Hi All,
I have been separated from the ex for 2 years now and I have been part staying in our joint owned property (still mortgaged). I have stayed permanently in the home during Covid for obvious reasons; given things are somewhat better now I am starting to explore moving out again.
We are not married, I work she doesn't.
I pay everything for both ex and son (13), every single penny; the main point of the mail is the mortgage, I have always paid for this, ex never contributed.
The mortgage has recently moved to a standard variable rate and I want to move the mortgage to a more competitive rate; there are lots of options on the table saving me nearly 600 a month.
So here is the thing - the ex is refusing to cooperate in moving the mortgage - I know it sounds nuts, it is nuts, we hardly talk or rather she hardly talks to me, so sitting down and discussing anything let alone finance is a nightmare and I can't force her to sit down obviously; so it is what it is. There is obviously no logical reason for this, given she doesn't even contribute and the outcome with reduce the payments anyway.
I am not looking to remortgage to raise capital, I am not asking her to give up any equity etc. this is simply a mortgage move to reduce my outgoings, bear in mind she doesn't contribute a penny towards the mortgage or anything. For the purpose of this question, I just wanted to focus on the property if I may. I was content to continue to pay the mortgage and split the proceeds of the property 50/50 when property is ultimately sold, but given her behavior I am now contemplating if I can also resolve this, meaning just pay her share of the equity up to this point in time as the mortgage has another 10 years to run, can I get this legally agreed? On the last point, I noted in this case that things seemed to have progressed towards common sense in these type of matters (supreme-court-decision-on-property-rights-for-unmarried-couple-november-2011.pdf (russell-cooke.co.uk))
From what I can glean on the internet, I need her to agree and sign up to any changes given its a joint mortgage and deeds. However, I was wondering if anyone can offer any legal routes I can explore given she is simply not paying for the mortgage ? I have read something about Transfer of Equity which I know she has to agree to, but I also read I can apply for a court order where ex refuses to cooperate in these types of matters. Again all I want is for her to agree to move the mortgage, nothing more, she can stay living in the home with my son until he is 18, surely there must be an option to resolve, surely a court will see common sense.. ?
Has anyone any experience in this matter ?
Thanks in advance.
She's probably nervous that something else will be going on that she doesn't know about or understand. Can you have a brief discussion with a solicitor to see how the situation might be overcome?
@champagne I offered her the option to deal with it all through her chosen solicitor ... said I would pay, I don't even have to get involved, only agree the deal ensuring its the best interest rate we can get.... what more can one do !
I have spoken to solicitors and most of them I spoke to don't seem to know what they are talking about, and the ones that do cost serious money to even pick up a phone, hence was wondering if anyone had been through similar?
Putting aside that she won't cooperate in the mortgage product move, she is not paying the mortgage and secondly to add salt to the wound, stands to benefit from the sale of the asset if and when that day comes, I don't have problem with this up until now, she can have half of its current worth, but for her to benefit from the appreciation over the next then years post separated is not right...
This must be one of the most common scenarios out there with separation, it seems it to be handled via court-order to support transfer of asset and again wondered if anyone has been through the process, how long, costs etc etc...
If she continues to refuse to cooperate in the simple mortgage product move, I have to take action if possible, this is costing me nearly 8K a year - dead money, thats probably 12K grossed up before tax.... its absolute madness and to think she is not even paying anything towards it, I am simple lost for words...