Ex not responding to letters

[scissorglitch]

Hi Can anyone give me some advice please. I have solicitor who is trying to sort out sale of property held in joint names, but ex won't reply to letters. He is not living at the property (neither am I), and it is being rented out by him. His mother has returrned the letters to her address (not known at this address), solicitor has sent on to the perty but they have either not forwarded it on or something else? He has ignored the letters solicitor sent to his work place too. Have you any ideas please,I don't have a phone number for him. I don't think the mortgage company will help due to data protection .

Thanks

Em

[tommy.irene]

Hi everyone

No, the mortgage company don't know its let,I think someone said earlier if I tell them I will be dropping myself in it. And no, I don't get any of the rent,don't know who the tenant is either, but I assume ex has warned them about letters, as ones sent to the address have not been answered either. The solicitor did say I could claim for my share of the rent but, if ex has set this up and not within mortgage rules (let him face the music with that one, in court), I don't want anything to do with that, as I will explain  to them in court, eventually. Can I ask the mortgage company to sell the house tommy, do they actually let you do that?

Thanks all for your help and support, it doesn't feel as bad talking on here about it.

Thanks

Em

As i said in post 54 i would go to the tenant and tell them the house is going on the for sale market.. That should get back to your partner..Go and talk to the mortage people as they will want their money from any sale.

[mitzigirl_123]

Can I ask the mortgage company to sell the house tommy, do they actually let you do that?

Em - You don't have to ask the permission of your mortgage company to sell the house.  They are only concerned with the mortgage monies being repaid on redemption i.e. when it is sold.

Your problem is that because you have a joint mortgage both parties have to agree to a sale of the house in order for an estate agent or solicitor to sell it for you.

You don't have to put any details on here but if your "ex" is your husband and as well as the sale of the house you are filing for a divorce then any and all income derived from the property, work income, savings, pensions etc will have to be disclosed in what is known as a Form E (including copy bank statements) - you too will have to submit the same and if either one of you fail to disclose any financial assets or hidden cash payments, then it is a criminal offence.

If he is just your "partner" and you are not married then you are simply dealing with a sale of a jointly mortgaged house and full and frank financial disclosure is not necessary just an equal division of the sale proceeds.

If you have children between you then that division, depending on your solicitor, can be higher in your favour.

As said before, if your "ex" has not informed the mortgage company that he is sub letting and you can show that you were not aware of his actions, then he will be penalised for that and the mortgage company may take "extra" to cover the rental period from the final mortgage repayment figure.

I still think you should go back to your original solicitor and make her account for the advice given to you and ask her what the next steps are and what other legal financial packages are available to you to force a sale on the property and how long that will take.  When armed with that information you can either continue to use her or approach another law firm.

[mitzigirl_123]

You're also not aware of the terms under which the property was let? You might have "a bit of bovver" getting them out if you want the property sold.

I suspect the "ex" has sublet to friends and it is a cash in hand agreement.  No property company would allow the let without supporting documents and authority from the mortgage company.

I doubt if he has registered as a social landlord.

One question?  Who is paying the Council Tax?

[barbara.1482]

Em, the sooner the tenant is made aware the property is going on the market the better. It will give them plenty of time to find alternative accommodation depending on what sort of tenancy agreement the tenant has signed up for. Some tenancies are short term and it's easier to get rid of them, and others can be longer term (assured) and would need a court order should they become awkward about leaving.

By law your ex should have issued the tenant with a rent book with information relating to the type of tenancy he has. that's if he's done it the proper way.:-)

[mitzigirl_123]

Re my Council Tax question - I thought I would just bash this out anyway ...

As neither of you are living in the house then the local authority i.e. your Council should have be informed of the new occupiers and the Council will look to them for the Council Tax.

The same applies to you and your ex and wherever you are living now, you are responsible to pay Council Tax for that property.  If either of you are living with a relative, then they still have to declare that they have another occupant and their Council Tax will be adjusted accordingly especially if they were claiming single person occupancy.

The Council will penalise anyone who does not declare this and will claim back the tax from the period of occupancy.  

The "tenants" living in your house are also liable to pay Council Tax for living in your property.

Sorry to deliver another blow but you don't want to mess around with the local authority because they are pretty mean when it comes to this sort of issue.

Barbara - If the "ex" has done everything above board, notified the mortgage company, the Council, issued a tenancy agreement, rent book etc, Em would would notice a difference in her monthly mortgage repayments and from what I gather they are same which tells me he hasn't.

Personally I wouldn't re-visit the property and face the "tenants" - they could be hostile etc etc .... rather I would write on a piece of paper simply saying that

"You are living in this property without consent and the local authorities have been informed and legal action is pending against you".

I would put this in a plain envelope (or even a birthday card type envelope) and just write "Hi" on the front.

They will open it out of curiousity!

Just a thought! 😄

[cee-dee]

The property is/was jointly mortgaged?

You are both liable for any shortcomings and for the repayment.

As you ARE aware that the property has been let/sublet, you are as responsible as he is for any financial penalty the mortgagees care to impose. In the circumstances, they may be entitled to foreclose.

Why you've not told the martgagees what's going on I dunno but in the end, they won't care WHO they get to repay the loan and if your ex can show he's got no money or assets (apart from the house), the mortgagees will be looking for what they can get out of you and if the property eventually gets sold by "The Motgagees in Possession", they'll be looking for a quick sale which will mean a very low price!

