Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Original poster

Buying-out ex from our house - help please

29 replies

OhWesternWind · 17/02/2011 12:40

Hello - I've posted this in the Divorce/Separation topic but thought I might get some more replies here as it does seem very quiet on there.

Some of you might remember my previous threads and the advice I've got on here has really helped me through this difficult time. Ex left me and the two children three weeks ago now, out of the blue, after 17 years together. We were not married and own our house jointly.

He has said previously that he wants either to sell the house or for me to buy him out. Because of this I have had the house valued and the valuations have come in pretty low due to the current market. This is good news for me from a buying him out point of view as I will only have to pay him a couple of thousand.

My question is, can he refuse to let me buy him out? I don't want to co-own the property with him. I am worried though that he will try and hang on until the market picks up and he will therefore get more money from me and I won't be able to afford it.

What's the best way forward here?

Thanks for your help!

OP posts:
AttilaTheMeerkat · 17/02/2011 12:45

I remember you.

Would ask if the property is mortgaged and if so whether the mortgage is in joint names.

I would be talking to your mortgage co in any event (do they know about its current valuation?). You certainly too need good legal advice. Have you as yet seen a Solicitor re the property?.

TangledScotland · 17/02/2011 12:51

I think you certainly need to speak to a property Solicitor, I would think he can refuse but what I would suggest is you perhaps let him know the value and what his share of equity would be, then make an offer to pay him a bit more than that (if you can afford to), just pulling some numbers out my head, say his share was £3000, offer £5000, but only if he refuses true value offer first and only through a solicitor.

It might be a bit hard to swallow for now but your property value will go up again and if you want to stay in house it might be best option

Original poster
OhWesternWind · 17/02/2011 12:59

Hi Attila - yes, there's a mortgage on the property in both our names. I've spoken to my financial advisor but not to the mortgage co at the moment yet, and have had my free half hour legal advice which has got me this far but might go back and see if I can get a little bit more free advice.

Tangled, I would gladly give him some extra money just to get shut of him!

I don't think though that he can continue to pay half the mortgage on this property plus have enough money left to rent somewhere and live on. We have quite a big mortgage but if I take it on myself I will spread it over a longer term and I also have some savings I might put to it as well.

Thanks for your replies!

OP posts:
RitaLynn · 17/02/2011 13:10

"He has said previously that he wants either to sell the house or for me to buy him out. Because of this I have had the house valued and the valuations have come in pretty low due to the current market. This is good news for me from a buying him out point of view as I will only have to pay him a couple of thousand."

Am I missing something here? Is the house only worth a few thousand? Or is that only the equity and you would have to take on the mortgage?

Original poster
OhWesternWind · 17/02/2011 13:12

Hi Rita - yes, this is the equity and I would take on the mortgage. Sorry, I wasn't very clear there.

OP posts:
stubbornhubby · 17/02/2011 13:17

don't neglect that you are going to have to get a new mortgage of course.. close to 100% of property value... will you get one?

squeakytoy · 17/02/2011 17:37

I have always been under the impression that if you have children, then the resident parent can NOT be forced out of the home until the youngest child is 18 or 16 if they dont go on to further education.

Not sure if this applies just to married couples though.

IF you had been married I know he would certainly have had to pay you maintenance in your own right as well as child maintenance..

reluctanthomosapien · 17/02/2011 18:27

Not been practising for a while lawyer trying to get the rusty cogs to work....

If you jointly own the property, then one of you can apply to court for sale; but I think you have to hold the property as "tenants in common" not as "joint tenants" to force a sale. It's the default position on purchase to hold as joint tenants. If this is how you hold the property, it's a simple application to the Land Registry to split the joint tenancy and for this to be converted to a tenancy in common with a 50/50 spilt of any proceeds of sale.

Once you are tenants in common, you can then apply to the court for a sale of the property, and I believe the court must order the sale; however, this is the point where family law kicks in and I'n not really too knowledgeable about this. I think, from memory, that the court will order a delay of the sale until the children reach 18, but I think they will only do that if the spouse who has main residency of the DCs wants that. If you have main custody and don't want that protection, then you don't have to ask for it. You will then be in a position where the court has ordered you must sell and you can try to compel your ex to sell his share to you rather than go to the open market.

Hope that makes some sense. I'd go to CAB for some holistic advice on this, if I were you, like I say, I've not practised for a while and my family law knowledge is vague.

reluctanthomosapien · 17/02/2011 18:30

Forgot to say, you can apply to split the joint tenancy on your own, you don't need you ex's say so. Also, you can subsequently apply to the court for sale on your own without his involvement.

