After a bit of advice/guidance on the above topic
Me and my ex separated 5 years ago
We jointly owned a property prior to separation and we have paid half each of on the mortgage (interest only) since separation. There is a decent amount of equity in the property (at the moment), enough to make me think its worth sticking with anyway
We have a 10 year old child together and she has generally refused to sell the property, knowing she has the right to stay there till child is 18
I have since married and now we are finding it difficult to buy a property as i am named on a mortgage already
So options as i see it are:-
- Keep paying half and wait for her to decide to sell. Am i right in thinking i will be liable to Capital Gains Tax on my share of the equity as i've not been living in the property?
- Give her my share and get removed from the deeds, subject to her being able to take on the mortgage
Other than the above is there any likelihood of me being able to use the equity on the property as a deposit on another property?
Any input would be greatly appreciated as it's holding back what i want to do now
Does she have a court order stating she can stay in the property until your child is 18? Were you married?
I think you can apply to court to have the property sold, I don’t think they can ignore you changed situation. If she can’t take over full payment of the mortgage, the sensible option is to sell, release the equity, and use that for a deposit.
You could put it to her that if she is refusing to sell, you will have no choice but to ask the court to order the sale, which will cost a huge amount in solicitors fees and is likely to swallow up a large chunk of the equity.
It would be worth getting some legal advice at this point, I’m no expert and the above is just my opinion.
Best of luck
Hi, thanks for the reply.
There is a court order but it does not say she can stay in the property.
We were not married.
I was advised by my solicitor at the time that a court would be unlikely to enforce a sale because of the child being under 18 hence i have not pursued it further.
Perhaps i need to contact my solicitor again.
Just looking for other alternatives such as using the equity for a second mortgage
If you’re prepared to sign it over to her, perhaps an incentive to move might work. You could offer her a 60/40 or 70/30 split of the equity to encourage her to agree to sell.
Is she in a position financially, to take over the mortgage, that would be a decision for the mortgage providers, have you spoken to them? I believe they’re quite strict with their criteria, before agreeing to remove a joint mortgagee.... you’re a source of payment.
There will come a point when interest only payments won’t be satisfactory to the mortgage provider... something that you should think about.
You can always use mediation to try and reach an agreement, at least you can put your case forward, with any offers that you want to make, if she refuses at least you know what you’re up against.
Can anyone comment on the Capital Gains query
I own a half share in the property that my ex lives in and rent another place which is my main residence
If i held out for sale of property would i be liable to any Capital Gains Tax on the increase in value to the propoerty as i've not been living there?
Or would it only apply if i own two properties
Hi There,
I have never heard of capital gains being paid when a family home is sold after a separation.
I know I wasn't liable but that said my ex paid me a share of the equity and re mortgaged.
You need to take some legal advice
GTTS
My solicitor said I would be liable if I then bought another house. My scenario was I offered a mesher order for my ex to stay in the marital home until my daughter was 18. My solicitor said in that case I would be liable for capital gains when the house sold, assuming I had already bought another and it was therefore not my only house/residence......
I am no expert though 🙂
Thanks for the advice, it sounds like i would only be liable if i owned another property
Our current plan is to rent until she decides to sell or child turns 18 at which point we would enforce sale, whichever is sooner