House deposit owed to Ex after break up

J

jenolan

Registered User
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Hiya,

Looking for some advice before I go the solicitor route. Myself and my boyfriend split up just before we finalised buying our house (his decision). I proceeded to buy the house in my name, deeds etc all have my name and he signed a letter that my solicitor wanted at the time saying he was pulling out of the house purchase. He had already put down the €10k deposit which when we split I said I'd give back even though he said he didn't want it back.

Anyway I told him the other day that I would give him €6k as I paid for all the electrical extras HE wanted done and I had to pay the additional solicitors fees for having the deeds etc redone. If we'd have pulled out we'd have lost the deposit altogether and possibly been sued by the builder so he's lucky he's getting anything back if you ask me. Basically he replied saying not happy with this as the house went up €20k before we split and I got it all!

I will pay him back the money but am I in anyway legally obliged to give him the full amount. I think he was even hinting that he should be entitled to a share of the €20k profit but he can you know what with that idea!!
 
Can you clarify some details:
  • He alone provided the €10K deposit.
  • The electrical extras that he wanted cost €4K (!?)
  • You are willing to give him €6K in lieu of the deposit less the electrical costs which you already paid.
Apart from the fact that those electrical changes must have been very sophisticated or expensive this seems like a fair enough arrangement to me. I wouldn't entertain any claim to a share of any paper based increase in value of the property either if I was in the same situation.
 
am I in anyway legally obliged to give him the full amount
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If he confirms that he alone specified the electrical extras, then you would have some leeway, but don't forget you are still getting the benefit of these extras, so effectively your house will have added value because of these. Its not as cut and dried as you might like to think.
 
Hi Clubman,

We were both saving the deposit for the house but as I paid for things like the car loan etc out of my bank we withdrew the deposit from his account. The electrical extras cost approx €1,600 and the solicitors fees were more expensive than usual as the deeds and contracts had to be redrawn.

I think he's lucky to be getting anything back at all as he should never have gone ahead with the purchase and pulled out at the last minute leaving me in a mess! Having said that I am a decent human being and would not be able to live with the fact that I owed someone money. I think my offer is fair especially considering he couldv'e lost the lot!

Vanilla...the only benefit I'm getting now is a load of wires hanging out of everywhere for all the stuff he planned to do and which I of course do not have the money for!
 
It would be best if you can somehow come to some mutually agreeable resolution to this situation because if it ends up with solicitors and the law involved then you will both lose out financially (that's not a dig at solicitors by the way - just the reality of the situation).
 
In my humble opinion in the absence of any agreement between the two of you, the most you could be asked to repay is the 10K he paid towards the deposit and that would be fair.

The electricals are staying in the house, you agreed to them, and you get to keep them and they do add value to the house. Extra solicitors fees should probably also be yours. Neither should come off the 10K deposit .

His name is not on the deeds so he has no entitlement to any part of the capital appreciation and the letter he signed stops any kind of argument.

It seems fair that he reimbourses the car loan payements you made for him -assuming he keeps the car ;). So in my humble opinion if you were to give him any money back, give him 10K - car loan payments= his refund. (€8000?). But then again he said he didn't want any. Make him a final offer and tell him that he can take it or leave it.
For your own piece of mind, you could give him the full 10K back, even though he didn't ask for any of the money. At least you can look back on the house in 10 years and have nobody to thank but yourself.

Congratulations on breaking up. Who wants to live with somebody this mean? :D
 
Thanks Guys, I suppose I just want to teach him a lesson for leaving me in the lurch but as you said D2X2 I can look back in 10 years time and be very happy.

And you're right what a close shave I had...no one would want to live with someone that mean!
 
jenolan said:
Thanks Guys, I suppose I just want to teach him a lesson for leaving me in the lurch
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It would be better if you could try to leave emotion aside and simply deal with the issue (e.g. what he is fairly owed etc.) and arrive at a clean break as soon as possible.
 
Your ex will be raging that you made it without him, that will be your sweet revenge.
 
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