Declaration of Trust

[NOCAB]

Hi,

My ex and I are separating which is fine, but she is being an arse if I am being honest.

No communications what so ever, yet we jointly own a house (she is the legal owner) but we have a DOT in place which means she must sell the house and can do nothing apparently to stop the process.

However she thinks she can, and is dictating the price, who sells it etc and is taking her time about it.

Is my best option to contact solicitor to ensure she understands she is NOT in a position to call the shots and MUST discuss and agree with me.

Sick of her passive aggressive nature she really needs some professional help.

Any help much appreciated.

[Peridot]

Hi Nocab,
Glad to hear you have a DoT in place, so many couples don't. You'd have even bigger problems if you hadn't not that that is much consolation at the moment of course!
Does the DoT set out what should or shouldn't happen in the event you separate? This may be your starting point, but generally there should be some agreement as to valuation of the property. Did the Deed stipulate the property had to be sold or could the resident 'buy' out the other person's share (provided a valuation is agreed of course)? If that is an option then maybe you obtain 3 agent valuations and agree the middle one so you can work out the equity due to you if your partner wishes to remain in the property.
If your ex is refusing to deal then, it may be necessary to make a court application for an 'Order for Sale' It would be advisable to seek some face to face advice on this from a property litigation specialist but in the meantime maybe write to your ex stating a timescale to reach an agreement say 21 days after which time you will apply for an order for sale? Of course you don't have to but the threat may focus your ex's mind a bit?

[NOCAB]

Hi Nocab,
Glad to hear you have a DoT in place, so many couples don't. You'd have even bigger problems if you hadn't not that that is much consolation at the moment of course!
Does the DoT set out what should or shouldn't happen in the event you separate? This may be your starting point, but generally there should be some agreement as to valuation of the property. Did the Deed stipulate the property had to be sold or could the resident 'buy' out the other person's share (provided a valuation is agreed of course)? If that is an option then maybe you obtain 3 agent valuations and agree the middle one so you can work out the equity due to you if your partner wishes to remain in the property.
If your ex is refusing to deal then, it may be necessary to make a court application for an 'Order for Sale' It would be advisable to seek some face to face advice on this from a property litigation specialist but in the meantime maybe write to your ex stating a timescale to reach an agreement say 21 days after which time you will apply for an order for sale? Of course you don't have to but the threat may focus your ex's mind a bit?

Hi and thanks for your reply. The DOT simply states the property must be sold if either party wishes and that proceeds should be split 50/50 allowing for costs re maintenance etc.

My concern is that the property has been put on the market without my agreement verbally or in writing re the price. She is a bully and just seems to think she can do as she wishes. I would have hoped at least that having a DOT whereby I am a 50/50 owner financially would give some form of protection against her under these circumstances.

[Peridot]

Hi Nocab,
The problem you have is on the face of it her being the legal owner doesn't alert agents or potential buyers to the DoT so you won't be known about. Don't panic you are protected once a buyer is found as the solicitor/conveyancer dealing with the sale will be looking a bit more deeply.
Is the value it is being marketed for reasonable? Does it matter who it is sold to? Although frustrating that you are not as involved as you would wish, I would have thought she would want to achieve the highest price she can for the property?
The property market isn't particularly buoyant at the moment so it may take some time to sell whoever you market with. Your share once you find a buyer is protected so that is one less thing to worry about.
If she is refusing to accept sensible offers as advised by the estate agent then you may need to consider an order for sale which could then include you in any estate agent dealings.

[NOCAB]

Hi, further to these conversations I have just found out that the house is SSTC, so I have asked for details of the house sale and how much it was sold for. The solicitor and my ex are refusing to share this information, so I am getting concerned. Can they really do this, how do I know she hasn't bought it herself for a price which counts me out of any profit. What can I do. I am on the DOT which appears to be worth nothing at the moment.

[Peridot]

Hi Nocab,
As you are not the legal owner your ex is the solicitor’s client so they won’t be able to discuss with you.
Do you know which agent she sold through? Could you contact them, they may not be as descreet as they should be?
Is the Deed registered at HMLR? Who prepared the Deed was it a solicitor? Can you contact them to see if the Deed was registered if you’re unsure?
If it is registered then you will probably not hear until the buyers solicitor has received the documents.
It would be difficult for her to sell at an undervalue as this has potentially serious implications as far as tax is concerned.
It is a shame your ex can’t be more amenable and just give you the information but unfortunately it is not uncommon following break ups.

