Splitting up with GF, how much should I get if she buys me out?

superman24

I`m splitting up wit my gf who i bought a house wit 3 yrs ago.we owe bout 230k on the house,the house is currently worth i reckon at around 300k, although a house a few doors away is on market for 319k but has more done to the garden(decking etc).
she wants to buy me out cos shes from area but i want to know, can she buy me out if i dont want to,if i want to sell house and see how much we get?? also, my point also being,that if i have to buy another place, i`ll have to take a big chunk out of watever she gives me for it on stamp duty and also have to furnish any new place i buy?? if i`m to get a new place i would only be able to afford somethin in the 230-240k bracket. should i get more than half of watever profit is on the house because of this?? i dont know a whole lot about mortgages as she works in bank an done everythin regarding this house,so not sure wat i should be getting here or entitled to.
if i did let her buy me out, am i entitled to take certain items from house for my house?
from reading other threads here,wud it be wise move to take money and sit on it for awhile and maybe get somewhere cheaper in few months time??
ANY HELP OR INFO ON THIS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED as its hard enough breaking up this relationship an tryin to move on without all this hassle of money an legal fees etc....
thanks again,
Louthman

Cantab.

superman24 wrote: »

I`m splitting up wit my gf who i bought a house wit 3 yrs ago.we owe bout 230k on the house,the house is currently worth i reckon at around 300k, although a house a few doors away is on market for 319k but has more done to the garden(decking etc).
she wants to buy me out cos shes from area but i want to know, can she buy me out if i dont want to,if i want to sell house and see how much we get?? also, my point also being,that if i have to buy another place, i`ll have to take a big chunk out of watever she gives me for it on stamp duty and also have to furnish any new place i buy?? if i`m to get a new place i would only be able to afford somethin in the 230-240k bracket. should i get more than half of watever profit is on the house because of this?? i dont know a whole lot about mortgages as she works in bank an done everythin regarding this house,so not sure wat i should be getting here or entitled to.
if i did let her buy me out, am i entitled to take certain items from house for my house?
from reading other threads here,wud it be wise move to take money and sit on it for awhile and maybe get somewhere cheaper in few months time??
ANY HELP OR INFO ON THIS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED as its hard enough breaking up this relationship an tryin to move on without all this hassle of money an legal fees etc....
thanks again,
Louthman

If you can get half of 300k to 319k and you paid half of 230k, then you're in a good position -- very often in these break-ups, nobody wants the house, they just want to forget about that chapter of their lives, and it's a real mess of a situation.

On the furniture: tell her you're taking a couple of items and agree on this in advance. If the bird's going to go nuts, it might not be worth the hassle.

On FTB stamp duty: Mmm. It's a tough one. If you can pressure her into accepting your reasoning, great. Otherwise, I'd let this one pass and put it down to experience. Brush up on your negotiation skills.

Consider doing the deal first and have cash in bank, and then go after her for furniture/stamp duty compensation. She might compromise on €10k or something so as to avoid the hassle of the courts.

You're lucky to have been given an offer in this falling market. Get your cash ASAP and move quickly.

superman24

Cantab. wrote: »

If you can get half of 300k to 319k and you paid half of 230k, then you're in a good position -- very often in these break-ups, nobody wants the house, they just want to forget about that chapter of their lives, and it's a real mess of a situation.

On the furniture: tell her you're taking a couple of items and agree on this in advance. If the bird's going to go nuts, it might not be worth the hassle.

On FTB stamp duty: Mmm. It's a tough one. If you can pressure her into accepting your reasoning, great. Otherwise, I'd let this one pass and put it down to experience. Brush up on your negotiation skills.

Consider doing the deal first and have cash in bank, and then go after her for furniture/stamp duty compensation. She might compromise on €10k or something so as to avoid the hassle of the courts.

You're lucky to have been given an offer in this falling market. Get your cash ASAP and move quickly.

can she make me sell the house to her though if i dont want to? if i decide i want to sell to see wat i get on the market, can she force me into selling my share to her?
also,i`ve put more money into the house than her because i came into some money thru work, but she claims she put as much and i cant prove exactly wat i put into cos of no reciepts or anything,so shes getting evenly as much as me when i put more into it

astrofool

He has no offer at the moment? Just plucked some figures from the air based on another house. It could have been on the market for 6months to a year with no offers, and be overpriced. It might be worth talking to the owners of the house to see what kind of offers they're getting/want to get/or if there have been offers.

I doubt there will be much profit on a house bought three years ago today, if you can get half of 300k, I'd run away laughing.

I think legally you can force a sale, but she can then buy it herself, and the danger is that the market price is lower than what she offered in the first place.

Cantab.

superman24 wrote: »

can she make me sell the house to her though if i dont want to?

I don't know. You could both live there -- just draw a white line across the centre of the house!

In break-ups, you just sell the house and move on. Unless you can come up with some innovative alternative to this?

superman24 wrote: »

if i decide i want to sell to see wat i get on the market, can she force me into selling my share to her?

