Joint Tenants..where Do I Satand?

[spannalou]

Hi there, my partner of 9 years and I split just over 14months ago. We have a 6 year old who lives with me.
When we first met I had a flat which I sold to enable us to get a mortgage together. I put down the 65k deposit. Over the years we tried the renovation game and bought and sold. hit the market at terrible times and managed to accrue quite a bit of debt.
With the stress of the last move the and the financial worries unfortunately the relationship deterirated and he left. I am still in the property and have been paying the martgage solely since he left. I agreed to go on a dmp and take on all the debt 36k, in return that he would keep his name on the mortgage.I do not ask for any contribution from him.
This verbal settlement has been working fine, but now he has decided he wants to come off the mortgage. I phoned the mortgage company and because I am on a dmp this is not an option. There is approx. 38k equity in the property which would cover the debt, but I still invested the initial 65k.
Its all so confusing and worrying. I really do not want to sell, I am working many jobs in order to keep this house and have been a homeowner since early 20s..now 40 eek! Many thanks for any info..

[tonywiltshire]

Your ex- partner may wish to have his name removed from the mortgage document but if he does there is only you for the mortgage provider to chase rather than your ex-partner and you so they will not wish to remove his name, he presumably wants to remove his name so that he can obtain another mortgage.
If you wish his name removed you will have to convince the mortgage provider that you are able to make the mortgage payments on your own and insist his name is removed. You mention a DMP which I have taken as a Debt Management Plan or IVA Individual Voluntary arrangement, within the £36K of debts you mention are there any in the sole name of your ex-partner which are not secured in any way.

[spannalou]

Hi tony,

Yes, sorry DMP is debt management plan. All of our debt was mutual and used to renovate, but unfortunately as I was the higher earner with a greater credit score, it all went in my name. I called the mortgage provider yesterday and they said no changes can be made to the change of borrowers as Im on a dmp. I think I know the answer to this but was hoping for a ray of sunshine :-)
None of the 36k debt are secured debts..loans, credit cards etc,
Thanks for your reply, much appreciated.

[tonywiltshire]

The mortgage provider is going to be reluctant for the reasons given to permit your ex-partner to be removed from the mortgage documents and is it in your interest for this to occur? Remember if you are not thinking solely of your interests and on your side, who is?

If none of your debts are secured and were taken out jointly and severally they are all probably non-priority debts, are you satisfied with your (probably) IVA deal arranged through an Insolvency practitioner which should not last more than five years and once approved you are not vulnerable to enforcement action by creditors.

[spannalou]

I took out the dmp through stepchange formerly consumer credit counselling service. It will take something in the region of 17 years to pay off :-( but all creditors have agreed to halt interest and not enforce action. It took about 9 mnths for all that to settle and things were just calming down.
The only option I see now is to sell, pay off the debt and take the initial 65k on the chin. Hard not to sound bitter as we both made some wrong moves, but do seem to be the greater loser. Thanks so much.

[themas]

Why should you sell just because he wants to come off the mortgage? He can't come off it. So your other option (apart from selling) is to tell him that & go on as you are, so long as you're able to cope financially. He could conceivably go to Court to try & get an order for sale but, given the facts you set out, I wouldn't like to bet on the likelihood of a judge giving him one. He has no financial interest in the property (all the equity is yours) & is not having to pay anything towards the mortgage.

There is no point doing an IVA - among other things, you would be expected to re-mortgage in year 4 to raise money for the creditors out of the equity. If you really can't go on as you are, far better in my view to bite the bullet, sell & settle the debts. You would need to keep back some of the equity for the inevitable expenses of moving, rent deposit & rent in advance etc. etc. so you might not have enough to pay off the debts in full. However, given the circumstances it should be possible to get creditors to accept a full & final settlement offer. Stepchange should be able to advise you on this.


Are all the unsecured debts in your sole name? If any are in joint names or his sole name then he has a responsibility for them.

[spannalou]

Thank you so much for your replies. After long and hard deliberation I think I can see straight and selling is the best option. I don't want any financial ties to this person. Also the nerves cant take the weight of the debt so there is actually a great feeling of freedom with this decision. Many thanks again Anna

[hc4361]

Sorry to correct themas, but as a joint tenant he is as entitled to half the equity as you are, regardless of how much he has paid in.
That's what being a joint tenant means - you both own the whole.

[themas]

hc

I agree 50:50 is the starting point if the property is owned as joint tenants (as opposed to tenants in common). However, this division can be overturned by evidence, & it seems totally unreasonable for span to be penalised when she put up all the deposit & has paid all the mortgage for at least part of the time. A Court would have to decide if necessary.