House sale Woes with Ex partner...

A question about : House sale Woes with Ex partner...

Any property / family solicitors online? I shall try to be brief;

My g/f of 7 years owns a property with her Ex - the mortgage is entirely in her name (the ex cannot get lending so cannot buy her out) and she no longer lives in the house. The house was significantly developed whilst they were together which the Ex had a big part in as he is in the building trade. Thus, legally he has a registered interest in the property.

The Ex lives there and he pays the mortgage, (albeit he pays my partner the money when he feels like it and usually late so she has to pay the mortgage upfront so that it doesn't go into arrears.) He is totally unreasonable and will not discuss the sale of house unless it is via a solicitor. So Solicitors have been appointed on both sides to handle a sale of the house. An agreement was drawn up where the ex would take advice from the estate agent (who he chose) on when to drop the price of the house until sold - with a view to selling within 8-12 months max - giving him sufficient time to find other accommodation.

So far the house has been on the market for 18 months and has been dropped in price only twice with a limited number of viewings (I believe 4 in this time) The agent advises that it be dropped in price again however her Ex has a home rights notice lodged on the house which prevents my g/f from making any decisions without his agreement (he requested this notice against the advise of his own solicitor) What this means is that he can spin out any decisions on the the sale of the house for as long as likes - all the while living in a lovely property that effectively he doesn't own.

His latest letter via solicitor completely ignores and sidesteps what has been agreed prior and he is failing to address the progression of the house sale.

Until this house is sold we cannot move on with our lives it is a huge burden and we need to know what options are left - short of going through voluntary repossession which is messy we are struggling to think of the next step....

I appreciate that this is very long-winded and there will be lots of areas which will need clarifying, however sometimes banding ideas about can help.

Thanks

Best answers:

• She should move back in. That would concentrate his mind.
• If the house is solely in her name and he pays her money (rent) does that not make him a tenant? She would need to check the legalities of that. If it transpires he is a tenant then it would be relatively easy to get rid of him. Much easier than if he was a joint owner. Although if he is a tenant it probably means that there are LL duties your girlfriend has been failing to do.
• It's very unlikely that he is a tenant. It sounds as though he has a beneficial interest in the property, which basically mean he is a joint owner, but that the property is held by your g/f as a trustee for him as well as for herself.
  Has there been a court hearing to determine the value of his interest, or is simply that he has registered a unilateral notice but nothing further?
  Have they yet agreed upon what their shares are? If not, then they need to try to agree that, or she could apply to court for the court to determine what share each of them is entitled to.
  If he is not cooperating with the sale then it would be possible for a court to make directions about that, too -for instance, a Judge can be asked to determine whether an offer should be accepted, or to set minimum price and determine that any offer over that level should be accepted. It is also possible to get an order that paperwork can be signed by the Judge rather than the ex, if he refuses to do so.
  Since you mention a solicitor, her best bet is to talk to her solicitor about what steps she can take, and what the likely costs will be. If he can't buy her out, could she buy him out, and then sell the property on, if she doesn't want to live there?
• She needs to instruct her lawyer to stop faffing around and get a court order for sale which also deals with the split of equity.
  It is quite clear he has dragged his feet on a perfectly reasonable agreement, so I see no reason why it shouldn't be granted.
  Whatever you think his 'home rights' notice means, it is not a license to trap her capital for ever.