Mortgage advice

[cosmosforall]

So my partner is still on the joint mortgage with his ex. 8 years have passed since the split. They weren't married and property is in joint tenancy on the deeds. He moved out and has rented ever since. She has paid the mortgage since he left.

He now wants to get his own mortgage. She says she wont be approved for the mortgage on her own as her income is his child support / benefits and a small amount from a artisan fudge stall.

Does anyone know if he ca. demand to come off the mortgage / what happens with the mortgage etc etc.

He does have equity in the property but she won't sell as wants to stay in the property long term. This will likely end up in court. But I'm trying to understand the mortgage element.

Thanks in advance.

If she can't get a mortgage for it in her sole name then I believe he'd have to go to court to force a sale.

He needs a solicitor to force the sale if she can’t buy him out. I’m not convinced she’s even tried to calculate if she’d be approved or asked provider (with equity they’re a lot more lenient as low risk for them) as she’s not interested. She could easily buy him out by extending the term. She just doesn’t want to.

Yes he can get a court order for the property to be sold, and it will have to go on the market.

it's possible that he won't get a very good price as given she doesn't want it to sell she might try to put people off eg by not tidying or cleaning for viewings - but that will harm her as much as him.

she won't be homeless, she will have a good share of the equity and will be able to find a place to rent. There isn't a fundamental right to be a homeowner and if she can't afford a mortgage then that's a shame but something she will have to live with. lots of people rent for their whole lives.

The amount your partner is entitled to is complicated, and what's legal and what is fair aren't quite the same. legally he could just get 50% of the equity when sold, but that would mean he was getting a bit more than was fair. to be fair, he will need to find out what the ourstanding balance was at the time when he stopped paying the mortgage, and the outstanding balance now. the difference will be a couple of thousand or so, and that amount should be ringfenced for his ex before the remaining equity is split 50:50, as that's the amount she paid off on her own.

it is possible for her to appeal to the courts to prevent all this happening but it is very rare for such an order to be granted.

That's what it seems to me but then I am not impartial.

He is in the process of starting court proceedings but that could take up to 2 years and so it's another two years of rent going into someone else's bank account.

Very good point about extending the term.

Does anyone know if talking directly to the mortgage company is a good idea or are they after their money and that's all.

I’m assuming they weren’t married?

@MooseBeTimeForSnow

Yes not married.

@cosmosforall

Is he happy for his child/children to be moved out of their home?

The only options are for the ex to buy him out or the house to be sold. The lender won't take him off the mortgage if the ex can't afford to pay it on her own.

The legal answer is that he will need to force a sale because he is currently jointly liable for the mortgage and this will severely restrict what a bank is willing to lend to him. For example, if a bank determines his mortgage capacity is £250k and the mortgage on his ex's property is £200k, they would only lend him £50k.

So he needs to force a sale. He can safely ignore any emotional blackmail from his ex or anyone else about "making the children homeless" because it's his ex who is doing that by refusing to grow up and get a proper job that would allow her to get her own mortgage. If they've been split up for 8 years then I would assume the youngest is at least 8 years old and therefore his ex can now work full time in a real job rather than messing around with an artisanal fudge stand!

As they are not married, he should be successful in court although hopefully it won't come to that because it would be better to avoid the legal fees. To be honest, even if he was married the chances are these days that she wouldn't be given very long to get him off the mortgage. Mesher Orders are very rare and transfers with a chargeback tend to have a hard deadline for when the house must be sold which contrary to popular opinion is normally at a much nearer time than when the youngest turns 18. Also, his ex will be told she should get a proper job to improve her mortgage capacity; even if they were married the outcome would be based on earning capacity and not the pittance she makes dicking around selling fudge.

@BetterFuture1985 thank you. Just a shame that he will have to wait 12-15 months before a court date.

But maybe it will get sorted before then.

This happened to my friend. In the end the ex realised the writing was on the wall as soon as solicitors letters arrived advising they were starting proceedings.

Yes but better than waiting god knows how long until the children are grown up. His ex needs to take responsibility for herself, get a proper job and downsize to a house she can afford on her own. And hopefully the threat of court and the expense of it will spur her to action because any solicitor she consults will advise her that she is responsible not just for maximising her net income (which might mean sponging off benefits whilst selling a bit of fudge) but maximising her earnings for other advantages like having a bigger mortgage capacity. She'll be told it's time to get a proper full time job.

God this sounds complicated. He can apply for an order for sale through TOLATA proceedings. She will then need to submit her response and evidence. There will be a directions hearing. Court will want to know if any mediation was attempted. It will cost 10s of thousands if she’s stubborn and wishes to defend herself. She may also launch Schedule 1 proceedings for provision for the child. It’s murky and complicated.

That's what I am taking away more and more. It's murky.

Partially His fault for being naive and not having a legal document drawn up when they bought together and then leaving it so long. Lesson learned and heres hoping they can find a way forward.

He arranged mediation but last minute she refused to engage

She could be liable for his costs in that case. He needs good legal advice and proof of her unwillingness to engage.