · 28/11/2021 22:24

Took two years and over 50 grand in legal fees but yes it can be done.

Finknottlesnewt · 29/11/2021 06:55

Why is she moving out ? The mortgage will nearly always be cheaper than rent. Admittedly that won't seem like an issue whilst she has help towards rent from Universal Credit but long term she will struggle to get back in the housing ladder - whilst he owns a house despite massive debts and adultery .. seems an unfair outcome personally.

Many believe that being partners and not married leaves no housing rights - but that isn't actually so straightforward. Your sister needs to see a lawyer and look at making an application under schedule 1 of the Children's Act.
This is of course providing he is the father. The Children's Act makes provision for children to be adequately housed.

The person moving to the financially more insecure rental market should be the parent who doesn't have the children. Your sister is a 50% owner . She is a fool to just roll over and move out. She needs to do all she can to afford the mortgage. She can then give him his share when they are older and it's HIM that needs to wait for his share as his children being housed comes first !

Get her to have an initial conversation with a lawyer . Many will do a free first consultation. So ring around to locate one.

Original poster
Mariecat1970 · 29/11/2021 07:23

@Jessie75

Took two years and over 50 grand in legal fees but yes it can be done.
Reading that fills me with dread- she doesn’t have that sort of money. Can I ask what the situation was which made it take so long/cost so much? Or is that an average cost/timeframe? Thank you
OP posts:
Original poster
Mariecat1970 · 29/11/2021 08:21

@Finknottlesnewt thanks for your reply. Unfortunately she is in no position to afford the mortgage- she’s currently on maternity leave so only receiving SMP but when she goes back to work she’ll only be taking home £1k per month- the mortgage alone is £1200.

I agree it is unfair that he is able to stay in the house, but she needs to get away from him (she’s not in danger but it is affecting her mental health to stay there) and he is refusing to move out even if she could afford the mortgage.

All she wants is for the house to be sold so that she can get her money out of it and start rebuilding her life.

OP posts:
Jessie75 · 29/11/2021 10:27

@Mariecat1970
The two years was obviously because I fought it. And this was during Covid so the trial took from February until July to be listed and then judgement took from July until the February next year to be handed down.
The £50,000 in legal fees came from him being an ass basically and refusing to compromise in any way shape or form.
if I could go back and do it again instead of immediately forcing the sale which is hard for the court to decipher they have to listen to the whole circus what I actually wish I done is ask the court to set a minimum sale price which is far easier. They literally need three Estate Agents valuations and ideally a Ric’s qualified Surveyor to put a number on it. About £250.

And then just get it up with an estate agent if he does not accept offers it’s then a heck of a lot easier and straightforward for the court to move to the forced sale. Basically you need to demonstrate that you have been as reasonable as possible and done everything in your power to cooperate before you get to court.

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