Ex forcing me to sell house

[GEM33]

Does anyone know if my ex who wasn't married to me but jointly owns home with me can force me to sell our house that I live with our child in? What's the deal with this?

Is there any equity? Can you afford to buy him out? How old is the child?

Yes equity. Child two. No can not afford to buy him out.

You need to talk to a solicitor, as every case is different.

Sometimes the resident parent can obtain a Mesher Order which allows him/her to stay in the house until the children are older, but this is only possible if the non resident parent has enough financial resources to house himself without being forced into financial difficulties. It will also be considered whether you or your exh will be responsible for the mortgage payments.

If your children are young, and you are over 40, I would avoid this as the plague, by the time you sell the house your age would make it almost imposible to get a reasonable mortgage even for a smaller place if there isn't much equity in the house.

I don't think he can "force" you to sell the house, but, if he is not very afluent, I would expect the court may ask you to buy him out. Even if he insists he wants the house sold and wins, you will get the first refusal as your right as you are living in the house ( unless someone is prepared to put an offer for the house that you couldn't match).

Bear in mind that if you are working you are entitled to tax credits, which some banks are happy to consider as income when calculating how much you can borrow. So if there is equity in the house and you can take over the mortgage of this or another house, it may be worth it to consider the option.

Thanks. :-)

I earn over the threshold and not entitled to tax credits when I checked their calculator online.

It's sad. We discussed a separation agreement and I went to get it drawn up by a solicitor but got a letter today from some solicitor he has instructed behind my back totally going against our verbal agreement. He must be thick because he gave me 200 to go halves on the separation agreement for the initial what we agreed. Dunno what he s a playing at. I think he got advice and solicitor saw pound signs in his eyes

Piglet they weren't married.

The need for legal advice still stands. It is possible to bring a claim under the Children Act whereby you might be able to remain in the house until the child reaches 16 and then it would be sold.

Thanks

But he would get 50% of the equity then, so the amount he would get would be far larger to compensate him for all the time he has had to wait.

How much equity is there? Could you get a loan or extend the mortgage by a few years?

I think that you can try to get him to respect the initial agreement, or you can renegotiate things with him until you find the middle ground, but just be careful to make sure that the extra amount that you will get for fighting your corner is more than what could be potentially spent in solicitors' fees.

I had to fight my ex for several years, at the end the judge ordered for the house to be sold, but as I was given a much higher percentage of the equity than he wanted, I was able to buy him out with the help of tax credits and some very generous friends and family members who offered to pool some money together to help me pay the deposit the mortgage required.

Btw, those few years in court had a combined cost of nearly £50,000 in solicitor and barrister fees (most of them were his), so thread carefully, it may be cheaper to walk away with a less than perfect deal than fighting for a "fair" one.

Yep, he would still get his percentage of the equity after those years but, if there is a mortgage in the current home, this may mean that, if his salary is not huge, he cannot take another mortgage until then. And that may not be seen as being fair by the judge in some occasions.

Moose I'm working in the understanding that they were not married but as she co owns the house, the advice still applies, however I insist she needs legal advice because without knowing how much he and she earn, how much is the house, how much is the equity, and any other particular circumstances, like debts and financial commitments they have jointly or individually acquired it is impossible to give proper advice.

If were to share equity would be looking at 12000 each approx. no we both have debt quite a lot. Equity wouldn't cover it all. I have no means of paying him lump sum at all. Could I pay him monthly? The same amount he would pay maintenance?

He has got 6 places to live with family members but is currently living with his girlfriend so not exactly homeless

OP I am in your situation but reversed. I am trying to force the sale of the property I jointly own with my ex, which he is currently living i n and refuses to sell. We have a joint mortgage, joint owners, not married. We also have young children. He's a total financial screw up and is trying to drag me down with him (in case you're wondering why I need off the mortgage with him)

I have had legal advice and we are a fair way through the process. He is living there and has our children with him alternate weeks (we have 50:50 residency). The advice I've had may be helpful to you in reverse if that makes sense.

My solicitor has said to me the strongest points of my case and all of which increase my chances of a Judge ordering the sale are:

-He hasn't lived there the whole time since we split. He moved out and only moved back there recently. It's not been the children's "uninterrupted/habitual" home.

-There is enough equity in the property (not a lot about 20k) for it to be sold and for him to receive a a 50% share which enough to rehouse himself.

-Local rental prices are similar to the current monthly mortgage payments.

• I do not and will not earn enough to obtain a new mortgage whilst tied to the mortgage I have with him if I cannot sell.

-He claims he can pay the mortgage but has already underpaid it so it is in arrears. The charges being added on each month mean that he is increasing the debt which I am liable for.

