HELP! Ex pulling out of house sale after exchange of contracts

[Promise22]

In need of urgent advice please. I have been legally divorced now for more than 6 months. I have a consent order in place that says that I either buy ex from his share of the house or we sell it. We have put the house on the market back in Feb as I simply don't have the funds to buy him out. Exchanged contracts last week and he has been bullying me for my new address (when I haven't even moved house!). He is controlling/abusive and I have been advised to seek non-molestation order in the past (I just didn't have the brand width or the resources to go through with it). After a series of threatening text messages over the weekend, which I chose not to engage with (that has probably annoyed him even more), he emailed our solicitor saying that he is pulling out of the house sale. There is no reason what's so over for this except that he wants to punish me somehow and prevent me from buying my own place. Note that he is not buying another property, he will simply take his share of the equity from the family home. However, I am heavily involved in the onward purchase and have even started a full house rewire between now and completion (planned for this Fri). I will speak to solicitors tomorrow and seek legal advice, but can anyone please tell me if this is even possible? Can he pull the plug on the whole chain (a chain of 4 houses) without justification? Any thoughts on similar experience or next steps I need to take will be much appreciated!!

Exactly! Plus he will likely then have written proof that I am trying to hide my address from him! 🤷🏻‍♀️I need to be careful of what to tell him.

@Promise22

I’m Sorry to hear about this situation. Has your solicitor been able to offer any advice yet?

Does it matter if it proves you're hiding it? You are trying to hide your address and for a good reason. You're divorced, what further effect will you hiding your address have? How will it be of detriment? I'm not saying go with it immediately, just if its the final hour and that address will get his signature on the line then give him a decoy. He'll work it out quick enough but by then you're free. He's using fear and intimidation to control you.

The solicitor works for both of us of the sale of the family home given that it is jointly owned. The solicitor the sealed consent order and apparently I am solely responsible for the sale saves for signing the paperwork on his behalf...he already signed all related documents related to the sale so hopefully he can't derail the sale process at this very late stage....double checking the wording in the consent order, but starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel🤞

Sounds like he needs a letter from the solicitor that did the consent order to remind him that you now have sole conduct or whatever, and that if on completion he remains in the house he will be trespassing on the new owners property which will be a police matter.

but starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel

hopefully it’ll get sorted without further interaction from him

after that greyrock

What a horrible man

So the latest: conveyancing solicitor in disbelief he never seen that happen before! He is drafting a letter outlining the serious legal consequences ex will be facing for acting unilaterally with the sole purpose of causing me hardship! 🤷🏻‍♀️ Unfortunately consent order does not cover me as certain key events should have been triggered but this was supposedly an 'amicable' sale. So plan B: emergency court order to force the sale of the house, plan C: give ex false address just to see the sale through....meantime I have reported him to the police (yet again) for harassment and coercive control 🤦🏻‍♀️ what a nightmare!!

How long till completion?

Please don’t start the rewire of the new house. You will properly fuck the vendors over if he strings this out and/or manages to collapse the chain.

Hope the solicitor makes him see sense, and I really hope the police take this seriously.

Does he still have parental responsibility for the children? If so, I suspect he's entitled to the new address, though this is obviously not the way to go about getting it.

4 days! 😭

Unfortunately, this has already started and so this puts me in a very sticky situation (exchange happened last week on Tue).

I never said I will not share this info. Just that I will provide once I actually move house. But he wants the address now or else.... certainly not the way to go about it 🤷🏻‍♀️

The other issue that I have is that he is now residing overseas and not sure the court will look at an emergency enforcement ex-parte 😭

I don't think you do have to give him your address. I really hope it doesn't come to having to.

Oh he's an absolute dick! What a horrible, horrible ego dented little man.
Stay strong. Play the game via the solicitors/courts and let him play his stupid game.

This is dreadful. I hope it all gets sorted for you soon.

If he's abroad can't everyone simply ignore him. He's done what the court order asked, and signed the contract. That's it surely? He can't physically do anything now.

But - 4 days - eek!

Given you only have a few days, if legally he can prevent completion, then I'd try that first thing tomorrow.

Can you get this moved to legal?

I'd do nothing and not text him at all

You can't force him to do anything, all you can control is what you do

You owe him NOTHING, not your address and not your time

If hes already signed all the paperwork is he entitled to pull out?

According to my conveyancing solicitor he can still stop the sale even now given that this is supposedly an amicable sale 🤬