Buying Ex out & uneven contributions

[whatamess11]

My ex & I (never married) bought our house 6 years ago for 640k. It is now worth maybe 830. We got a residential mortgage in both our names. We had no deposit but instead of selling my old house I got a BTL mortgage to raise the funds and rented it. We both paid the mortgages off through the joint account.

We did some big work on our home to increase its value. Majority of effort was mine (built & paid for the kitchen myself, partner helped a bit with painting, but I did most). Cost approx 40k. I also received some money from my family which was used for the renovation work (15k).

We split up a while ago and he moved out and stopped paying the mortgages for over a year. I have contributed much more into our joint account-before our first split I had paid in 16k more than him. The joint account was used to pay both mortgages and some bills but not all. We also bought a camper van and some holidays, which went on credit cards (again the majority of these were in my name because he “wasn’t comfortable getting more credit”.)

He has calculated an amount that I need to give him to buy him out but based everything on an even split. 50/50. It is beyond belief that he thinks he deserves half of the equity of the house when he didn’t contribute towards the mortgages for over a year.

This is such a mess and and don’t know where to start. I just want him out but he is refusing to go until I pay him. Where can I go for advice on how to reply to his “calculation”? What information do I need to provide so can we get to a legal agreement. I’m also wondering how much any professional support would cost.

What does your cohabitation agreement say?

If you don't have one, the get ready to fling lots of money at lawyers at £400ph plus vat. Unless you sit it out and wait for him to give in?

If you can’t agree then you need to look at mediation in the first instance and a solicitor after that. The usual approach WRT the mortgage is that you’ve had sole benefit of the property since he moved out and you covering the mortgage payments reflects that. Besides which, how much have you realistically reduced the mortgage by in a year? Most of it will be interest, you haven’t single-handedly built up a giant increase in equity. You’re going to spend a lot more in legal fees trying to argue against him receiving a few extra thousand. If the kitchen was fitted very recently then you may be able to make a case for a split which reflects your larger financial contribution but courts aren’t going to be interested in who paid for a six-year-old kitchen and who did more of the DIY fitting it.

In most partnerships, one partner will put more into the joint account or pay a larger share of holidays etc - it’s not realistic to expect that in the event of a split that you’ll be compensated to the penny for it. If you paid for the camper van then it’s your camper van, as with any other items which you put on your credit cards and have been solely paying off.

Ultimately it may seem galling but agreeing something close to 50/50 is likely to be the most cost-effective conclusion, based on the relatively small values being debated which will easily be wiped out once you start fighting through solicitors.

Do you own as joint tenants or tenants in common ( and if so in equal or unequal
shares) . This is the key piece of information

OP doesn't mention a declaration of trust, so the starting point is that she and her ex are each entitled to 50% of the equity regardless of how the house is owned. To get more, OP would have to show that there was an agreement that she would get more and that she has acted to her detriment based on this agreement. So, for example, if she could show that she paid for the kitchen because there was an agreement that, having done so, she would get more than 50% of the equity if they split up, that could entitle her to a slightly larger proportion of the equity.

@whatamess11 You need to see a solicitor. Once they are in possession of all the facts, they will be able to advise whether you have a case for getting more than 50% of the equity.

When you bought the house did you both sign something that said how the house was split to reflect your larger contribution? This is seperate to the mortgage.

Unless there's paperwork to say otherwise, the split is 50:50. Did you ringfence your deposit?

I think I would look to taking the additional loan taken out on the btl for the deposit off the equity now available in the house and then splitting what's left. Annoying I know but I don't think you're going to get any further without significant ificant legal costs. (And don't pay him anything until he actually moves out).

Joint tenants

No. Nothing has been agreed to reflect unequal contributions. I was pregnant at the time we bought and planning all the renovation work was challenging enough.

Well then he is entitled to 50%

If you were pregnant at the time presumably you have children. Is he the father? How many and how old? Do they primarily live with you?
You might be able to negotiate a larger share based on this but, because you are not married, the standard legal position is 50% joint assets and hes only responsible for child support.

Save the grief it’ll be 50/50
at a guess legal fees could soon mount up it you challenge it

as for mortgage you’ve had full and exclusive use he’ll of had to rent somewhere that would be taken into consideration

i think even with proof of extra for renovation unless it was signed and agreed won’t make any difference

Get some legal advice. Hopefully you can recoup some cost. The equity is what you would get for the house (and it is likely less than what the estate agents tell you) minus the cost of selling (estate agents fees, mortgage early repayment fees).

I would definitely argue that you should get your deposit covered (the increased mortgage on your buy to let). You might struggle to argue the renovation costs. Did you have a loan agreement re the family money?

He has calculated an amount that I need to give him to buy him out but based everything on an even split. 50/50.

If you’re joint tenants & didn’t legally ring fence your contributions beforehand then yes, he is entitled to 50%. You lived as a family & had a joint account, no judge is going to go back through years of bank statements and work out who paid what when, who made the most effort etc.

Get legal advice based on your specific circumstances but it’s highly likely you’ll be advised not to waste your time & money trying to fight it. Legal fees can soon build up & you run the risk of having to pay his fees as well.

It is beyond belief that he thinks he deserves half of the equity of the house when he didn’t contribute towards the mortgages for over a year.

Well presumably you had exclusive use of the house for that year while he had to pay to live elsewhere, so did you pay him rent for using his share of the house? If not, then the payments you made to cover his share of the mortgage will be viewed as payment in lieu of rent. Basically you can’t use his share of the house for “free”.

Even in divorces, the party who stays in the house is expected to cover the mortgage & bills in full whilst the other party still retains their equity share.

What is morally right & what is legally right are two different things.