Once there's been a "7-day notice" in the local press, the property will be sold at that (low) price which could mean you end up with nothing!

[barbara.1482]

Thanks Mitzi, In that case I'D inform them, and distance myself, and let him  deal with what's to follow:_|

I believe Em said further back they are up to date with the mortgage?

[barbara.1482]

Em, I forgot to say as you wasn't aware in the beginning your ex was sub-letting the property you can't be held responsible I would have thought! just prove ignorance like Mitzi said.:-)

[aernethril]

Sorry to add to the problems, but if this property is being let, then as the joint owner you will also be responsible for ensuring that any landlord checks required by law are or have been carried out and if a deposit was paid, that it was put in to an official deposit scheme.

There's a whole other complication around this if your ex has let it either officially or semi-officially and you need to find out how you could end up liable if you're not careful.

This case could be getting far more problematic and as advised by others, I think you need to go back to your solicitor and find out not only why she didn't explain about the financial situation but also why she is not advising you about the possible other problems.

Then either try and see another solicitor or raise a formal complaint against the existing one so that ideally you get a senior partner to look at the whole situation.

[scissorglitch]

Hi Mitizi, barbara  and aernethril, have emailed solicitor with a list of all the points, and yes I think too he has done the rent thing on the sly too,and I don't know who is paying the council tax.We are divorced by the way with no kids thank god. I want approach the tenant/tenants, I expect he has warned them anyway. I will let you know what I hear back from her. One solicitor I emailed has aid it will cost "several thousands", to issue a court order. Hope I don'thave to go down that road.Are  You feeling better yet mitzi?

Thanks

Em

[mitzigirl_123]

Em - I'm still feeling poorly but it's not life threatening so I'll live to fight another day 😄

Good luck with your solicitor although she will no doubt back track and just relay the information she has already given you and cover her back.  If you are not happy with the service and advice she has given then tell her so.  There are complaint procedures but I doubt if you want that in your life just now or can be bothered with it the only advantage is that her time will be written off for the work (or lack of it) she has done and she won't get paid!

Yes it will cost around £1,500 - £2,000 to issue Court proceedings but there are law firms out there that may consider taking their fees from the sale proceeds of the house when sold however they will ask for the initial filing Court fees and other disbursements but again you need to find out what these are and what legal financial assistance is available to you.

Most of the 'no win no fee' law firms deal with personal injury, medical accident or employee tribunal cases but there are some out there that deal with family law matters and it is just a case of researching which ones do in your area.

You will get there in the end and your priority should be ensuring you are protected from  from any financial backlash or penalties caused by your ex.  You should still have some funding in place and if there is one thing your current solicitor can do is use it for that and then you can move on to A. N. Other! ;\

[aernethril]

Don't forget to ask if you are eligible for either total or partial fee remission on the grounds of your income and expenses if you cannot continue to receive Legal Aid.

[scissorglitch]

Hi Mitzi and aernethril

Thank you so much for all your advice, I wouldn't have a clue about this without you both, and tommy and barbara.  I have tried looking for a no win no fee solicitor and have sent a couple of emails but no replies yet.  And if a solicitor would take it off the sale of the house that would be great. Can I ask my solicitor if she still has funding left over or should I just ask to move to another one please? And Aernethril who doI ask fora partial fee remission is that the solicitor I have now or if I have to instruct another one?

Thanks

Em

[tommy.irene]

Hi Mitzi and aernethril

Thank you so much for all your advice, I wouldn't have a clue about this without you both, and tommy and barbara.  I have tried looking for a no win no fee solicitor and have sent a couple of emails but no replies yet.  And if a solicitor would take it off the sale of the house that would be great. Can I ask my solicitor if she still has funding left over or should I just ask to move to another one please? And Aernethril who doI ask fora partial fee remission is that the solicitor I have now or if I have to instruct another one?

Thanks

Em

Go and see the solicitor who has the deeds to your house and tell them your selling it and want them to handle the case for the house sale money..

[mitzigirl_123]

Tommy - Solicitors no longer hold "deeds" if there are any they are sent to the client for their retention - the system has been simplified and all that is available today is a copy of the Land Registry Entry.

[tommy.irene]

Tommy - Solicitors no longer hold "deeds" if there are any they are sent to the client for their retention - the system has been simplified and all that is available today is a copy of the Land Registry Entry.

I bough a house to rent out last year in the UK and my solicitor  asked if i want him to keep the deeds..so i said yes..

[tommy.irene]

What happened to the op.. they never came back..

[scissorglitch]

Hi Tommy,

Sorry, I wrote to solicitor last monday saying what I wasnt happy about , havent heard back yet, she only works Tuesday, wednesday and thursday?. I will keep you posted.  Thanks

Em

[10phizz]

.......so did mine, sadly...........if I hadn`t taken matters into my own hands we would have lost thousands of pounds from our parents estate. She was totally incompetent .

[tommy.irene]

Hi Tommy,

Sorry, I wrote to solicitor last monday saying what I wasnt happy about , havent heard back yet, she only works Tuesday, wednesday and thursday?. I will keep you posted.  Thanks

Em

If it was me ..I would be waiting outside her office to open at 9am..