In November 2004 my partner of the time and I purchased a house for £79,500 with a 104% mortgage, 50/50. No deposit, no savings.

My parents gave us £2,000 for household items, his parents gave us nothing.

Three days after we got the keys I discovered he had been cheating on me with my work colleage. I ended the relationship and demanded he sign th property over to me.

He refused to sign the property over to me (i couldn't afford it on my own then anyway) and he didn't want to sell.

So I moved out of the property and wanted nothing more to do with him.

He's made all the mortgage payments since and I've had nothing to do with the property.

His solicitors wrote to me in July 2006 and offered me £1,000 if I'd sign the property over to him. I wrote a letter saying that my solicitors fees were £1,000 alone so I wanted £1,500.

Finally in Feb 2007 I received a cheque for £1,500 but had signed no forms to say I have relinquished my rights to the property.

Do I still have legal rights concerning this property? His solicitors have said any attempts made to claim I'm entitled to 50% of the property will be strongly denied considering i've not made a single mortgage payment.

I used to receive quarterly mortgage statements from Northern Rock concerning the property. I called yesterday (cos i've not had one for a while) to be told the mortgage has been paid off in full and the account is closed.

They advised me to call the Land Register to see who's name is on the Title Deeds at present. I said that if the Title Deeds had both names on in 2004 then surely they couldn't take mine off without my consent.

Downloaded current Title Deeds on-line this morning and his name is on the current deeds, I need to send off for the deeds from 2004 to see if both names were on. I also contacted the Solicitor who dealt with the purchase in 2004 to see whose names they put on the 2004 Deeds, BUT they are my ex's CURRENT solicitor so, funnily enough, they are taking their time gettting back to me.

Surely if my name has been removed from the deeds without my knowledge it's illegal? Am I entitled to any equity in that property?

Does anyone have any advice for me?

In November 2004 my partner of the time and I purchased a house for £79,500 with a 104% mortgage, 50/50. No deposit, no savings.

My parents gave us £2,000 for household items, his parents gave us nothing.

 

Three days after we got the keys I discovered he had been cheating on me with my work colleage. I ended the relationship and demanded he sign th property over to me.

He refused to sign the property over to me (i couldn't afford it on my own then anyway) and he didn't want to sell.

 

So I moved out of the property and wanted nothing more to do with him.

 

He's made all the mortgage payments since and I've had nothing to do with the property.

 

His solicitors wrote to me in July 2006 and offered me £1,000 if I'd sign the property over to him. I wrote a letter saying that my solicitors fees were £1,000 alone so I wanted £1,500.

 

Finally in Feb 2007 I received a cheque for £1,500 but had signed no forms to say I have relinquished my rights to the property.

 

Do I still have legal rights concerning this property? His solicitors have said any attempts made to claim I'm entitled to 50% of the property will be strongly denied considering i've not made a single mortgage payment.

 

I used to receive quarterly mortgage statements from Northern Rock concerning the property. I called yesterday (cos i've not had one for a while) to be told the mortgage has been paid off in full and the account is closed.

 

They advised me to call the Land Register to see who's name is on the Title Deeds at present. I said that if the Title Deeds had both names on in 2004 then surely they couldn't take mine off without my consent.

 

Downloaded current Title Deeds on-line this morning and his name is on the current deeds, I need to send off for the deeds from 2004 to see if both names were on. I also contacted the Solicitor who dealt with the purchase in 2004 to see whose names they put on the 2004 Deeds, BUT they are my ex's CURRENT solicitor so, funnily enough, they are taking their time gettting back to me.

 

Surely if my name has been removed from the deeds without my knowledge it's illegal? Am I entitled to any equity in that property?

 

Does anyone have any advice for me?

Land Registry holds Public Records and all records can be requested in writing and by paying the appropriate fees.

Telephone them first and enquire as to the document you require and they will tell you the fee to send and give you a reference to put with your fee.

Land Registry holds Public Records and all records can be requested in writing and by paying the appropriate fees.

 

Telephone them first and enquire as to the document you require and they will tell you the fee to send and give you a reference to put with your fee.

Go to Land Registry : We guarantee the title to registered land in England and Wales and hold records for land ownership and interests. put in the postcode of your old property in the box for the online search.

This will return all properties registered and available online.

Click on "information available" against your particular property. A list of available downloadable documents against that property will be listed.

The minimum will be the Title, which will list the Proprietor - owner of the freehold, the cost if bought since 2000, and a summary of any covenants as well as any charges against the property - this will include the new mortgage company.

If on divorce you had an agreement to recieve part of the sale, you would be listed here (as long as your solicitor was up to scratch!)Other documents can include the Title Plan (shows the boundary extent of the property with things like rights of ways, easements, licenses, etc.), Deeds, Transfers, Agreements, Covenants.

I suggest you buy the Title only for £3, as I am sure you know the boundary extent of the property. If the Title records that some of the property has been removed then buy the Plan, also £3, to identify the changes to the property.

Regards, John

I'm not 100% on this, but I know when I couldn't get my ex of my deeds without his signature - I actually had to chase him abroad for this.

Sound a bit strange - did you sign anything at all? Maybe someone else with more property knowledge will come along.

Unless a specific agreement was set up from the outset the shares and entitlement to the house is a real grey area, whether your name's on the deeds or not, and whether you lived there and contributed to the mortgage or not.

