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Original poster

How to get off a mortgage

89 replies

AlbertBridge · 31/01/2022 09:15

My DH bought a house with his ex back in 2005. They split in 2009. He’s still on the mortgage as his ex refuses to buy him out, sell or even discuss it.

His ex lives there with one of their DC, who will be 18 next year. The older DC has already left home.

The mortgage is interest only. After selling, there’d probably be about £250k equity left. DH is saying he’d be happy to get off the mortgage and walk away without any equity, but I don’t think that’s fair as he paid for renovations on the property and paid the mortgage when they were together. AIBU to think he’s entitled to a share of the equity?

This old mortgage means we can’t buy a house together due to the extra stamp duty he’d have to pay because it would be classed as his “second home”. So we are stuck in the house I could afford to buy by myself. We desperately want to move before we get too old to get a mortgage (we’re both in our 50s).

What can we do? The ex is not a nice person and will go nuclear when we begin this process.

OP posts:
Embracelife · 31/01/2022 12:54

No you don't have to wait at all

SantaHat · 31/01/2022 13:06

We’re they married? Are they now divorced?

MargotMoon · 31/01/2022 13:17

Do you have any relationship with the younger DC?

I'm just wondering if you know their plans for when they leave education? If for instance you know they are going to university would it be better to wait til they've left home before instigating rather than cause stress while they are doing exams etc? In which case waiting a year or two longer when he's got 8 years left to deal with it seems fairer on his child.

Original poster
AlbertBridge · 31/01/2022 13:30

@SantaHat They weren't married.

OP posts:
Original poster
AlbertBridge · 31/01/2022 13:33

@MargotMoon That's very kind! I don't think the DC are going on to further education but that's a good point.

OP posts:
Unknown83 · 31/01/2022 15:53

@AlbertBridge

My DH bought a house with his ex back in 2005. They split in 2009. He’s still on the mortgage as his ex refuses to buy him out, sell or even discuss it.

His ex lives there with one of their DC, who will be 18 next year. The older DC has already left home.

The mortgage is interest only. After selling, there’d probably be about £250k equity left. DH is saying he’d be happy to get off the mortgage and walk away without any equity, but I don’t think that’s fair as he paid for renovations on the property and paid the mortgage when they were together. AIBU to think he’s entitled to a share of the equity?

This old mortgage means we can’t buy a house together due to the extra stamp duty he’d have to pay because it would be classed as his “second home”. So we are stuck in the house I could afford to buy by myself. We desperately want to move before we get too old to get a mortgage (we’re both in our 50s).

What can we do? The ex is not a nice person and will go nuclear when we begin this process.

Not really sure what she can go nuclear on. She can make him go through a court process but it will be one she loses and has to pay costs for if she is unreasonable. Your partner could easily sort it out cheaply as a litigant in person.

A fair solution would be that they get half of the equity each. She might have been paying the mortgage off but she's enjoyed his capital and his mortgage capacity for over a decade and denied him his own investment in a rapidly rising property market. Also, all she has done in that time is paid the interest. They're not married so the courts won't give a toss about her housing needs, they'll just see a house that's jointly owned, order a sale and divvy up the proceeds 50/50.

Also, if she becomes a nuisance and tries to either devalue the house to buy him out with a lowball offer, makes the property unsellable or refuses reasonable offers the court can kick her out and put your partner in charge of the sale. One particularly obstinate woman in a case like this carried on with this behaviour after a court order and after causing trouble once too often ended up receiving a short prison sentence. I imagine if his ex gets a solicitor, he or she will make her aware of this risk!

Original poster
AlbertBridge · 31/01/2022 16:10

This is going to sound like a hideous drip feed, but the ex put a (£100k ish) deposit down on the house. So a 50/50 split would be fair I'm guessing only after he'd deposit is repaid back to her first, then the remaining equity split?

I honestly don't know why I forgot to mention that in the OP. I'm sorry!!

