Ex gone to Oz & not paying mortgage

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cassi

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Hi, bought a house in 2007 with ex boyfriend. The relationship split. He went to Austrailia and never said & stopped paying his half of the mortgage.

Because he stopped paying his half of the mortgage the mortgage fell into arrears as i could not make the full repayment on my wage. It is a tracker mortgage.

I then applied for interest only which was sanctioned, on my own application last year. The bank are fully aware of my circumstances however the continue to send letters out in both our names which is so frustrating. He has no contact details only an email address. Has not cooperated with the bank and has not engaged with my solicitor who has sent letter after letter. It is believed this man is not returning to Ireland.

My interest only application has now expired and i am back to square one. The house is in negative equity of approx €100,000.

I cant sustain the total mortgage repayment. I am a civil servant and have a good job and i am well able to pay my half however i am unable to keep up the total repayments & pay his half) hence my credit rating is being affected.

Nobody can tell me what my options are. Is my ex liable for his half. Am i liable for the total amount of the mortgage. Can i get his name off the mortgage it is just so unfair that one can walk away from their mortgage.

I have cooperated with the bank fully and given them everything but i am still the fall guy for it all. I am caught in a corner and cant get out & I desperatly need advice I need to get out of this situation. Where can i go from here?

thanks in advance!
 
Hi Cassi , first off you have my sympathies.

You are in the same situation as myself.
More or less exactly as you have outlined.

You cannot get his name off the mortgage unless your salary will be good enough to cover mortgage. Yourself and him are both liable and if he is missing you become fully liable.
Stand corrected but believe this to be the case.

For myself I am at the stage now as I cannot like you get cooperation from ex-partner , and under the mortgage arrears code there is no provision for people in our situation.

So you have to start asking yourself do you want the house ?
Plus can you take a leave of absence from the civil service and go to UK and try bankruptcy there?
Is a fresh start a better option?
 
Thank you CouldBe its nice to speak to someone who is in a similar situation, its so hard to explain it at times and so so frustrating! At times I feel like i'm the only one in this situation. Unfortunately I cannot move to the UK but it is an idea. The whole thing is so wrong and nothing there to help us!

Brendan thanks so much for the prompt reply I have been looking for answers for so long and now I know. I think I will have to continue paying the interest only for the foreseeable future, here's hoping the bank will consent to it for another year and one day I will be able to get out of this mess!

Just one other question, if I should marry would my future husband be then liable for the debts?

thanks again
 
The whole thing is so wrong and nothing there to help us!
Click to expand...

It's very tough, but it's not wrong or unfair. You chose to buy a house with someone else. It was your choice of partner which was wrong. If your partner is not available to meet his liabilities, then the lender is right to go after you. You can then go after your partner. It is tough, but not wrong.

Having said that, you could opt for a Personal Insolvency Arrangement which would result in the sale of the house. Unfortunately, I presume you would need to go to court to get permission to sell. Or you ask the lender to repossess it.

If you come out the other end of an insolvency or bankruptcy arrangement, your ex would be on the hook for the whole amount, if they could find him, or if he comes back.

No, your future husband would not be legally liable for the debts. But they might ask him to contribute as part of any deal. He can refuse and the bank can refuse to do a deal.

Brendan
 
Hi,
My Husband to be is in the exact same situation as you.

They bought the house in 2007 & his ex left for Australia in 2008. He has been in & out of work for the past three years resulting in 30k arrears.
The house was bought for €285k & currently is only worth €130k.

I’m looking into buying a new home for us both in an area that we would much prefer so helping to throw lumps of money off this house is not an option for me as my name isn't on the deeds.

We are waiting on the repossession papers to arrive every time we hear the post man.
 
coleman


I suggest you start a new thread in a Case Study format to see if you can get ideas from Askaboutmoney contributors.
 
cassi said:
Just one other question, if I should marry would my future husband be then liable for the debts?

thanks again
Click to expand...

Cassi, I suggest not broadcasting it to your bank that you are getting married if you do. For example don't open a joint account with your husband, or change the name on your bank account after you get married. Don't wear a wedding ring if you're meeting them etc. As Brendan said, if in the future you're trying to get a deal on negative equity they could be very interested in your husband's earnings, are ye living in a house owned by him etc.
 
Thank you so much for all your replys, i really appreaciate it. I am currently dealing with the bank to try and get interest only for a further year but they are just pushing me and pushing me for more and more money that i just dont have. I literally wont have a bob for my food and bills.
Im cooperating with them fully & supplying everything im being asked for but i feel im getting deeper and deeper into financial difficulty with them. I have had 2 meetings this week alone with the bank to and i have had a total now of 3 phone calls from the call centre. Its like harrassment at this stage.

I believe the more i cooperate the less help im getting (if that makes sense) At this stage i am seriously considering getting the house repossesed. Can i just have your thoughts on it and also how does one start the process I am just at the end of my thether!
 
On the phone calls.

Tell them you are co-operating fully with them and you now feel bullied by too many calls and would they PLEASE put All contact in writing in future.
Keep a diary of dates/times/people who call.

Normally these calls are on Private Lines, if you can, dont answer private calls, why give anyone your Date of Birth ? etc.They arn,t ringing to say you have won the Lotto!!


Hang in there, stay civil, DO NOT BE BULLIED,
Listen to AAM advice, I wish you well.
 
Hi cassi, just a quick response to your first post. Unfortunately yes you are jointly and severely liable for the mortgage but if he is not around they will just go after you for what they can. I had this for years with the bank but finally last week I went into court and got my ex husbands name off the title deeds of the house etc etc (part of a divorce) It may take a long time to get his name off the mortgage but I have an agreement in place to be sent to the mortgage company stating that I am now the sole person they will be dealing with going forward with things. I do pay the full amount of the mortgage per month but they were willing to restructure the loan with me prior to divorce hearings. Do you want to keep the house? Or do you not really care? Have you any contact at all with your ex? Have you asked the bank about restructuring the loan?
 
cassi said:
I believe the more i cooperate the less help im getting (if that makes sense) At this stage i am seriously considering getting the house repossesed. Can i just have your thoughts on it and also how does one start the process I am just at the end of my thether!
Click to expand...

Of course the more you cooperate the harder the bank will push you. This makes perfect sense from the banks point of view.

Why should they waste their time chasing people who just ignore them when they can pursue people who cooperate.

You and the bank are not in this together, they see you as an easier target than someone who simply hangs up on their calls.
 
Thank you Markswoman and cremegg for the replys. I agree cremegg its frustrating to say the least. I get at least 2 calls per week but i have started to hang up now!

Markswoman- yes i have been told by the bank that they can look into reconstructing the mortgage. I was given an idea of what the repayment figure would be but it is still out of my reach financially BUT they said they can only consider even looking at it when and if i can get my ex's name off the title deeds.

I have no contact with my ex. All i have is an email address. He refuses to give his address. I believe he is working in Oz, thats all i know. He has not paid the mortgage in 2 years now.
I am paying interest only at the moment but that expires again very soon and i will have to re-apply again for same. I would keep the house if i could afford it and get his name off the title deeds and i would also sell if i could. I am open to all options.
 
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