Joint Mortgage Ex gone for good - what to do?

T

tesa14

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Hi,

Im not sure if I am writing on the right part of this site but I was recommended this site to get some advice.

Me and my husband bought our house in 2006 in the boom time for stupid money but we got it off the strength of his wages as he was on a great wage anyway since then we split up and in oct 2010 he booked to go to Australia for 3month (so he told me) so we both applied to the EBS for an interest only mortgage for 1 year so that we could rent out the house for the year the rent would cover the mortgage for us and after the year we would sell or decide what to do with the house. after a couple of months the tenants moved out and didn't pay any money so the best option at the time was that I move back in as husband was still in Australia, over 3 years on and ex is still in Australia no contact and doesn't want to be found, ex doesn't contribute towards the house mortgage etc and doesn't want to have anything to do with me or the house. after the year of interest only the mortgage went back up to full amount of 1700 approx. per month which obviously I couldn't afford and I have been in contact with the EBS all along explaining the situation they are hounding me for more threatening repossession etc etc, I cant sell the house or change payments etc as I need ex signature which is not possible as no contact,after so long of getting nowhere with the bank I contacted new beginnings and basically new beginnings have acted on my behalf contacted the bank mabs and an insolvency company they deal with and between them I have now been given 2 options, the first is to come up with the full 1700 per month going forward but ex will still always own half the house or have control etc even though he is not contributing or the second option is that I go bankrupt carry on paying the bank the money I am currently paying them for the next 5 yrs (it should be 3 but because of the arrears built up ebs will get it for 5yrs) and try rent someone where else which in turn will end up costing me so much more when im already struggling paying now. the 2 options are just no help to me at all, my hands are tied and I really don't want to leave my house as I have kept it going for a good few years now and looked after it inside and out plus its my home id hate to leave it. I cant rent out rooms as I have a reason for this. I have a new partner now that will try help me so I might be able to come up with more money per month but he has his own issues with ex/house/child, so this might be a solution but what would be the point him putting money into something the ex could just come back for!!
I feel like really giving up and just handing back the keys and walking away from the house as it would be cheaper to rent somewhere else, my ex is getting away with this in Australia and doesn't care, does anyone know what is the worst that can happen to me if I do this?? If anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it please??
Thanks in advance!
 
Option 1 is not a viable option for obvious reasons. Given the circumstances and assuming that the house is currently in negative equity you need to reconcile yourself to losing this property. I don't understand why bankruptcy was advised unless you have significant other debts which you have not disclosed. Effectively "handing back the keys" is now your only option. You will be liable for the shortfall following a sale of the property but this can be addressed under the new insolvency legislation as an unsecured debt. This solution will enable you to move on with your life without the burden now imposed by the mortgage.
 
I sympathise with your situation. Your post is very hard to read though, its a massive paragraph in fairness!
 
Depanding on

1) They have not started court proceedings for repo

Stop all payments to EBS immediately. They are clearly stringing you along for as much as they can before getting possession of the house. Stay put till they get an order through the courts. This will give you breathing space of about a year or so. Then simply walk away. Keep the money you would have paid them as savings for rent deposit and living emergencies for a few months. If they ask for the shortfall explain you have nothing and you will gladly go bankrupt.

2) They have already started proceedings and are close to repo.

Turn up in court and explain the situation to the judge. Keep paying something. Explain that you have engaged and they will not order repo. Then start the process of negotiations again.

The two options they have given you are codwash and I can't understand hohw New Beginings even agreed to that.

This is a short term solution (Well for a year or so). Long term you need to tell the bank that you are just a joint owner and that you will not pay anything from the other party. Give the bank any details you have on your ex husband to see if they can chase him for a change. In the meantime try not to worry too much and enjoy life.
 
Thank you very much for the replies.

Apologies for the way I typed the original post, once I start thinking/typing about this my fingers just take over and punctuation spacing etc goes out the window so apologies for that!

To answer a couple of things:
Repo proceedings have not commenced I am just receiving letters etc, but seemingly new beginnings had an agreement made with the EBS that I would make a decision and come back to them on which option to go with and let them know by the end of January at the latest.

the house was bought for 400,000 originally and would sell for around 250,000 to 280,000 at the max and there are around 35,000 in arrears so its totally negative.

Going by advice given here and advice I received from a mortgage broker I think my best option is to now stop payments let EBS bring me to court for repossession which will give me a few more months in the house, there will be an outstanding debt from the sale but I would then go for bankruptcy either here or uk or see if anything can be done through the new insolvency legislation.

Thanks again for the replies much appreciated, its just trying to get advice from people that know what they are talking about and for me to know my next steps etc so thank you for helping me!!
 
there will be an outstanding debt from the sale but I would then go for bankruptcy either here or uk or see if anything can be done through the new insolvency legislation.
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Yes but remember the debt is only half yours so don't let the bank 'forget' this. At least now you have clarity and a clear plan. Don't get stressed by calls or letters either and even if you don't engage, make sure you get your day in court (by appearing eprsonally on the given date) to explain the circumstances and get a moving out period.
 
elcato,
thanks again!!

I spoke to my partner and he is worried about going this direction as he really wants us to stay in "our home" and thinks I will make things a lot worse going this way but to be honest I think this is the best option now, put the money into a different account and let it build for the few months.

