Can i be forced to sell my house ???

[JAG1979]

Bought my House with ex-girlfriend.
split up after 3/5 months of living there.
see contributed to the next 6months mortgage.
i have paid all mortgage payments for past 4yrs (approx)
she has had her half of deposit returned (2yrs approx)
her name is on deeds and mortgage.
i lost my business and had close to £1k arrears for all of last year.
she has tried to buy a house with her husband and failed for mortgage partly due to me being behind arrears for all of last year.
Arrears now cleared.
I have returned to university so mortgage company will not allow me to take her name off the mortgage as i dont fit criteria for earnings.
She i threatening to go to solicitors to force me to sell the house.

Does she have any rights???

if we can be objective nd not Boys Vs Girls please :)

[bednobs]

yes, she can ask for a court order to force a sale - how would you like to be lumped on a 25 year debt with a random person, that prevents you getting another place?
It might be better if you came to an agreement to seel to reduce associated costs of going to court. Why would you want to be tied to her anyway?

[DTCwordfan]

absolutely - make the break......

[JAG1979]

and i court will force me to sell on what grounds???

i dont see selling as an option, this is my home.
i dont want to be tied to her ive not been able to get her off the mortgage due to circumstance i.e in arrears and now at University not earning enough to fit criteria.

[JAG1979]

sorry i dont know if i didnt make it clear :s

i want rid of her, thats why i gave her her deposit back straight away. Mortgage company wont take her off agreement though and i most definately DO NOT WANT TO SELL :)

[bednobs]

on the grounds you don't seem to have any compelling reason not to i guess!
You ARE tied to her till the end of the mortgage if you don't sell.
It's hardly fair on you or her

[ummmm]

They can force a sale on the grounds that she doesn't live there and needs to get her own place.

[bednobs]

When you split up, she had to find a new place, now you do too if the mortgage company wont take her off

[hc4361]

She has as much right to live in the house as you do.
She has every right to force a sale.
She is entitled to half of any equity in the property when it is sold.
She is responsible for half of any negative equity when it is sold.

Do the right thing and sell the house.

[rowanwitch]

She should have forced the sale at the point of separation or you should have bought her out then. Grounds for forcing sale...its in joint names
At the moment she has a liability for a house she doesn't live in.... You don't earn enough to keep it so I don't see you have any option... apart from that it seems almost vindictive to refuse to make the break....do you still have feelings for her that are colouring your judgement?

[ummmm]

If you stop paying the mortgage she is jointly responsible. Is that fair on her?

[JAG1979]

so let me get this straight? a court can force me to sell on the grounds that she needs to get her own place and that leave me mortgageless and homeless myself? so my rights are ???

do we know of any cases where this has actually happened? i was told by 3 solicitors that because we were not married. she has not contributed to the mortgage, she has had her share of equity and im not being un-reasonable ( it is circumstance ) that she has no equity therefore no right to force me to sell.

the mortgage company said unless both parties agree to sell it cant be forced.

[chelle7272]

Why are you asking on here then?

[ummmm]

A sale can be forced. You should have taken her name off when you could afford it. It's not her fault you decided to go back to uni...

[rowanwitch]

How about the moral aspects....you are preventing her from buying her own home and having the same security that you have...

[JAG1979]

i couldnt have any less feeling for her if i tried. zzzzzzz

i am in no way being vindictive. she wanted to stay on the mortgage and keep the house cause she wanted a hold over me. Then i lost my business and she got married and its all change. The house is the only thing i own now im not being vindictive im fighting for my home.

she may be liable but it me who has been paying for it and making improvemnts on it for 4yrs whilst she has been out partying ??? something not right here if you ask me.

[bednobs]

it can be forced with a court order, and it sounds like she is satrting the process now. What's up with either getting another mortgage on another place or renting somewhere? Even when she gets a court order, it's not like you'll have absolutely no notice and be out on the street the next day.
The truth is that the mortgage you have was only acheivable because the two of you took it out - now there is only one of you you need a smaller mortgage. Your relationship failed, she should have forced a sale at the time but for some reason didn't but now you have no relationship and no association apart from this financial one

[bednobs]

There is no automatic "right" to buy a house or get a mortgage though is there?

[237SJ]

bednobs, he`s not going to get a mortgage because he`s a student.
A difficult one Jag. I would say your only hope is to get someone to buy her out but that still leaves you owing half the mortgage and not being able to get one.
The only bright side is at least you weren`t married. She`d take you for half then!

[bednobs]

but like i say, he's going on about his "rights", but there is no "right" to get a mortgage is there?

[JAG1979]

so then if i do not have the right to have a mortgage then that would suggest nor does she no?

looking at it objectively