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House problem

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
My friend Sarah bought a house with her loser boyfriend about 6 months ago. By some miracle they didnt have a mortgage because they had enuf savings between them, Sarah payed about 20% , and her boyfriend got the rest of the money of his parents (loser) and now theyve split up. She also payed for a new kitchen, bathroom etc.She moved out n her boyfriend is still living there. Hes such a loser sayin she dusnt deserve any of the house cos she moved n that its his house cos he payed for 80%. He won't sell the house and he sayin that shes not entitled to her 20% back (or extra kitchen/bathroom money) until he decides to sell, which he says he wont do (out of sheer spite.) I wondering, is she really not entitled to the money till he sells. Also though, he doesnt have a job so he probably cant afford 2 keep bills and stuff up, so wondering if Sarah will get any of the bad credit if he mucks it up!?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I guess your friend will have to seek some legal advice, I would assume that she would be entitled to a percentage of the property and that he would have to buy her out. Did they get a declaration of trust drawn up or any other legal document to outline what percentage of the property they owned?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yea, legal advice all the way. Citizens advice bureau as a first step, and then perhaps a solicitor to arrange who gets what. The bad credit will tend to go to whoever's name the house is in.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    When they bought the house (even if it was outright) they would have had to have drawn up some sort of legally binding contract about what happens in these circumstances. She should consult with the solicitor they used when they bought the house in the first place.

    Edited to add: I'm buying a house with my boyfriend at the moment and we've decided to go 50/50 even though he will be contributnig far more than I am simply because he brings home about 3 times what I do and doesn't have any debt. That means if (god forbid!) we split up, I will be entitled to 50% of the property etc but I won't have contributed nowhere near as much as that. We talked long and hard about it and I was happy to have the deeds made out something like 30/70% in his favour but he wouldn't have it. I geuss if things go sour he'll wish he hadn't done it, but nobody goes into these things thinking they'll split up I guess.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    BumbleBee - having said that, it's often cited in divorce cases that the woman in the relationship, even if she didn't earn as much herself, was completely crucial to the other achieving his earning potential; along the lines of emotional support / cooking cleaning? I don't know... [/random]
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Your friend will need to seek legal advice on this one, its hard to give too much advice based on what you have said.

    I would expect that it will be hard, if not impossible, for her to get her money back until he sells. If she did not register herself as a proprietor of the property then she will have a lot of trouble proving that she has any right over the property at all. One proprietor cannot sell the property unilaterally, though, so if she is a registered proprietor then her financial interest in the property is safe.

    There are ways of trying to force the issue, and your friend should seek legal advice. She can make things as awkward for this man as possible (such as by putting a restriction on the property), and force him into buying her out of the title deeds. But she will need specialist advice on how to do this.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    thanx for the help, cant giv any more info sorry cos i just dont no, but i do know that they signed a contract when they bought it, but he says it says that Sarah is only entitled the money when they sell, whether hes lyin i duno!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    They will have signed a contract, but that only governs the process of tranferring the property into their name from the seller.

    If she's signed a contract she may well be a registered proprietor of the property, in which case her financial interests are safe, even if she can't immediately get at the money.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    BumbleBee - having said that, it's often cited in divorce cases that the woman in the relationship, even if she didn't earn as much herself, was completely crucial to the other achieving his earning potential; along the lines of emotional support / cooking cleaning? I don't know... [/random]

    Which I personally think is utter bollocks!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    BumbleBee wrote: »
    When they bought the house (even if it was outright) they would have had to have drawn up some sort of legally binding contract about what happens in these circumstances.

    That's unlikely, to be honest. Most couples choose to hold the property as joint tenants, which means that they both have a shared and equal interest in the property and the property reverts to the other on death.

    They could hold the property as tenants in common, either in equal shares or in unequal shares. If they held it unequally then they would have drawn a Deed of Trust up, which states who owns how much of the property.

    The solicitor may have a colleague who will be able to deal with this dispute, but it isn't a conveyancing dispute.

    I have a feeling that the girl has an interest in the property as a joint tenant, and as such she is reasonably secure, so long as she takes steps to prevent the boyfriend from mortgaging the property or disposing of it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote: »
    They could hold the property as tenants in common, either in equal shares or in unequal shares. If they held it unequally then they would have drawn a Deed of Trust up, which states who owns how much of the property.


    Aye, that's what I meant ;)
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