Heelllppp!!

lizm

Hi

I wonder if anyone can help me? My ex partner left me in 2006, we owned a property of which he asked me to buy his share, which i did as we had a son and i needed to provide a home for him and also didn't want to be uprooting him and unsettling him.

The property was valued at 300k but i could not get enough of a mortgage to buy him out completely. He was owed 80k and i could only get him 30k. To get the mortgage to pay him I had to get him to write a note to say that he was happy with 30k and give it to mortgage lenders, which i did through instruction of my solicitor who then got us to sign a form just for us to say that I would pay him the 50k owed within 5 yrs.

I did this thinking that maybe in a couple to 3 years i could remortgage AND GET HIM SOME MORE MONEY, but then the whole collapse and recession kicked in so I am now left with a house in negative equity and have absolutely no way of obtaining the remainder of what he is owed.
I am at my wits end as to what will happen, I have been told that i can be taken to the high court and a judgement made on my house which i was told was the last thing i wanted to happen. Can anyone advise me as to what i can do and what a judgement on my house would mean exactly?

My ex isnt the most willing of people to negotiate with. I'm afraid of what will happen and what hold that will give him over me as when we had split up and going through the process of me buying the house he used to come to the house drunk threatening not to let me buy and stuff like that.....i'm afraid that any judgement is going to put me at his mercy for a VERY LONG TIME. ANY ADVICE OR HELP WILL BE MUCH APPRECIATED.

seamus

Talk to your own solicitor.

He can get a judgement made against your house which basically means that when the property is sold, he can apply to have his money taken from the proceeds, if there are any. He cannot force the sale of your house as it is your primary residence and family home.

His own solicitor will likely advise him that since your property is in negative equity, he would be a moron to apply for judgement against it.

If it was me I'd tell him to go do his worst; you don't have the money so he can go waste his money on court proceedings if he likes. The judge will not force the sale of your home and at worst may reduce his maintenance payments as a form of repayment scheme.

But you need to talk to your solicitor.

Procrastastudy

Paragraphs for the love of God!

barman linen

I agree you need to talk to a solicitor. IANAL

Do you have a judicial Separation or Deed of Separation agreement ? The Judge would go along with the principles in that agreement but if there is no money there ( equity ) he will not put you in hock for it. I am not sure of the validity of the notes you signed at the time of conveyance.

If you are elegible for Divorce it all goes back to square one and the assets available are looked at by the judge - albeit along the lines of the Separation agreement.

I am on the other side of a similar debate - when I split my spouse and I took a house each as we had an investment property. I then bought my own house and now she is looking for the investment property as well ! She signed a deed of waiver at the conveyance and I guarantee her mortgage. Upshot is that I am in negative equity on my new home....break even on the marital asset so there is nothing more to give her.

lizm

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Paragraphs for the love of God!

Apologies.....did it on my phone and in a hurry!!!!

lizm

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Paragraphs for the love of God!

Is that better ??

Procrastastudy

Much I can now give you the benefir of my advice... I dunno :P

Seriosuly it will help others though!