Here is a different case to yours, but a landmark ruling happened in April 07 where someone who paid more towards the property than their partner got a bigger share after the split:

Live-in couples warned over home rights | This is Money

Was any sort of agreement set up saying it was 50/50 when you bought the place, or was it just assumed?

If it was assumed I think you'd be hard pushed to have any claim now. If an agreement was set up, you may be able to claim you should get 50% of the equity in the house from rising prices, but I think it'd be a tough one.

From bitter experience I can tell you even solictors don't seem to know all the rules.

Given that I cannot even afford to instruct a solicitor to investigate, I think i'm going to have to walk away and forget about the whole thing.

Most solicitors give a first free session to assess if a case is worth persuing - it might be worth doing this just to see if you are actually enititled to any equity before giving up.

My advice would be to go to a property specialist solicitor though, rather than a matrimonial one.

My partner has just got his divorce through yesterday, the house he shared with his wife is and was bought in joint names, we have enquired about taking his name off the mortgage, it cant be done, unless the other person agrees to this and signs to that effect if this has been done without your permission i think they are all in the wrong especially Northern Rock because they have to have written consent, we are having to apply to the courts for a Consent Order which costs £40 to have him removed completely again the other party has to sign to say they agree.

Hi, similar situation happened to me about 10 years ago but I kept the house even though I couldnt take on the mortage on my low wage . I was instructed by my solicitor that my ex would only have a claim of half the equity at the time of the split ( which was nil as we had not long has the house) 10 years later I have finally got his name off the mortage but he did have to sign the paperwork. Legally they are not allowed to remove your name from the deeds without your signature ( and there is a lot of paperwork involved) Also if you are claiming certain benefits you would be entitled to legal aid:p

My partner has just got his divorce through yesterday, the house he shared with his wife is and was bought in joint names, we have enquired about taking his name off the mortgage, it cant be done, unless the other person agrees to this and signs to that effect if this has been done without your permission i think they are all in the wrong especially Northern Rock because they have to have written consent, we are having to apply to the courts for a Consent Order which costs £40 to have him removed completely again the other party has to sign to say they agree.

For ease I will assume the house is 100% your partners ex-wifes as part of the financial settlement agreed between them and endorsed by the court.

The financial settlement over-rules the parties named on the title deeds to the property. Legally, for ownership it does not matter whether the title deeds are changed now or in say 10 years time.

Upon sale of the property the mortgage company always gets its money before anything goes to the legal owners. In this case, the remaining equity would go to the ex. Again it is irrelevant to the mortgage company if a party on the mortgage will not benefit from a future sale.

The mortgage company will only release a party to a mortgage, if it believes the remaining party can afford the repayments. In reality they will treat it as a new mortgage application by the ex-wife and assess her means before agreeing to release your partner. If they think she cannot afford to pay then they will refuse to remove your partner’s name.

His ex-wife, if she is able to get a mortgage in her own right, can have your partner’s name removed from both the title deeds and mortgage without his consent. However, without consent means she would have to apply to court who would endorse her application based on proof of ownership (financial settlement), the courts approval effectively is a perfectly satisfactory alternative to your partner’s signature. In Sophe’s case, the agreed deal she did could mean her ex has used this in a court application to remove her name.

If your partner’s ex-wife cannot have the mortgage transferred into her name, ie the mortgage company are unwilling to release him, as I understand it, he cannot have it removed. Although he has no interest in the property at the moment, the mortgage company can in future call on him to make payments if his ex fails to pay. Morally this is unfair, but the legal side is that he can then regain an interest in the property. The only alternative is for the house to be sold but again this is unlikely as he is not a beneficiary. Unfortunately, his ex only has a duty to attempt to remove his name, and if she cannot get approval from the mortgage company, the court are unlikely to intervene. This is a scenario that is quoted across many divorce sites by solicitors.

I think what happened here is that your ex-partner got a new mortgage in his own name, paying off the old one with the new. I would check with the land registry as to what signatures are on the documents as it may reveal some interesting signatures.

hi, just found this site and not sure how to post new thread, so will have to tag on this one!just hope someone can advise me on this matter,my mother died just over two months ago,leaving very little in regards to value as such,but she did have a council property that she myself and my then husband bought together years ago,my x and myself divorced years ago i signed my part of the house over to him,my mum stayed there and they lived in seperate parts of the house this went on for many years she also signed her part over in 1999,or so i thought she was in hosptial for 6weeks up till she died,she told me to go to her house and get the letters about the house, she was most insistant i went they were gone,she died shortly afterwards ive done a land search and they were indeed transfered to him,he wont show me his letters and simply says thats my problem that i have not got hers, he changed the locks and hes witholding her mail i know there is something very wrong with this and i know my mum was in ill health about that time,the transfer took place, my mum kept her affairs in order and she was bright as a button i cant belive that she lost them or threw them away as my x is saying i belive he has stolen them while she was in hosptial is there anything i can do any advice would be greatfully received

My question is a little different. My man was married and bought us a house/land with money that his wife didn't know about. In fact only his accountant and solicitor knew about it. He used cash and I signed the deeds. He signed nothing. We are now split up. Can i sell this house? Neither of us have ever lived in it and it remains empty.