Well do you want to keep the house? If you do, then buy her out. Or are you still hoping you'll get back with her? You've to sort out these background issues too.

superman24 wrote: »

also,i`ve put more money into the house than her because i came into some money thru work, but she claims she put as much and i cant prove exactly wat i put into cos of no reciepts or anything,so shes getting evenly as much as me when i put more into it

Well if you came in to some money, work this in to the deal.

Sit yourself down, work out all the maths (don't be greedy or unrealistic) and come up with a deal. Propose the deal and negotiate.

If she won't buy you out and you want to buy her out -- give her half the mortgage repayments since '02 (capital, not interest) and maybe 30-40% of the increased equity (given your weighted contribution towards the purchase). That's about a €30k-€35k settlement figure given the figures you've given above.

iguana

My advice would be to get three valuations and assume an average of the three valuations of the value of the house. Or if things are acrimonious between you, you should each get a valuation done and assume the average as the value. Once you have a valuation you both agree on work out how you are going to go forward.

If she is willing to buy you out I would jump at the offer. There is no advantage that I can see of putting the house on the open market and paying associated selling costs and it could take over a year to complete selling in today's market. If she wants to keep the house she may be happier to overpay a little to offset your bigger payments as she sounds emotionally attached to the house.

And yes if I was you I would very much put the money you get from the sale away securely and wait a year or two to buy again as I think you will find much better value in the future.

RoryW

http://www.flac.ie/download/pdf/cohabiting_couples.pdf

jdivision

If you buy a newly built property you almost certainly won't have to pay stamp duty (unless it's massive). If she makes you a fair offer you should take it - otherwise you could be sitting with an unsold house for months and unable to move on with your life

RoryW

...and dont move out and "abandon" your occupancy of the house until all is agreed and signed

Jo King

She can buy your half of the house if she wants under the Partition Acts. If you do not agree a valuation and an amicable split up, both of you will end up with nothing. You will end up in court with big legal bills and the house having fallen in value by the time the case comes on.
Without receipts and a good paper trail you are in difficulties.
Your stamp duty is your own problem and not your ex's.
If I was in your shoes I would agree a valuation and give her six weeks to come up with the money!

patrickolee

I agree with Jo King. dont be greedy, u'll end up with nothing, or even a loss.

superman24

jdivision wrote: »

If you buy a newly built property you almost certainly won't have to pay stamp duty (unless it's massive). If she makes you a fair offer you should take it - otherwise you could be sitting with an unsold house for months and unable to move on with your life

wat do u mean i wont have to pay stamp duty on a new house? why is that?i thought all 2nd time buyers have to pay stamp duty??is new brand new house exempt from it??

Bottle_of_Smoke

superman24 wrote: »

wat do u mean i wont have to pay stamp duty on a new house? why is that?i thought all 2nd time buyers have to pay stamp duty??is new brand new house exempt from it??

new buildings with a floor size less than 125 sq meters(double check figure) are excempt from stamp duty

penexpers

Without an agreement, it's really up to you to decide between you what to do. If you can't reach an amicable agreement, then the only way forward is to engage solicitors and try to work it out that way. I'm surprised that the solicitor who did the convayencing work for you didn't recommend signing an agreement that would cover what would happen in the case of the relationship dissolving.

Without an agreement she can't force you to sell your half of the house to her and you can't force her to sell the house on the open market.

@Jo King: I can't find any reference to "Parition Acts".

Jo King

penexpers wrote: »

Without an agreement, it's really up to you to decide between you what to do. If you can't reach an amicable agreement, then the only way forward is to engage solicitors and try to work it out that way. I'm surprised that the solicitor who did the convayencing work for you didn't recommend signing an agreement that would cover what would happen in the case of the relationship dissolving.

Without an agreement she can't force you to sell your half of the house to her and you can't force her to sell the house on the open market.

@Jo King: I can't find any reference to "Parition Acts".

The PARTITION ACTS! Note the spelling. There are cases before the courts regularly. Some reported in various series of law reports. Either party can force the sale of the house. There is nothing to stop one of the parties bidding.

the_syco

Take the money, and a few things afterwards. Remember, she's buying your half of the house, not your stuff (if bought together, it's not automatically yours).

