Possible Joint Mortgage problem?

[tequila99]

Hi all

 

This is my first post here so I hope I have posted in the right section.

 

My ex and I bought a house 3 years ago and took out a joint mortgage. We split up last year and he signed his half of the house over to me via a disposition that has been registered in the Land Registry. I have been paying all the mortgage payments since he left.

Unfortunately he is still on the mortgage at the moment. I am looking into taking it over on my own and am hoping the lender agrees to this.

 

I received an e-mail from my ex today stating that as he is still on the mortgage he could force me to sell the house unless i buy him out.

Can he take me to court to force a sale even though he is no longer on the title as owner?

I am 99 % sure he can't but that little 1% doubt has me a but worried.

 

Anyone in the know put my mind at rest?

[tequila99]

Anyone at all?

[diddydicky]

the agreement you came to has no relevance to the mortgage since your mortgage provider would have to agree to the arrangement.

 

If the mortgage company were not a party to the arrangement then i am surprised that his name has been removed from the deeds which the mortgage company would hold as security for the mortgage

 

you need to tread a little carefully here if the mortgage company are not in the loop on this since due to the credit crunch they would be extra vigilant that you could manage the mortgage on your own before they would agree to release him from it

 

 

 

as a general rule where there are more than one joint owner, any joint owner can force the sale of the property to release his equity if he cannot come to an arrangement with the other parties.

 

how much equity is in the house?

 

is it interest only or repayment

[tequila99]

mortgage is a repayment one and there is about 20k equity in the house.

The lender knew about the change in title as i phoned to let them know but i did not get consent in writing from them.

I am really really worried now, i lived in the house for 10 years before i met him and we bought it from the council so if i had to sell i could never afford anywhere else

[diddydicky]

if he has signed his share of the house over to you i think he will find it difficult to now claim a share of the property on the basis that he is "still on the mortgage"

 

in fact he is on to a loser as you "own" the property and he is still liable jointly and severally liable for the mortgage on it

 

if you default on the mortage payments the BS will come after him as well so it would be in his interests to behave himself

 

can you post up a copy (minus personal details) of the disposition was it signed/sworn by him before a public notary?

[tequila99]

Thanks for your reply, that makes me feel a little better and more optimistic about it all.

I don't have a scanner to post a copy of the disposition but it was singed/witnessed by his financial adviser who is a company director. Does the wording of the disposition make a difference?

[diddydicky]

i'm not quite sure but if i were you i would take it to a local solicitor and get some advice on it- i think the first half hour is free (if not i think Citz advice have some sols)

 

jut to put your mind at rest

[palomino]

This is most surprising. The mortgage company should have closed the mortgage in both names and started a new one in your sole name. By not doing so they have bought themselves a heap of trouble if things go pear-shaped.

 

As has been noted above it seems most odd that your ex can force a sale of the property which is in your sole name. I doubt very much whether it can be done so that might be end of story.

You will need to square this with the mortgage company but if you approach them in the right (suggesting very diplomatically that they might also be in the poo) then I'm sure they would be on your side. It helps to have a big gun standing beside you.

What will probably happen is that your ex will be entitled to recover any mortgage payments he made so you will need to be prepared for this eventuality. If this happens you could possibly re-mortgage and thereby raise the funds to repay him. Perhaps he should have thought about this at the time of the disposition.

 

Diddydicky has suggested talking to a solicitor and I also think you should do that.

You should also talk to your mortgage company informally to let them know what is going on. There are two reasons for this - firstly they have an interest in the property and secondly it is not generally a good idea to keep interested parties in the dark (that is an excellent way to antagonise them).

[diddydicky]

i wouldnt talk to the mortgage company at all yet

 

solicitor first

 

mortgage broker second- you want to be SURE that your income will support the mortgage or alternative one if they dont play ball

[tequila99]

I spoke to a solicitor today and as i thought, he does not have a leg to stand on.

I have spoken also to the mortgage company but according to them he would now have to agree to come off the mortgage (if he thinks he can force a sale then thats not going be forthcoming). I think their stance is, as long as they are getting the payments every month then they are happy. I am the one who pays all the mortgage.

Maybe when he realises he can't force me to sell he will change his mind about signing.

Thanks for all your replies, i can relax now

[diddydicky]

yep- you can also have a word with your ex and explain to him that the economy and the housing market is widely expected to fall back later in the year

 

if he wants to stay on the mortgage he will have to take joint and several liability for any debt that arises if you decide to sell /get into troubkle with the payments whilst in negative equity as well as the profit

 

he also will not get another mortgage whilst he remains on this one so if you have any suspicions that he might apply for another one- and you want to play tit for tat!!!!!!!!

 

i would invite him to sign off the mortgage and leave you to it

 

after all- if you decided not to make the payments for three months because you could not afford it (i wouldn't suggest for a moment that you would squirrel that away somewhere safe and pretend that you did not have the money)

 

HIS credit rating would be F***ked by the BS as well as yours (but you already have a mortgage and a house) if he tried to apply for further credit AND he would be just as liable as you to pay the arrears!!

 

so you see- it aint just a one way street!!

 

I would suggest you ask him to think seriously about signing off the mortgage

[blueboy987]

I'd agree with DD's post.

 

As a solicitor has confirmed everything is in order and the property is in your name and your ex has no claim over it, then your ex has left himself in a very bad position. He has no claim over the property but is still jointly liable for the mortgage payments, and the bank would go after both of you if payment were missed.

 

It would be in your ex's best interests to get off the mortgage, but the bigger problem will be persuading the bank to allow it - they'll be losing someone to go after for missing payments so you'll have to convince them you can afford the payments on your own.

[terri_london]

Hi There,

 

I was interested in your thread as I am now in this same position. The mortgage is in two names but the property is in my name only, this has been the case since 2009.