I will find a good solicitor in my area (hopefully that wont cost too much and hopefully one that is good with dealing with these situations)I will tell them my plans so they can be with me when I get my court date and to also put my partners mind at rest too that im doing the only best option. Im already on the credit bureau list so stopping payment now will not make that any worse! And yes of course you are right the outstanding debt will be only half mine which will be better than going half bankrupt now on the full amount!! thanks!!

Sorry another question if you don't mind, should I tell the EBS and New beginnings that this is the way im going now or do I just let them cop on themselves when no payment goes through????
 
elcato said:
Yes but remember the debt is only half yours so don't let the bank 'forget' this..
Click to expand...


That may not be true legally, borrowers are often jointly and severally liable so in the absence of the ex they may seek judgement for the full debt. Ethically the ex should shoulder his share but given he's done a runner seems that's not going to happen, the bank will chase who they can reach.
 
This is not "your home". It is a house bought and owned jointly with your husband, who has done a runner. You can stay there temporaily pending handing the property over to the bank, but it is just not feasible for you and your current partner to consider the property as being a long term proposition. Harsh, but unfortunately that is the situation.
You need to work towards a reposession of the property in line with previous posts as outlined above. Even if you cease paying EBS anything immediately a reposession will take time. In the meantime you should look for a suitable rented accomodation. You will not need to go bankrupt, unless you have a large element of other debts. However, this issue can be addressed further up the line.
 
Tesa14 and others;

I thought New Beginnings were working the Aib mortgages and that now includes EBS.
The options given are not great.
Suggest that before she does anything she asks ESB for all and every documentation appertaining to the Mortgage , my reasoning is to ensure that mortgage was properly drawn up in day 1. If it wasn,t and 18% were not drawn up properly it may (strenghten ) her options.
 
tesa14. I have no wish to be unsympathetic about your very unfortunate situation but realistically I would share 44brendan's views. I would think that you should be making plans over the next 6-9 months to get out of this property and in the meantime I think that morally you and your partner should pay the rental value per month to EBS. Your present position is not sustainable and will only cause other problems in your life. I know it has been a very bad experience but you need to move on.
 
Thank you for the replies and for being up front and truthful as that is what I wanted/expected, it is a terrible situation but a lot of people seem to be in the same boat so I wasn't posting on here to look for sympathy just advice as my head is all over the place I just didn't know what steps to take as loads of people were giving me ideas etc, so a friend of mine suggested this site as it gives good proper real advice so thank you all!!

Gerry Canning, there is a line you put on your post that I don't really understand what you mean, if you have time would you please let me know what that line means please:

Suggest that before she does anything she asks ESB for all and every documentation appertaining to the Mortgage , my reasoning is to ensure that mortgage was properly drawn up in day 1. If it wasn,t and 18% were not drawn up properly it may (strenghten ) her options.
 
Tesa do you mind me asking how you know that you're on the credit bureau list? I was wondering how far into arrears you have to go to get on it. My ex & I are only in arrears with a couple of months. The bank are ringing my ex now alright, what a shame you don't have a phone no for yours. He sounds like a pure chancer
 
Lucuma as far as I can remember I think I went online and requested it and I got a letter saying I was on it, sorry that I can't remember exactly how I did it, we are on it a while now to be honest definitely 2 years or more as our arrears are around €35,000 now
 
Gerry's suggestion was that you submit a request to EBS for a copy of your mortgage agreement. You are also entitled to submit what is known as a Data Access Request to the BS for a fee of €6.35. This means that the bank must send you on copies of all documentation/correspondence pertinent to your case. There is a possibility that there may be flaws in the Bank documentation. I'm not sure whether the 18% figure quoted by Gerry for EBS has been verified elsewhere!!
 
Procedures for submitting a DAR:

Under Section 4 of the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2003, you have a right to obtain a copy, clearly explained, of any information relating to you kept on computer or in a structured manual filing system or intended for such a system by any entity or organisation. All you need to do is write to the organisation or entity concerned and ask for it under the Data Protection Acts.
Your request could read as follows:

Dear ...
I wish to make an access request under Section 4 of the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 for a copy of any information you keep about me, on computer or in manual form in relation to.... (Fill in as much information as possible to assist the organisations to locate the data that you are interested in accessing e.g. customer account number, staff number, or PPS number (if you are writing to a public sector organisation such as the Revenue Commissioners or the Department of Social Protection)).
​
You should also include any additional details that would help to locate your information - for example, a customer account number or staff number. You may be asked for evidence of your identity. This is to make sure that personal information is not given to the wrong person. When requesting some types of record, such as credit history or Garda records, it may also be useful to provide a list of previous addresses, previous names and your date of birth. You may be asked to pay a fee, but this cannot exceed €6.35.
Once you have made your request, and paid any appropriate fee, you must be given the information within 40 days (most organisations manage to reply much sooner).
 
Great thank you very much for that, i will contact the ebs tomorrow and request a DAR, When it comes through to me i will then show it to a solicitor as i wouldnt know if it was drawn up wrong or there were any discrepancies in it that may strengthen or help my case.
Thank you!!
 
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