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Legal matters

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Son's ex-partner won't sell jointly owned house...

17 replies

WorriedMum7 · 11/05/2023 17:28

My son is in a difficult situation and I wonder if anyone can help me on his behalf. For background, he is divorced and is on good terms with his ex-wife with whom he has two children, one of whom is severely disabled. He supports them and has them EOW. After the divorce he lived alone for three years then met his current partner and they bought a house together on a 50/50 basis. She has almost-adult sons from a previous relationship.

Unfortunately after six years the relationship has soured, and it was clear that she wanted him out. She was doing her best to make his life difficult and she and the boys were ganging up on him. He has been sleeping in a home office in the garden for over a year because he has to be up early for his commute and they would not let him sleep, playing music and gaming until all hours. They were also provoking him and filming him if he showed anger. The final straw was when she reported him to the police for damage to her car which he did not do. He was advised by a police officer friend to get out before he was wrongly accused of a more serious crime.

So for his own safety he is now living with us and she has agreed to put the house on the market but at a much inflated price and they have received no interest. We believe she has no intention of selling the house as they now have it to themselves, with my son paying half the mortgage and council tax. He obviously needs his part of the equity in the house and to be free of the bills so he can purchase another property. He can't ask the estate agent to lower the price without her agreement. He doesn't want to take it to court as this would cost thousands that he doesn't have.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

OP posts:
Fireyflies · 11/05/2023 17:33

The house is tricky and hopefully someone else will advise you. But the council tax is easy - he should simply be able to tell them that he's not living there any more and get taken off that. If he gets added to the electoral register at yours and changes other things like his bank and GP to your address too that should help

WorriedMum7 · 11/05/2023 17:36

@Fireyflies Thank you, I'll tell him that.

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PurpleReindeer2 · 11/05/2023 17:40

If they both jointly own the house then I think if he stopped paying his half the mortgage company can ask her to pay it. If she doesn't, they could then be in danger of it being repossessed and sold at a lower value to recover the outstanding debt. He could use this information as leverage to get her to agree to sell at a sensible price or he won't pay. I'm not a lawyer though. Somebody will understand and explain it much better than me. I hope he is able to sort it out soon x

LemonTT · 11/05/2023 17:40

He has no option but to go down the legal route. Otherwise he will spend and lose thousands of pounds. There is no other solution. He should stop paying council tax and in his shoes I would tell her she is responsible for the full mortgage as she is benefiting from his share of the asset at his expense. It is not in her interest to default, in all likelihood she will pay. The ownership of the house won’t change.

Collaborate · 11/05/2023 17:42

He should get written advice from the selling agent about how much they should market the house for, and what they think they should settle for. If she doesn't accept that advice then he should definitely apply to court for an order for sale.

In successful cases costs orders are made.

FurAndFeathers · 11/05/2023 17:43

LemonTT · 11/05/2023 17:40

He has no option but to go down the legal route. Otherwise he will spend and lose thousands of pounds. There is no other solution. He should stop paying council tax and in his shoes I would tell her she is responsible for the full mortgage as she is benefiting from his share of the asset at his expense. It is not in her interest to default, in all likelihood she will pay. The ownership of the house won’t change.

This.

he’s facilitating her being there by paying. He needs to stop

GrumpyPanda · 11/05/2023 18:01

He's losing a lot more money by NOT taking this to court.

Wonnle · 11/05/2023 18:03

Got to get the legal people involved it seems .

Either she buys him out of his half or the house would need to be sold .

2bazookas · 11/05/2023 18:13

. He needs to grow a backbone and stop being such a pushover.

He should immediately inform the council and mortgage lender he's been forced out by his partner, no longer lives there. Then he should stop paying the CT and mortgage.

As he is the joint owner why has HE not instructed the estate agent selling it, to reduce the price of HIS property?

Can2022getanyworse · 11/05/2023 18:14

My exh refused to sell our house post-divorce, even after the financials had been agreed and rubber-stamped. The judge ordered the house to be sold at £285k (or by joint agreement for a lower price) or he would sign the sale paperwork in my exh's place.

We had a buyer offer £280k but when told of the court order they increased to £285k and it was sold straight away.

Your ds needs a court order. It doesn't have to cost a fortune, he can apply himself. Sounds very straightforward.

Has he told the mortgage company he's not living there?

Milkand2sugarsplease · 11/05/2023 18:17

Dh's ex wanted to sell at an inflated price and she was instructed but the courts to get further valuations by a certain date. Choose an estate agent by a certain date and then market the property at a reasonable price by a certain date - under the instruction that should she not, the judge would step in.

Milkand2sugarsplease · 11/05/2023 18:32

DH was also advised by his solicitor not not contribute to household bills if he didn't live there, though if his ex is likely to not pay the mortgage, it'll land him in bad credit as well as her.

Sirzy · 11/05/2023 18:35

He needs to get proper legal advice.

he will still be liable for half the mortgage but at the same time she will probably be liable for occupational rent as he has been forced out of the joint home.

Camillasfagwrinkles · 11/05/2023 18:47

Stop paying bills because he doesn't live there anymore. Calmly tell ex P that he will stop paying the mortgage imminently and she can either lose the house or sell it. Hopefully that will make her see sense. If she is still difficult, I would go to a solicitor and see what they can do.

prh47bridge · 11/05/2023 20:01

Listen to @Collaborate who is a lawyer.

thinkofanewusername · 11/05/2023 20:14

He needs to be very careful re. the mortgage. My DH did carry on paying half long after he left his ex and their home. She didn't pay her half (she was still living there). The house was repossessed and he was liable for half the debt even though he could prove he had been paying. No lender would give him a second glance after that.

WorriedMum7 · 11/05/2023 20:59

Thank you so much for your replies. I have passed them onto him.

He hasn't told the mortgage lender or the council that he is no longer living there. The problem with the estate agent is that he is a friend of hers, so he won't be willing to drop the price. However, my son will get an independent valuation and pass this to her.

@Sirzy Thank you, occupational rent isn't something we had thought about.

@thinkofanewusername Yes, he's worried that if he stops paying his half of the mortgage, this will lead to the house being repossessed and he will not be able to get another mortgage. However, as stated by another PP this could be used as leverage.

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