 

The ex now wants me to refinance and said he will force the sale, if need be.

 

I'm a concerned because I don't know where I stand and was hoping you might be able to help me with some information as you seem to have gone through this same position back in 2008.

 

Thanks, in advance, for your time and help.

 

Cheers

Terri

[Conniff]

Welcome to the forum ~Terri.

 

This thread is very old and hasn't had any posts since 2010, so if you don't get the response that you hope, just post again or click on the black triagle and ask for your post to be moved to a thread of it's own.

[terri_london]

Thanks Conniff

[tequila99]

Hi Terri

Its a stressful situation you are in so I am glad to be of any help I can.

 

As your's is the only name on the title deeds, how can your ex possibly force a sale? is this a marital home?

 

I was luckily in a position to be able to afford to get the mortgage transferred into just my name and as the title deed was only in my name on the Land Register the bank didn't even need my ex to consent to this. The banks didnt really like the fact he was on the mortgage but not on the title so they were quite happy to remove him!

 

I got a solicitor to draw a deed of variation, with the consent of the bank, it was then registered on the Land Register so was simple enough and only cost a few hundred quid.

 

My ex, like yours, thought that because he was still on the mortgage he could force a sale and get some money from me! He went to a solicitor and started proceedings, claiming half the value of the house despite the fact there was still a mortgage on it that I was paying and had been since he left!!!

The law states that any claim of that kind has to be made within one year of splitting up and as he was well over that time he didn't have a leg to stand on and it was classed as time barred. He has lied to his solicitor about when he moved out which is why it got as far as a court hearing but I had a mountain of evidence he could not dispute. I got legal aid to fight the case but as I work full time I had to pay it all back to them in installments. I was awarded all expenses in court but not sure legal aid will be able to get anything back from him but its worth it to be rid of him for good!

 

Not sure what the outcome in court would have been had it not been time barred but Id like to think he still would not have been awarded anything.

 

Good luck and I hope you get the same outcome Anything I can help with just let me know

[brokebutnotbeatn]

Hi Terri, your ex may want you to refinance but he can't force you to. He is stuffed. Frankly, I would sit back and enjoy...if however you are in a position to refinance i.e. if you would get a better deal and its in your favour then that's up to you. You will need a squeaky clean credit file (no defaults etc) going back 6 years AND 30% equity in the property to get a decent deal. Have you checked with your current lender to see if they can do anything. If they won't then its unlikely anyone else will.

[terri_london]

Thanks for the replies, this is a great help!

 

Yes, the mortgage is in both names. But the flat itself is in my name only.

 

We brought the place together back in 2007 when the market was at a high. When we broke up in 2009, the flat was worth less then the amount owing on the mortgage.

 

I paid the ex out (more so to get rid of him then anything else and it was only £3k to get him set up elsewhere so he could move out). It took me nearly 3 months to get him out and I thought £3k was worth my own space and sanity. We were never married (thank god) or anything like that, just BF and GF.

 

At the time, I did try to refinance but because there was more money owing on the mortgage then what the flat was valued it, it was impossible to refinance. So I just left it.

 

It wasn't my fault the ex didn't do his homework before signing all the forms etc, (to ensure his name was removed from the mortgage). He only realised this the other week, he must be going for a loan or something.

 

I'm in no position to refinance really, mainly because I'm helping my family out with some finances due to my dad being terminal ill and unable to work.

 

Plus, the interest rates would be higher, if I moved banks and/or refinanced the loan. So I don't want to do that.

 

He has told me that he will be talking to the bank and getting his solicitors involved as well. That he'll do whatever it takes to get his name off the mortgage even if it means forcing me to sell.

 

This is just one hassle I do not need at the moment, things are stressful enough with my dad and all that.

 

I certainly do hope he doesn't have a leg to stand on and that he can not force me to sell.

 

Thanks again all!

[AndyOrch]

HI Terri

 

I must concur with BBNB, the only way to get off a mortgage agreement is to refinance, now your unlikely to do that and your ex is not in a position to either, so cest la vie.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[terri_london]

Sounds like the ex can threaten to take legal action and me to court etc, but he won't get anywhere other then wasting his own money...

 

Think I should still get my solicitors (who handled the original tranfer) to send him a letter saying nice try but you can't force the sale and then leave it at that.

 

Hopefully, he'll get the picture and leave me alone then.

[AndyOrch]

I wouldn't bother, Solicitors letters don't come cheap and it may just antagonise the situation.

 

Andy

[terri_london]

That is very true, it's always good to get an outsiders (so to say) view on these things - thank you.

 

I'll just reply to his email and hopefully I'll word it nicely but direct...

[brokebutnotbeatn]

Just say you are not in a position to refinance. Frankly I wouldn't bother replying at all. Let him spend his money on legal fees.

[terri_london]

Well, I've told the ex that I'll proceed with a process to see if we can "Transfer of Mortgaged Property" with Halifax, IF he pays any and all bank and legal cost involved.

 

This is because I can see no reason why his request (or threat!) should cost me money. Our legal agreement back in 2009 didn't have anything noted/agreed to with regards to having the mortgage transferred to my name only and.or within any time frame to do so.

 

Therefore, I've told him I'd be happy to proceed with Halifax to see if I'm able to transfer to the mortgage into my name only (TOMP) but only if he pays all legal and bank fees, around £500-800.

And his reply was: not move forward with the application you will leave me no choice but to take it further and involve more solicitor work towards a court proceeding. I'd rather have judge make an order which he seems fair.

I have called his bluff - I hope - and told him "If you are not happy to attend to these cost, then please take whatever steps you feel are necessary. If this means you'll involve your solicitors to work towards a court proceed, then it sounds like that is what will happen"

Any advice is welcomed.....

THANKS EVERYONE!