[NOCAB]

Hi Nocab,
As you are not the legal owner your ex is the solicitor’s client so they won’t be able to discuss with you.
Do you know which agent she sold through? Could you contact them, they may not be as descreet as they should be?
Is the Deed registered at HMLR? Who prepared the Deed was it a solicitor? Can you contact them to see if the Deed was registered if you’re unsure?
If it is registered then you will probably not hear until the buyers solicitor has received the documents.
It would be difficult for her to sell at an undervalue as this has potentially serious implications as far as tax is concerned.
It is a shame your ex can’t be more amenable and just give you the information but unfortunately it is not uncommon following break ups.

Hi, and thank you for your concise replies. On the land registry there is a disposition clause that states it must be sold in accordance with the declaration of trust. I have email copies of the DOT back in 2010 sent by the solicitor (no longer practising) but my ex has the signed copy which she has refused to share with me.

[NOCAB]

Hi, and thank you for your concise replies. On the land registry there is a disposition clause that states it must be sold in accordance with the declaration of trust. I have email copies of the DOT back in 2010 sent by the solicitor (no longer practising) but my ex has the signed copy which she has refused to share with me.

Hi just too add to this, I have discussed with my own local solicitors today and they have confirmed my ex must sell in accordance with this disposition order registered with the land registry. Either she or the acting solicitor must comply with the details set out within the land register or face the consequences and the new purchaser could find themselves in a very embarrassing situation if no one sorts this out as they will have been sold and purchased a property which I still have a financial interest in.

Equally my ex hasn't sorted out the deposit for our last tenant. She really is a very dumb and blunt instrument purely focused on one thing... herself as always!!

[NOCAB]

The house has now been sold subject to contract. However the DOT stipulations are now kicking in and my ex seems to once again be playing games. She has submitted figures te the split of the proceeds based purely on her word and her calculations which are very inaccurate being polite I have asked her to submit actual figures from actual accounts from the passed 12 years not guesstimates which I think is fair and reasonable. As the sale is well into proceedings I do not want to delay the sale but they have advised anything I do re asking for this info would constitute delays.

I am concerned because wording within the DOT states that neither party should do anything which causes delays selling the property yet my request to actually sell was not adhered to when I asked in the first place and was in fact delayed whilst my ex (named as the legal owner) took her time deciding what SHE wanted to do. From my perspective this constitutes a considerable delay already so combined with the fact she has not provided any authentic or tangible figures re distribution she has and is causing significant delays already. I have suggested the sale proceeds but that the profits are held by either her or my own solicitor until such time as these figures and delays can be factored in

any sensible advise much appreciated

[Peridot]

Hi,
The DoT should stipulate the split of any proceeds of sale. When you speak about the significant delays is this with the intention of trying to negotiate a larger entitlement of the proceeds? I wouldn’t suggest raising the significant delays if that is the case you will probably get short shrift and you are reliant to a certain degree on her cooperating with the sale going through.
In my opinion it is reasonable to have accurate figures but what are they relating to? It will depend on the wording of the Deed as to what is and isn’t included in the calculation.

[NOCAB]

Hi yes thank you for your reply the DOT does stipulate the split. The issue comes where for example more money has been paid into my reserve than hers. She is claiming as a result that I am owed less as a result ie 100% of the difference in the proceeds of the money my mortgage reserve has reduced by but I think this should be less ie 50%

i have captured the actual calculations with my concerns in another thread but will include here. Please excuse the wording all a bit confusing

thanks

[NOCAB]

have a mortgage reserve account which I had been using to support my ex GF and me on a joint venture we under took to do up a house, rent it out and then sell it after a few years.

I used some of my available mortgage reserve which was nearly £58848.00

From the mortgage payments my ex was paying in £355 per month which covered the interest payments plus a little but more (interest tracks at 0.19% above base which was 5.49%).

Now we have split we are selling the house which is all fine, however when working out who is owed what I am getting confused.

Here are the exact figures

Sale Price 382500

Estate agent fees 2868.75
Conveyancing fees 1041.00
Mortgage 140834.27
Capital owing on my reserve account 45743.68
Capital owing on ex reserve account 47467.00

Sub total 237955.70

Therefore proceeds equal £144544.31 according to these calculations to be split 50/50 however;

My initial outlay for the reserve was 58848 - now reduced to 45743.68 according to her calculations, but difficult to see directly as money has moved in and out of that account since then so amounts have varied a lot since then

she is stating her reserve has increased from 38208.75 to 47467.99 without I must point out any evidence to support this but claims this was to cover other expenses like house insurance etc, but I have not yet seen this so can't be clear.

My question is more in relation to my mortgage reserve.

As I own 50% of any proceeds, am I right in thinking that any over payments against the capital outlay for the mortgage reserve (approx £110 per month) was also 50% mine in which case the reduced balance that is now owed against the mortgage should be in fact half of the difference

£58848 - £45743.68 = £13,104.32 divided by 2 = £6552.16

So ultimately reducing the balance of my reserve to £52,295.84

Is this correct any help much appreciated