If, say, your house is on the market for a few months, you're getting sick of it by this stage, and just sell it to "Bob" for 25% less... only for Bob to turn out to be your ex-GF's uncle, you'll be kicking yourself. Get someone in to see how much the gaff is worth, and go from there.

carpentoza

The message here seems to be try and come up with an amicable solution and i agree having been through this process myself.
Solicitors will love a protracted battle where they send a letter to each other about who gets the laundry basket. Sit down and work everything out on paper and each give a copy to your respective solicitors.
If an amicable solution is not forthcoming dont push the subject, put the house on the market and forget about it.
Who cares if she buys it, just get out and start again. Also dont get hung up on small items and who gets them try keep your dignity and therefore sanity intact.
Dont forget if something happens to you in the interim the likelyhood is your life assurance will pay off the entire mortgage and ur ex will receive the lot.
Dont wish to scaremonger but have heard some strange happenings in this regard.
Best of luck.

superman24

my girlfriend moved out an we put the house up for sale.she doesnt want to buy me out now cos of cost of it. i`m living in it until we sell it,unfortunetly,things are v slow! we have been arguing over who gets wat in the house,shes basically sayin she wants x amount of money n i can keep tv,sofa,bed etc. i`m wondering,because she left, an moved home,does she still have rights over certain things in house still?

liger

Count yourself lucky she agreed to sell. I've to go thru the courts to sort mine. 1year down the road and 3500 quid in bills so far and i'm still months and months away from a resoultion and facing the prospect of more bills.

daiixi

Uhh... Just because she's no longer living there doesn't mean that items no longer belong (or part belong) to her. Do you think my landlord would accept it if I sold his furniture on the basis that he has no right over them because he's not living here?

SarahMc

Is there no way you an persuade her to buy you out, e.g. offering a greater share. As you are finding out, selling in this market is nigh on impossible.

Offer to sell all contents on buyandsell.ie, adverts.ie and split the proceeds. 2nd hand furniture is worthless. No court in the country is going to entertain your 2 squabbling over a sofa bed, you will have to sort it out yourselves.

superman24

shes saying now dat if we cant sell house in nxt 2mths or so dat why shud i hav the run of house while shes payin her half of mortgage,dat she wants me to move out as well an rent the house out.if this takes along time to sell,can she force me into moving out or anythin like that? cos she doesnt want to be paying half of it when shes not living der! that i shud be paying all of it even

Jo King

if you put in tenants the house probably will not sell at all and you will have to invest more time and money in keeping it let. You will have the ongoing issue of dealing with letting and organising repairs. You will have to agree on multiple issues into the future. The house will also decline in value as a result of the letting.
You need to cut your asking price and get rid of the house. If there is no offer in the next two months, do not go along with the renting plan. The house is presumably available to her to live in if she wants and she is legally liable for half the mortgage anyway. There is no way you should have to pay all of the mortgage.
Sell all the contents at auction in the event of disagreement as to who should get them.
It is better to lose some money and have closure, rather than spending years wrangling and incurring legal costs.

gurramok

And you will become an investor upon renting with all its charms of tax liability and removal of ftb status for any future purchase to go with it.

Does your gf realise its a different ball game and the full repercussions of renting the house out?
Did the two of ye not sign an agreement before the original purchase in case things went wrong??

superman24

gurramok wrote: »

And you will become an investor upon renting with all its charms of tax liability and removal of ftb status for any future purchase to go with it.

Does your gf realise its a different ball game and the full repercussions of renting the house out?
Did the two of ye not sign an agreement before the original purchase in case things went wrong??

sorry but how u mean it will remove ftb status?? no,i dont tink she does realise the repurcussions dat go wit rentin,bein honest,i`m not too familiar either! shes just tinking why shud she pay while i`m still living here! ders nothin stoppin her moving bak,she moved out of her own accord! it jus kills her i tink cos she has to pay while i`m still here! all she is paying is the mortgage,i agreed i`d pay bills,ie gas,elec,phone,sky cos shes not living here,jus to save hassle frm her although her name is on the bills as well as mine!

gurramok

Yes, if you rent(not under rent-a-room) the house out you become an investor and no longer a FTB(same with her as she is 'joint owner').

Both of ye need a solictor to sort everything out.

astrofool

superman24 wrote: »

sorry but how u mean it will remove ftb status?? no,i dont tink she does realise the repurcussions dat go wit rentin,bein honest,i`m not too familiar either! shes just tinking why shud she pay while i`m still living here! ders nothin stoppin her moving bak,she moved out of her own accord! it jus kills her i tink cos she has to pay while i`m still here! all she is paying is the mortgage,i agreed i`d pay bills,ie gas,elec,phone,sky cos shes not living here,jus to save hassle frm her although her name is on the bills as well as mine!

You need to stop with the text speak and use paragraphs.

Eevn wtinrig lkie tihs is bteter tahn txet seapk.

johnnyskeleton

astrofool wrote: »

You need to stop with the text speak and use paragraphs.

Eevn wtinrig lkie tihs is bteter tahn txet seapk.

I think he's adopting a patois that will invoke a feeling of sympathy with de pore lad wid de clever lass takin' all his hard earned (yes, earn-ed) dosh.

ciano6

You know, I was thinking, the ironic thing about you're Thread Title is that given the current climate, the answer to that original question might be 'nothing'. You thought it might be worth 300,000. But now it might be closer to 230,000. So if she was to buy you out, you might be lucky to be getting away with owing her nothing. So is there anyway that you could buy her out for close to nothing?
It's only my opinion, but I'd say this property market has a bit to fall yet, so why not just cut yer losses...