Buying a house: vendor contract delayed due to separation and ownership change

[HummingbirdSong]

I had an offer accepted on 4th March. I've had the memorandum of sale. I've got all my legal documents completed and submitted. Me and my little boy have been packing and I've been deciding about surveys. However, to my shock, I find out that my solicitor is still waiting for the vendor's contract before they can begin doing any work like searches. In a state of panic, I called the vendor's estate agent to get an update on what's going on. He said something like "They've separated... he's been bought out and has moved out. But they are trying to work out if it's just her name going on the sale documents, or both of them, that's why the contract hasn't been sent out yet". I don't know who exactly "they" means. After doing some research, this sounds like 'transfer of equity' - perhaps he is still on the deeds? Can anyone tell me if they have encountered this during a purchase and how long it takes to resolve? So worried :(

A bit premature to start packing if you haven't got to contracts yet. This is a process that takes montths even when there's no divorce proceedings going on. For typical timescales if a sale is agreed in March I wouldn't expect a moving date before June and it's more likely July.

If the couple are being amicable this would add no extra delay but if they were beimg amicable they would be mad to be transferring ownership formally immediately before a sale like this, which only results in extra legal costs - so they must be behaving non-amicably and one member of the couple is trying to sabotage delay or prevent the sale in order to attack their ex, thus requiring a court-ordered transfer of ownership between them to prevent such sabotage. Sorry I do not know how long the delay will be but don't count on this sale being something that is actually going to happen - especially not on any predictable timetable. Also keep an open mind that when the surveys snd searches happen they might reveal something that makes it wise for you to walk away anyhow.

Thank you for your response and sorry for not replying sooner. Honestly? When I read your response, I didn't want to accept it. But I've come to realise, you're right. This is the third house which has fallen through and I'm sick of this constant bad luck. I've had to pack because my house has been sold and my buyers are expecting to exchange soon... they've waited months on end for me to find something, and given that I can't seem to get anything sorted through no fault of my own, they will in all liklihood not want to wait much longer. Renting seems to be the only option for me now.
The owners of this house purchase should have got all of this legal stuff sorted out before putting the house for sale. I told the estate agent I'm starting to look at other options, and he said he will relay this back to both owners. This was five days ago. ... and yet they are STILL discussing who gets what share of the sale. It is now sounding more like a dispute to me. The f*ck!ng idiots aren't going to get anything at this rate as I'm now wanting to pull out of the sale to emotionally detatch myself and to salvage my mental health from all this stupidity. Mind you, there are no other houses coming on the market that fit my criteria, so they've kind of got me by the tits. I think you're right, I shouldn't count on the sale happening and this makes me feel so sad. Would you hold out and look for something else while renting, or would you pull out and release yourself from the emotional attachment? Thanks for reading.

Someone close to me had to recently buy their partner out of a property. The process was as if they were buying a new property with a new mortgage and all that that entails, apart from a survey as they were using the same bank for the mortgage as the original one. It took about 4 months.

It all sounds really messy and painstaking 😞.

Thanks, it was.

Is it feasible for you to go into rented? If so I would do that.

It will mean that you don't lose your buyer so it will take the time pressure off somewhat. It also means that if another property comes on the market which you like, you are in a good position to make an offer with nothing to sell.

Stay with the current house until an alternative comes along and if they are still no further forward you can withdraw your offer.

Our buyer told us that they had no chain, had been bought out by ex, and was proceedable. On that basis, we took an offer under our bottom line on the premise that they would exchange and complete by a certain day.

After weeks of delays and chasing, but never being told "no that date isn't doable" we find out the ex needs to remortgage without our buyer and needs checks etc. done, essentially adding an extra link to the chain, when we were proceeding for speed and lack of chain.

After more delays and being asked for a specific timeframe by end of day, buyer came back with something (via EA) that did not answer the question. We were already past our date/or a few days before, and with no attempt to pass on a completion date to our seller just "the remortgage is processing" basically, we pulled out there and then.

It worked out better for us due to our specific situation, however I could imagine having to then start again would be heartbreaking, so not sure what you can do.

I wish people would be more clear upfront so you can make an informed decision, as opposed to hoping you'll end up with sunken cost fallacy, effectively, and hold on just a little longer.