Smum99 · 17/02/2011 20:41

A key issue may be if you have sufficient income multiples to get the size of mortgage that you require. Banks have tightened up considerably so worth checking that first.

stubbornhubby · 18/02/2011 08:40

especialy as the mortgage seem to be nearyl 100% of the value of the house.

cestlavielife · 18/02/2011 09:48

it does not matter how the property is held in order to use TOLATA to apply for a sale. but it may affect how the equity is divided.

you are joint owners and either one of you can apply to court to force a sale (buy out)

first get bank to to agree in principle you can take on mortgage on your own.

then try mediation to agree how much to pay ex.

if no agreement then go down TOLATA route.

as you have children you may find in any ccase you would not need to pay him off or less than you think.

this article is helpful
www.edwardsduthie.com/case-plan-for-trust-of-land-act-(with-children).html

if you go ahead - you must make it a conbined TOLATA plus childrens act application so thatthe DC's needs to r eside in the property with you are taken ito account.

going thru this at the moment .

cestlavielife · 18/02/2011 09:49

ps the lawyers over in legal forum are very helpful on this

cestlavielife · 18/02/2011 09:52

pps you can apply to court on your own but obviously ex will then be invovled and will defend or not his position - you cant just go ahead on your own. but either one of you can aplpy to court - applicaiton itself is not expensive around £150 plus simialr amount for schedule 1 - but you wil need ot get some legal advice on what to ask for in terms of splitting the euity or how much you should pay him to buy him out.

but take into consideration if ou are going to house the children there.

cestlavielife · 18/02/2011 09:53

as was said - no maintenance to either parent is applicable if not married - but yes child maintenance hence schedule 1 childrens act comes into play

YouCantTeuchThis · 18/02/2011 09:58

I am not clear about the legalities here, but in my friend's case, although she took on the mortgage and 'bought' him out, she is still liable to pay him part of whatever profit the house makes when she eventually sells.

IMO this is complete madness. To pay a proportion of the increase in value for the period whilst he was contributing to the mortgage, yes...but it seems that he is due 10% of the eventual sale price Confused which includes 6 years of (mainly) increasing value when he was not there and not contributing!!

Just thought I would chuck that in!

reluctanthomosapien · 18/02/2011 10:01

As opposed to me.

reluctanthomosapien · 18/02/2011 10:15

Sorry, don't know how that last post of mine posted here, please ignore

stubbornhubby · 18/02/2011 10:31

YouCantTeuchThis ... sounds like she hasn't, in fact, bought him out then.

Mouseface · 18/02/2011 10:52

I agree with CestLaVie, excellent advice.

DH had to buy his XGF out of the house, the mortgage was in his name but because she'd paid the mortgage and some of the bills, she wanted money to leave.

I'm not going to tell you how much he ended up paying her and getting himself into masses of debt before she'd go Angry

I have never seen him so broken after gooing through all of that, luckily he stayed with me and with friends whilst all of this went on.

It took 6 months in the end for her to go but the legal team, mortgage advisor and finacial advisor he had was fantastic.

She trashed the house too Sad

Good luck!

YouCantTeuchThis · 18/02/2011 15:36

Hmm, I don't know the exact details but it was kind of...

Say the house was worth £50k when bought in 2001. They got mortgage for £48k and he left in 2003 and stopped paying mortgage.

In 2005, when finally sorted, they worked out how much had been paid towards mortgage (even though he hadn't been paying for 2y) and she gave him half of that. The house was valued at £15k over what they bought it for, so she paid him £7.5k.

He is still due a % of final sale, despite not living there for 8 years and having set up home with someone else in a bigger, more expensive house. Angry

squeakytoy · 18/02/2011 15:42

Well he will be due a percentage, based on the fact that if it had been sold, he would have received a profit. If all he has been given back are the payments he made, he has made no profit, so when the property is sold, he gets his profit.

stubbornhubby · 18/02/2011 16:03

YouCantTeuchThis

so she has given him a sum of money, and he has gone away... but has she actually BOUGHT the house from him? Is the house now actually hers? Doesn't sound like she has... does it?

stubbornhubby · 18/02/2011 16:05

(perhaps she should go and see a lawyer)

gettingeasier · 18/02/2011 16:14

YouCant will she get a refund from him if it drops in value ? Nightmare

Swipe left for the next trending thread