name not on mortgage or land register, any rights??

[tookforafool]

4 years ago my partner and i got fed up with renting and decided to purchase a house.
at the time i was newly self-employed and my partner had only been in her first ever job for 6 months and her wage was only �10,000 a year. needless to say that we got knocked back about half a dozen times, eventually we found a bank who would take us on but they decided that ,as my partner had the only evidencial income, that the mortgage would only be granted in her sole name. We went along with it because we was desperate to own a property. Not long after we moved in i realised that i couldnt make my occupation work and decided to get full time work. We always had an understanding that i would get my name on the mortgage but unfortunately left it too late because a couple of weeks ago she kicked me out for no reason at all ,and on asking her to do the fair thing and sell the house and split the proceeds, she just laughed in my face and told me where to go!!! i have evidence from the estate agent confirming the purchase of the property and it clearly states both of our names as the purchasers.
we also took out a joint loan for �10,000 to add double glazing and central heating, to the house and to furnish and decorate two rooms (central heating reciept is in my name). unfortunately the mortgage and all other bills were coming out of her own bank account and was in her name but we had an agreement to use my wages to live on.
In a nutshell, am i likely to be able to persue any proceeds from this mess???(please dont tell me how much of a fool i have been cos ive heard it all from friends and family!!!!!!!!!!!)

[dot.hawkes]

you may be struggling on the mortgage and house without seeking legal advice form a solicitor, but on the joint loan did you not have to prove your income and if it was a secured loan, did you both sign for the loan as the joint home owners? i do not see how you could take out a 10.000 loan without it being secured and if it was a secured loan the lender would need to put a charge on the property at the land registry and that would be a charge in both your names, and so you have created a paper trail there, if indeed it was secured, which is the likely case is it not?

[tookforafool]

no the loan wasnt secured and as i remember we was asked our incomes.
when we got the loan though that was coming out of my partners account too and we realized pretty soon that she couldnt afford the payments, so we agreed that i would set up a standing order from my bank to her account for �50 per week to help things(this went on from mar 2004-sept2005), however on being jilted i phoned my bank and asked for copies of previous bank statements and was stunned to find out that my money wasnt going into her current account at all but into an unknown account.
it seems to me that when i initially phoned the bank to request the standing order to be set up, my partner must have given me bank details for an account that i never knew that she had. It has become obvious that she intended to rip me off back then cos now i have bank statements showing this money leaving my account but the bank cannot give me an account name due to the data protection act!!!!!!!!! no evidence of my money going into her mortgage account!!!!!!!!!

[ali_alic]

Get a caution put on the house immediately - you pay about �40 (if my memory serves me right) and although it doesn't give you any rights as such to the house it prevents her selling it without first them speaking to you. So basically she can't sell it without your permission. You can then slug it out.

[lady_p_gold]

Whether or not the estate agent had both your names on, what is important is what is detailed at the Land Registry and whether you are in fact joint owners. If you are, then as the previous post stated get your interest registered immediately. If so you are just as much an owner as she is and she will either have to buy you out or you will have to buy her out or you will have to agree on the split of the sale proceeds.

[tookforafool]

no the land registry is just in her name

[dannydingbat]

1. You are not the owner or part owner of the property
2. Consequently, any loans secured on the property are not your responsibility
3. Move on

[tookforafool]

the loan was an unsecured loan and i have found out this evening that the standing orders in question have been traced back to her bank account which luckily the mortgage came out of, so one could assume that i was paying either the loan or the mortgage off for 2 years!!!! does this make my position any stronger??

[atolhurst]

It seems obvious but I really think you ought to see a solicitor about something this serious. This could potentially cost you a lot of money and us AB'ers are not necessarily legal professionals.

[tookforafool]

thanks to everyone for all your advice, if im ever in a bit of a pickle again, i know who to ask!!!!!!!!!

[kgt]

I work in the mortgage industry and the answer is not as straight forward as mentioned above. f you can show that the loan was in joint names and used for the mortgaged property you may have a claim over the profits.
Also, if you can show that you were contributing to the mortgage payments through bank statements etc. this also can be used by your solicitor to stake a claim for the property profits. As you lived together for 4 years you can be considered husband and wife under common law. Hope this helps - get a good solicitor.