Thank you for your response. We're now at the end of April and the sellers are still disputing onward funds from the sale of their house. When they separated, there was a court order that the house must be sold. The ex husband had already been paid off and the solicitor has confirmed he is not entitled to any money from the sale of the house. However, he's still on the title deeds. He wants some money and the seller would rather give him something as a gesture of goodwill to make sure he cooperates during the sale process, instead of taking him to court and enforcing the court order as it'll cost more money and take a hell of a lot more time. My guess is that the ex husbands demands keep changing. It's been two whole months since i got the memorandum of sale. The estate agent has warned them repeatedly that they risk losing the buyer (me). Last week the estate agent told them I am now looking at other houses. The ex husband sent a paniced email in response saying he'll cooperate, but then went silent. This week the estate agent told them I have booked second viewings on houses. The response? Silence from both parties. I've decided to stop asking for updates. Me and my little boy are devastated and this hanging on to hope is breaking my heart. Every time I call for an update and get nothing is killing me. I now have to move to a rental as the buyers of my house need to complete in 8 weeks time. Basically these sellers have wasted 2 whole months of my precious time. I feel totally helpless.

Thank you for your response. Yes, I basically have to go into a rental as my buyers definitely want to complete in 8 weeks time. I've no choice now other than to rent. I feel like such a failure.

Hi all, I have just found out that the seller has instructed solicitors to remove the ex husband from the title deeds. She started the process in mid-May. There is a court order to sell the house, and he has been obstructing the sale since the beginning of March. Has anyone had experience of this? Is he likely to cave in soon, or could he still cause obstruction for many months to come?

I am sorry to say the husband could cause all sorts of delays to obstruct the sale of the property.

The 'removing' of his name from the deeds is another tale to delay the sale. The couple can sell with both their names on the deeds. It involves both of them agreeing to sign the Contract and the Transfer.

The husband still has to approve and sign either the Transfer (of equity) or the Transfer (of sale) but instead of one transaction (the sale), it would be two (Transfer of Equity and then Sale to you). That will be considerably longer than one transaction.

Are you 100% certain that the person buying out the ex actually wants to sell? Because it sounds to me like they want to buy out the ex and stay there. It would still be ok as far as the court is concerned, because it's a sale of the marital home and assets split, except that one has bought out the other so that the ex will no longer have a stake in the property.

The best advice honestly will be to find another property. Buying a property owned by two acrimonious divorcing people is not usually a good idea.

Thanks for your response. The seller and the ex divorced a while ago and there was a financial settlement during which the seller bought out the ex and he'd moved out of the house. A court order was issued that the house must be sold. However, it seems likely that the title register was not updated - perhaps an error on the solicitors part. Since he is still on the deeds, he has to be included in the sale, but ONLY to sign documents, as it has been confirmed by the solicitors that he is not entitled to any of the sale proceeds as he has already had his share of the settlement. Even though there is the court order to sell the house, he is a pain in the backside, as one minute he's ready to cooperate, and the next he is either silent or making things awkward - which is a breach of the court order. The seller has tried to encourage him by offering him some money as a gesture of goodwill (to keep him engaged in the conveyancing process), but since that has failed, she has sought legal advice. The solicitors have done some background research and have advised her to remove his name from the title deeds. I'm presuming they feel strongly that this is the solution. I think they'd usually start by asking him to voluntarily to take himself off the deeds (with a deadline) as he has absolutely no legal reason not to. Then if he becomes awkward, they can use all the evidence of him obstructing the sale, along with the court order, to remove his name without his consent. The seller wants to sell so badly. She has to sell anyway - the court order says so. She is disabled, in and out of hospital and cannot move around the house. She wants to buy a bungalow and this totally uncaring, idiot is making it all a living hell. I love the house, and don't mind waiting, but just concerned this could take years... but would a solicitor let it take years?!

Although the ex only has to sign documents, physically making him do so could prove difficult. He might not be entitled to any proceeds but he still has to sign the documents which is his agreement to the sale, as he is still a named proprietor on the title. It is possible that the solicitor acting in the divorce ought to have updated the title at Land Registry, but it seems they didn't do that. The seller could refer back to them to ask them to finish the job, but records are not generally kept after 6 years.

So now, the conveyancing solicitor acting for the seller has to try and obtain his agreement to be removed from the title. The solicitor can't force him to do so. They may write letters/emails to him or even try to telephone, but there is little else they can do if he is unwilling.

The easiest solution will be to remove his name from the title, but they can't do it without his agreement and signature. He might not have a legal reason not to comply, but he's being awkward. They may be able to remove his name without his consent, but this is not a quick process and would add significantly to the time when the property can be sold under the sole name of the seller.