OP posts:
Original poster
AlbertBridge · 31/01/2022 16:11
  • only after her deposit is repaid back to her first,
OP posts:
Shehasadiamondinthesky · 31/01/2022 16:13

Who cares if she goes ballistic, she is not acting like a civilised human being by refusing to even discuss it so just go and see a solicitor and get it sorted.

Embracelife · 31/01/2022 16:14

How much equity is in the house?
If she put 100k what is that as a % of house value?

Soontobe60 · 31/01/2022 16:15

Technically, unless it has been documented somewhere that she put a big deposit down and this should be ringfenced, then no, she can’t automatically expect to get it back before the equity is split.
How much was the mortgage for, how much interest is outstanding and what is the house worth now?

Embracelife · 31/01/2022 16:16

Yes she shoukd get her 100k deposit but it might be as a proportion

If she put 100k on 500k house that is 20%
So she gets 20% equity then rest is shared

Or she gets straight 100k then rest is shared

Original poster
AlbertBridge · 31/01/2022 16:17

We need a recent valuation but a house a few doors down recently sold for £510k.

She put £100k deposit. Mortgage outstanding is £200k.

OP posts:
Original poster
AlbertBridge · 31/01/2022 16:19

You're all making this sound so straightforward! Every solicitor DH has contacted about this suggested it was going to be very hard.

Maybe that was because the DC we're younger then?

OP posts:
Embracelife · 31/01/2022 16:19

What was the value when bought?

Embracelife · 31/01/2022 16:21

How much is the extra stamp duty now?
It sounds like you think you can go ahead anyway buying but pay extra stamp duty
In 8 years it has to be sold anyway
Do you want to pay £££££ solicitor now?

Original poster
AlbertBridge · 31/01/2022 16:23

@Embracelife The value was £240k.

OP posts:
Original poster
AlbertBridge · 31/01/2022 16:25

How much is the extra stamp duty now?

3%. It turns £10k stamp duty (on say a £400k house) into £22k. 😬

It sounds like you think you can go ahead anyway buying but pay extra stamp duty

To be honest, I think we could buy now and reclaim that extra 3% back from the government if we manage to sell the other house (the ex's one) within 3 years.

OP posts:
Original poster
AlbertBridge · 31/01/2022 16:26

Oh, and having 2 properties limited the number of mortgages we could get. We looked into it when we got married a few years ago. The range of mortgages was much smaller and the interest rates were like 5%!

OP posts:
Happierthanever91 · 31/01/2022 16:28

He will need to contact the mortgage lender too as his ex may need to run a new application solely in her name to ensure it's affordable

Happierthanever91 · 31/01/2022 16:30

** sent too soon!

Unless they plan to sell them that's to discuss with the solicitors

Collaborate · 31/01/2022 16:33

She is not entitled to her £100k back. They held as joint tenants. They own it equally. He is entitled to half the equity.

Dinosaurwoman · 31/01/2022 16:39

Surely if the ex has been paying the mortgage on her own he doesn’t get to share the equity 50/50. He should only get a share of the equity as it was when he last paid the mortgage.
So needs to get a valuation for say 2009 and split that valuation 50/50 . The rest of the equity belongs to the person paying the mortgage since then.

Soontobe60 · 31/01/2022 16:39

If it was an interest only mortgage then the full amount will still be due - did they buy the house with a £100k deposit and a £240 mortgage? Or did they pay £240 for the house with a £100k deposit?

Soontobe60 · 31/01/2022 16:41

@Dinosaurwoman

Surely if the ex has been paying the mortgage on her own he doesn’t get to share the equity 50/50. He should only get a share of the equity as it was when he last paid the mortgage. So needs to get a valuation for say 2009 and split that valuation 50/50 . The rest of the equity belongs to the person paying the mortgage since then.
It doesn’t work like that. He’s had his ‘money’ tied up in the property, that has been increasing in value as the value of the house has risen.