-He isn't paying the (compulsory by the terms of the lease) monthly ground rent and hasn't since he moved in. Again, in joint names so he is accruing debt in my name and without sale I cannot stop this.

-Current repayments are interest only. With interest rates set to rise and given he can barely afford the current amount, he won't be able to afford the monthly payments. He has been irresponsible with the mortgage before and it could lead to debt/repossession- it's unfair to put me in such a financially vulnerable situation.

-He works and has a decent average wage. The Judge at our last hearing told him the fairest thing to do would be to buy me out.

-I took things to Court to force sale as a Tolata application, he hasn't yet made a Children's Act application to counter my claim, which I'm told he should be doing asap as the children live with him 50% of the time.

I hope some of the above helps you OP, in a round about kind of way, so you can see what you should be doing and shouldn't be doing now in order to put you in the best position possible for winning if your ex does make a Tolata claim to try and force sale of the property. X

Thank u so much. Yes very helpful to see other perspective.
I have lived in the house for 5 years before he came on the scene renting it and then we bought it together when it came for sale. I always love here with our daughter. I can afford mortgage myself and do not want him to pay and just want him off mortgage as per our original agreement so that he can afford to live somewhere himself. I have no money to give him as lump sum and can not get a loan so wanted to give him 200 a month to the total of the equity of the house 12000 in total for his share but I want 200 a month maintenance from him so therefore no money exchanged but he has provided for his child ultimately.

Live not love but I do love here as well lol

Sending him to live with family members doesn't amount to have somewhere to live.

You cannot pay him monthly unless he agrees to that (unlikely), what you may need to do is find a mortgage deal that allows you to take over the the house as a single owner and to pay him his £12,000 of the equity to buy him out.

So add the 12000 to the mortgage in order to buy him out

Gem-

Have you proposed this idea to him? (That he pays no maintenance and you stay living there.) I assume your plan is to get him to agree that after the £12,000 is paid off to him @ £200 a month he would agree to take his name off the deeds, effectively being "bought out" albeit over time.

Remember that even if you pay him this money each month he could at anytime refuse to keep to his agreement and refuse to sign his name off the deeds. Any written agreement even signed and even if written up by solicitors isn't worth the paper it's written on compared to the title deeds saying he owns it and the mortgage agreement saying he is responsible for the debt. Especially with no proof of payment actually being made from you to him (as he will be getting his £200 by not paying you maintenance) you may put yourself in a very weak position should he not keep his word.

Also, I have to say if it were me in your ex's position I would decline your proposal for a number of reasons and I think his solicitor will agree:

1. It would not remove me from the massive debt that is the mortgage.

1. In 6 years time (roughly when you'd paid off the 12k) the property may well be worth more than it is now and I would want the fact Id been tied to the mortgage that long reflected in the amount I was getting. I would want half the equity at time of being paid off in full not when you started to pay it off.

1. I would not be able to get another mortgage in those 6 years.

At the very beginning I had a solicitor representing me (self repping now due to lack or funds) my ex offered to sign an agreement that his solicitor would write to say he would pay the mortgage each month and that it would indemnify me from the mortgage if I agreed to sign my name off the deeds. My solicitor actually laughed out loud when he read it. Not worth a jot- I'd still be liable for the mortgage regardless of this "agreement" and the bank would still chase me for it if he didn't pay. Except I would have given away my property by signing the deeds over to him. Things need to be done officially via the mortgage lender. Unless he doesn't know that? But his change of mind over your original agreement seems to suggest he is now seeking legal advice and is clued up on his "rights".

Gen yes- You would apply to get a new mortgage to cover the entire current one PLUS his £12k so you can pay him a lump sum. This is exactly what the Judge told my ex to
go away and try and do at the last hearing.

You can get an arrangement in which you keep the house until children are 16 or 19 if full time education BUT if you live with someone for 6 months then the house sale can be forced. If his name are on the deeds then even given an agreement he is still entitled to enter the property.

He is unlikely to allow you to pay monthly because even IF you forfeited maintenance then he would still be liable for it should you pursue for back payment in say 5 years time (not suggesting you would but you could).

If you don't buy him out as mumtobe said - you would both still be liable for payments.

My ex did not live with me for 2 years and did not pay a penny to the mortgage but 6 months to the day that my now DH moved in he started proceedings against me for the sale of the house.

Sanity seeker- The "living with someone else for 6 months" thing is not law and does not apply in every case at all. Having another working adults income as part of ex's household hold finances is likely to go in the other persons favour though in their case to sell the property as it is more likely they can afford to live/rent elsewhere and don't need to keep that property.

It is often added to agreements as one trigger that causes the house sale as well as youngest child leaving full time education.