Force sale of property.

[Lucy-B]

I really need some help. I currently live in my partners home in which he owns this with his ex partner. Last year she signed docs through a solicitor stateing that she has not paod any monies into the house for the last 3 years and no longer wants anything to do with the property. My partner contacted the mortgage NRAM to have her removed from the property but they refused this due to my partners poor credit. I am a little over 8 months pregnant and am worried that she can force a sale of this property in respect to a letter recieved from her today quoting Civil Procedures Rules Protocol. The mortgage is not in arrears and hasnt been since 2007 when she first left and my partner was out of work and was unable to meet the mortgage payment of £1189. He contacted her for help on this as she is/was still liable for the property and she refused to help. The outstanding payments where added to the balance of the mortgage. I need to know if she can force the sale of this property under the Protocols for Civil Procedures Rules as i have just spent alot of time and money getting this house ready for my unborn which is due in 3 weeks. I need to know if I should be looking for alternative properties in which to bring my unborn child home to. I really dont need this stress so close to giving birth and feel that she is only doing this now as she is aware of our currnent situation. Me and my partner have been living hand to month to ensure that all mortgage payments are met (even though is cripples us monthly) to ensure that the mortgage company do not start repossesion precedures.

Thanks for any advice given.

[ummmm]

Look at it from her point of view. She is liable for a large debt with someone who is living hand to mouth and is about to have another financial burden put on them (baby) If I was in her position I would force a sale as well.

[murraymints]

If your partner's name is on the title deed then she can force a sale of the property.. by signing a statement confirming she has not paid anything towards the mortgage or wants anything to do with the property will mean that your partner can then negotiate an increase in his share of the sale price of propery for the period she was absent This means her petitioning the court for an act of sale and can be a costly procedure to enforce.

[murraymints]

meant to say if your partner's ex's name is still on title deeds.

[ummmm]

But will come out of her share of the equity.

How long have they owned the house? And what did she sign>

[Lucy-B]

They have owned the house for 4 years and part of the mortgage is a unsecured loan for the value of £24k. In total the outstanding balance is of £178k.

[ummmm]

And how much is the house worth?

And what did his Ex sign? Was it something from a solicitor?

[Lucy-B]

The house is worth £145k and the letters she signed where through a solicitor - Speration Agreement.

[murraymints]

I went through something similar 5 years ago when I was threatened with an act of sale via court and was then advised by my sol that I too would incur costs as a result.... As it happens this was avoided by some smart footwork by my sol...as this was a malicous act by a family member who had himself refused to sell the property.when i had attempted to place property on market and only wanted to make my life difficult and to make me spend money uneccassarily... This was in Scotland may be different where you are.

[ummmm]

And what was the 24k loan for?

[murraymints]

I am afraid a separation agreement is as much worth as loo paper when it comes to court, it is not valid as far as any proceedings are concerned, it has the worth of a gentlemans agreement which can be totally reneged upon without penalty

[Lucy-B]

Improvements to the property as it was a repossesion and in quite a bad state.

[ummmm]

Did they take out the loan together?

I think you're on to a no win situation here. You're in negative equity in a property it's not feasible/affordable to keep. If a sale is forced it's going to cost a lot of money. Your best option would be to put the house on the market...there's no money in the property to argue about so it should be a straight forward sale. It cost me 3k in solicitors fees to sell my house with just a small amount of arguing. If I took it to court it would have cost probably treble that...

It might be a good idea to go to the council and explain the situation.....

[bednobs]

i'm afraid i don't know about the legal side of your question, but what i do know is that even if your partner is forced into a sale, it won't happen in 3 weeks. Even if you defaulted on the mortgage and they started repossession proceedings, you will still be able to bring your baby home. When /if you have to move, most baby accessories are protable, so you will be able to take them with you.
It might be worth pointing out to her that if the house is sold with negative equity there will still be a debt

[ummmm]

Bednobs is right. It takes a long time to force a sale.

If you sell at £145,000 you have to take estate agent fees and solicitors fees into consideration. She's looking at a debt of app 18k....so lets hope whatever she signed will not stand up in court. Because if it does...the debt is his...