Repercussions for me with ex Partner refusing to pay mortgage/negative equity

Myself and my ex were building a house when we split, the house is only half built and was on the market subject to local needs for the last 3years.

Current balance on mortgage is 223k and we have recently been lucky enough to get a sale agreed for 180k.

The problem is that this sale will not go through for another 2-3months and my ex has decided to stop paying the mortgage now, i am not sure of his financial position but he says he cannot afford it. The repayment is 1130/month and I cannot afford to cover this on my own and I do not want to default and effect my credit rating as I am only in my 20's and will want to mortgage again in the future.

My ex has also told me that he will not pay the negative equity and that the bank cant make him as "they cannot take blood from a stone". My worry is that the bank will see that I am in a better financial position and I will have to take the hit for both of us to avoid the bad credit rating.

Does anyone know where I stand on this?

If he doesn't cover it the bank most certainly will chase you for any monies owed.

They see you both liable but if he hasn't the money you'll be caught to cover the shortfall.

Not what I wanted to hear but had a feeling that was the case...so what are my options to avoid being left with the whole 43k negaive equity bill to pay on my own?
Refuse to pay also?
I dont believe that my ex has no money

negatrona......Has the bank agreed to allow the sale of the house to go through without the balance of 43K being cleared first. If not...you may not be able to sell the house at all.

Exactly, the bank will want to have the negative equity situation sorted out first before they allow you sell as otherwise they will simply not release the deeds. If they agree to allow the neg equity be continued on as a loan and he is going to refuse to sign up for it then either they will want you to take on the full liability if you can afford it or they will just stop the sale and pursue you both for the repayments, but if either one of you doesn't pay then the other is fully liable for them. Not good news I'm afraid.

negatrona said:

Myself and my ex were building a house when we split, the house is only half built and was on the market subject to local needs for the last 3years.

Current balance on mortgage is 223k and we have recently been lucky enough to get a sale agreed for 180k.

The problem is that this sale will not go through for another 2-3months and my ex has decided to stop paying the mortgage now, i am not sure of his financial position but he says he cannot afford it. The repayment is 1130/month and I cannot afford to cover this on my own and I do not want to default and effect my credit rating as I am only in my 20's and will want to mortgage again in the future.

My ex has also told me that he will not pay the negative equity and that the bank cant make him as "they cannot take blood from a stone". My worry is that the bank will see that I am in a better financial position and I will have to take the hit for both of us to avoid the bad credit rating.

Does anyone know where I stand on this?

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I think you should talk to your local Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) Office with a view to presenting a case to your bank (nicely worded) along the lines below.

Contact your bank.
Confirm your awareness of the outstanding debt.
Confirm the status of the relationship as irretrievably broken down and be prepared to offer proofs of divorce proceedings if this was a marriage.

I find with banks that its always best to put all the things that are independently verifiable on the table first, without being asked - gives a good impression.

Say you are willing to cover your half of the mortgage but if you do you want a signed agreement that there will be no adverse comments on your credit rating and that they will accept your paying of half the mortgage as your having discharged your debt to them in full.

Tell the bank they must to talk separately to your ex as you are not in a position to confirm his financial status but you can confirm yours and offer them your monthly outgoings and income information proving your position.
You may need to involve a solicitor to draw up a legal agreement or the bank may offer to do this which you should have checked.
Keep all formal correspondence, offers and agreements on file.

Couple of things.

Your negative equity is relatively small by today's standards and so is your mortgage.
Given the current cost of renting, you might consider taking on the mortgage yourself - interest only - until the markets improve.

On the other hand if your ex is earning it seems very odd that he would suggest he cannot handle half of €43K as a medium term loan - that's 21.5K, which is car loan territory.
If he is simply running away from his responsibilities and unwilling to take a hit to do so, instead wanting to get himself a new set of wheels, he needs to grow up in a hurry, because that's not good planning.

ONQ.

onq said:

If he is simply running away from his responsibilities and unwilling to take a hit to do so, instead wanting to get himself a new set of wheels, he needs to grow up in a hurry, because that's not good planning.

ONQ.

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But if universal debt forgiveness is on the way maybe he is being clever and his very reckless ways now will benefit him in the future. This again is why I feel debt forgiveness is a minefield. Cannot work!