Is there anything else my friend could do?

[tigwig]

This is quite long winded but I met up with an old school friend last night who has split up with her boyfriend over a year ago. They bought a house and mortgaged it together. He ran off with another woman and moved in with her. She moved back to her parent's house. He has refused to contribute anything to the bills and mortgage and she is being forced to pay it all solely on her own to avoid it being repossessed. The bank is not interested in chasing him as all they care about is that someone is paying it. The house is up for sale and someone offered a £1000 less than the asking price so he refused the sale. She has once tried to lower the price of the house so it may sell quicker but it cost her £1000 for the solicitors letter. He wants her to just give the house to him for nothing but of course she cant afford to do that. She has offered him as much money as she can to buy him out but he refuses. Loads of other nasty things have happened too. She cannot rent the house out as the estate agent has said she would only get the same amount of money for it as what she is paying for the mortgage so its not worth the hassle. She is just stuck paying the mortgage and trying to save up the £5000 she has been quoted by a solicitor to force him to sell the house. I cannot believe that he can get away with this. Can anyone offer any advice to her?

[woofgang]

yes, go and get some legal advice about what she CAN do

[bednobs]

i don't understand why renting out would be so bad. Say mortgage is £500 pm. ATM your friend is having to pat £500 every month. If she rented it out (even for say £450 pm) she would only have to find £50 - ten times less! Considering she's not even living there it seems most sensible to me!

[tigwig]

Do you mean me go get legal advice for her? I cant I have 2 kids to look after and work full time as a childminder so no way I can see anyone! She has seen someone anyway but I am doubting them as the whole situation is so grossly unfair on her I cant understand how he can legally do what he's doing.

[woofgang]

no I mean she should get some legal advice...
tigwig...life isn't fair.....

[Eve]

That's part of the risk of taking a joint mortgage, as far as the lender is concerned they have a right to come after either or both of you to help protect their position when they have a significant financial investment.

Not my area but I know that forcing a sale can be expensive. I am unsure as to why an initial letter would cost so much though just to try and sell it for £1k cheaper. Was it really one letter or a number of letters and more to it (advice etc...) to warrant that kind of bill? Solicitors are tightly regulated on bills.

Make sure she keeps full records of everything she has spent on the property to ensure she has the back up that she has been solely financially responsible for property since a certain date.

Is there much equity left in the property?

[tigwig]

I really dont know about the equity or how much she borrowed I'm afraid. I will have to delve more next time I see her. We used to be best friends in junior/high school but lost touch until now so I cant exactly get that personal.....yet! I just feel so sorry for her, it sucks.

[Twenty20]

With respect, I think you may have only been given part of the story by your friend, or she has exaggerated a bit. There's no way one letter would cost £1000 - and, even if some solicitor did quote this, why would anyone pay that amount?

And, why did they both move out, presumably leaving the house empty? If she's paying the mortgage, surely it would be better to live there?

I think I'd stay out of it, apart from polite enquiry, as you're only going to get one side of the story anyway and, as you say, you don't actually know her that well anymore.

[Andyvon]

I saw this time and again when I did taxi work a few years ago. Why do people buy a house together when they can't even be bothered to get married? If they don't want the commitment and resonsibility towards each other (as they always state) then why take out a 25 year mortgage together!? Irresponsible or what!

Just stay out of it Tigwig. Perhaps your friend will learn her lesson next time and not be so stupid.

[tigwig]

She isnt in the house as while she was at work one day he removed all the furniture from it, saying it was all his, with the help of his brothers apart from a few things that were definitely hers. He then phoned her and said all her stuff was in the garden and she had better come and get it.
She has learnt her lesson anyway and will never get a joint mortgage again. To be fair I dont think you can say shes stupid. Thousands of people do the same, you think you are committed to someone and dont imagine that it will end up like that do you? Not everyone wants to get married. I suppose they got a house together as they didnt want to waste money renting.