Council won't let me sell

S

sparkle82

Registered User
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I got my house valued at €110,000 and the balance on the mortgage is €135,600.

I rang the council to see if I could sell the house and pay off the rest of the debt in installments. I was told no pretty much.

I can't rent the place as the area I live in is already saturated with rental properties. I can't afford the mortgage as I've lost my job.

The house is in joint names and the other person on the mortgage is refusing to have anything to do with the house. He says he doesn't want to move back in. (He lied to his wife about it. It's a long story).

I myself have a baby and I need to get out of this place. ( It's a mile and a half away from the train station, too small and I have no family out here and before anyone points out that I should thought about all that in the first place, at the time it seemed like the right move. My ex-partner had a car and it was easy to get around. Plus we were going to be married but things didn't work out.)

Has anyone else been in a similar situation?
 
The house is in joint names, so you cant do anything without the other person.

Is the other person keeping up their side of the mortgage repayments?
 
No truthseeker. He got married 3 months after we split and wants nothing to do with the house. I've been taking care of the payments myself for the past 3 years. I was trying to get the house signed over to me but between my solicitor and ex it hasn't been easy. Anyway I've lost my job so I won't be granted a mortgage now anyway.
 
Just because he decided he wanted nothing more to do with the house doesnt exonerate him from his financial responsibilities.

There is a thread here somewhere where a guy was able to use a solicitor to make his ex pay her half of the mortgage when she had just decided to ignore it. Ill have a look for it for you - it may contain some useful information for you.
 
Here is the thread. A lot of it is not relevant to you but the end of it talks about where the posters solicitor said he would get a court order to make the ex pay up and at the mention of this the ex decided to pay her half of the mortgage.

The negative equity is not yours alone - he also owns half of that debt.
 
If you want out, thats your choice. Put the house on the market and 'they', whether its the Council or Financial Institution can have the rest in installments if they want it. Its not a prison. Or, stop paying the mortgage, leave them repossess the house. They wont be long going after BOTH names on the mortgage.
 
Hi guys. Thanks for all the responses. I don't know why they said no exactly. The guy I was talking to wasn't very clear on the matter. He said it had been passed on to a senior financial officer and that I could expect a call next week regarding the matter. As far as the valuation is concerned, the council are fully aware of the situation with my ex so I think they are not prepared to accept the figure I was quoted as I can't afford to pay back any debt at the mo. My ex however has a full time job and could afford to live here. God it makes me so angry now when I think of it. I didn't want to move out here in the first place but he persuaded me and now I'm stuck. Let that be a lesson to everyone out there. Don't do something unless you think it's the right decision.
 
Also just to clarify what I said to the guy in the council was if I was to sell for 110000 what way could I pay back the remaining debt and he said oh I don't think you can do that.
 
sparkle82 said:
Also just to clarify what I said to the guy in the council was if I was to sell for 110000 what way could I pay back the remaining debt and he said oh I don't think you can do that.
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I suppose if you said that you could produce the balance on the mortgage outstanding, then they would let you sell for whatever price you get for it.
 
If you've lost your job and have no income will social welfare not pay the mortgage interest for you?

Your ex is also responsible for the mortgage so he could end up having to pay off the whole lot if you have no job and he is a mark. The best thing would be for you both to agree to sell and make up the shortfall in the negative equity.

Do not rely on anything the council says on the telephone. Write to them by registered post to see what options they will allow you.
 
If you had a mortgage with the council i think that perhaps you require consent from the council to sell the property. You would have to show that you or your dependants would not require council housing any time in the future. The council may not be convinced that this would be the case.
 
I am in the same situation as you. 4yrs ago got a shared ownership and like you i cant sell the property. have u found a way out yet
 
Bronte said:
Do not rely on anything the council says on the telephone. Write to them by registered post to see what options they will allow you.
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This is really good advice. Council staff are always changing and don't have sufficent knowledge to answer detailed queries.

And take a written record of all phone calls, date, time and name of person spoken to.
 
Hi there, shared ownership has got to be the biggest scam, I am trapped in one for over 11 years now, cant sell because of the recesssion, have been allowed to by the council, your ex is responsible for the morgage just as much as you, so there is no escaping it for him, and if he got married his new wife is equally responsible, his name is on the deeds, I am divorced and my ex husband is still responsible for the morgage , so when it gets repossessed he will be liable for the debt just as much as me by the council, even though the house was handed over to me in the divorce, its down to the lender at the end of the day as to who to chase for the arrears. Shared ownership is like a prison, at least with a council tenancy you can move around with this your freedom of movement is breached, and because you have not got a full morgage you are also trapped only option is to sell if you are allowed to , luckily because the house was awarded to me I didnt need his permission to sell, and now the private sector seem to be the only ones offered the morgage to rent scheme, left out in the cold again. Anyway would love to know how you got on
 
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