# Separated - Ex partner wants to sell house



## KateSouthpaw (8 Feb 2017)

We have a house that is jointly owned probably 100k equity on it, we have 1 child living in the house with me, ex partner has moved out. He wants to sell up get half equity and move on however rental in the area is massive in comparison with the mortgage ( i am currently paying all), i have approached banks to get tracker mortgage transferred to my name but they said no, ex is agreeing to letting me stay in house if i can give him half equity, currently no way of getting this. Would anyone know who i could get advice from for any of this?


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## Brendan Burgess (8 Feb 2017)

The only person you can get advice from on this is a solicitor. 

What does your separation agreement say?  
Do you have a separation agreement? 
You may well have to go to court on this and judges are unpredictable.  The best decision is to leave you in the house, but a lot of legal people don't understand trackers and think that selling up is the best solution.

Brendan


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## Brendan Burgess (8 Feb 2017)

KateSouthpaw said:


> ex is agreeing to letting me stay in house if i can give him half equity, currently no way of getting this



You would be getting a great deal if you are getting full ownership of a house backed by a tracker mortgage for half the equity. 

Are you sure that there is no way you can get this? This is such a deal, that you should be asking family and friends to finance it. 

Brendan


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## KateSouthpaw (8 Feb 2017)

Thanks for reply brendan, dont have a seperation ageeement in place mediation did not work out as we were unable to come to an agreement, re getting half equity from family and friends it is not currently possible, i suppose the only options are to increase mortgage or get a credit union loan but this would require involvement of ex this would not be possible


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## elcato (8 Feb 2017)

Did he ever contribute to the mortgage  and when did you take up the paying of it all ? You should deduct the half payments he didn't make from the actual equity. Also house upkeep etc.


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## KateSouthpaw (8 Feb 2017)

Thanks for reply and the informatuon, i have only just started paying the full mortgage


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## cremeegg (9 Feb 2017)

I am not sure you have been given good advice here.

Do I understand correctly that you and your ex partner own the house jointly. He has moved out and you are living there with your, and his, child.

He wants to sell but you do not.

I am not a solicitor but from my general knowledge of the situation.

You do not need his agreement to stay in the house, he needs your agreement to a sale, if you don't agree, he could ask the courts to order a sale, however it is unlikely in the extreme, in my opinion, that a judge would agree to that. 

You are living there, your child is living there, other accommodation in the area would be more expensive. Just because he wants his equity doesn't mean he can get it now because it suits him.


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## Seagull (9 Feb 2017)

The issue with that suggestion is that without a formal agreement in place, he is also perfectly entitled to move back in whenever he pleases.

One thing you might mention is that you will need a larger maintenance payment in the case of selling to cover the higher rent payment.

I think you probably need to go and speak to a lawyer about this.


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## elcato (9 Feb 2017)

KateSouthpaw said:


> i have only just started paying the full mortgage


So who paid the mortgage during the time between the split and now ? Is there arrears ? You may not have as much equity as you think.


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## Brendan Burgess (9 Feb 2017)

Seagull said:


> The issue with that suggestion is that without a formal agreement in place, he is also perfectly entitled to move back in whenever he pleases.



I have seen this happen a few times.  It is not a nice situation and often the mother and child leave the house. 

If you don't resolve the issue now,  his claim for his share of the equity will rise as you pay down the capital and will rise further if house prices rise. 

So it's well worth the hassle of facing this issue now and trying to resolve it. 

Brendan


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## Gerry Canning (9 Feb 2017)

Couple of things.

1. He left , so main pressure is on him.
2. He cannot absolve himself from providing a family home.
3. No sale can occur without your full compliance.
4. With you holding child , he will be very unlikely to get half home.

Strongly suggest .
Go to a solicitor to review .
I would be surprised if not only house but maintenance , pension etc crops up .


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## KateSouthpaw (9 Feb 2017)

Thankyou everyone for taking the time to reply I have plenty of options to consider. He is a good father so want to come to a reasonable outcome / decision


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