Forcing the sale of a house ...

[WiseOldSage]

My husband and I have been married for 3 years but he is still paying his ex-wife's mortgage until the youngest child is 19. That day has come and, despite assurances, his ex-wife has reneged on an arrangement to take on the mortgage for the last four years. All we have asked is that she arranges her own mortgage for the remainder of the term (or negotiates her own deal to suit her finances) and she says she can't/won't. The prize is she keeps the £210k house. We, on the other hand, have lived in my tiny terraced house and cannot get a joint mortgage until she gets organised. I think she will hold out for as long as possible even though she works and has two adult children living with her. What are our options? It seems the only way my husband can get his name off the mortgage is to force the sale of the property (even though she will end up with the proceeds). We have paid our dues for the five years we have been together - how can we get her to pay hers?

[ummmm]

Why will she end up with the proceeds if he's been paying it?

Tell her she either complies or he'll force the sale and take half the equity.

[WiseOldSage]

Strangely enough (and despite her attitude) he still sees it as his duty to stick to his word and let her have the house. He is a civil servant and in line for a decent pension so the trade off will be "hands off". She signed a separation agreement which was put forward with the divorce paperwork saying she would comply (and she was happy with it).

[ummmm]

He doesn't have to see the threat through. She's not sticking to her end of the deal...so why should he? Threaten her with it. If it only has 4 years left I'm guessing there is a lot of equity in the house. The thought of losing half of that might change her mind.

[themas]

Was this agreement part of the "ancillary matters" in the divorce? If so, talk to the solicitor who acted for him in the divorce or to the Court to see what they advise as the means to enforce the agreement. They may well say he should just stop paying - but that puts him in an impossible position with the mortgage lender.

A possible alternative is to go on paying but bring a Court claim against her for the money he has paid. However, such a claim might best be left until the 4 years are up so he could claim the full amount in one go - but write to her now saying this is what will be done if she doesn't pay (send recorded delivery & keep a copy) & that any judgement resulting from the claim will be enforced by any means possible, including a charging order on the house & an order for sale if necessary.