18 months on still no joy - help and advise needed

I separated from my partner (unmarried) in November 2010, we brought a house together in June 2007 which is in negative equity, we also have a joint loan (as the mortgage company would only accept the initial mortgage app if the loan was in joint names, from his sole name only) and also have a joint bank account.

I moved back to the parents and he has remained in the property. His intention was to replace my name on the mortgage with his brothers and he would take on sole responsibility of paying the mortgage and the loan. He mentioned that he put an application in with the bank to do a transfer of equity which was declined this was April 2011. I have in the last week learned from the bank that the reason for decline was purely because the accounts are in bad order; he is a month behind on the loan and £350 behind on the mortgage, and consistently goes over the overdraft limit on the bank account. The bank then proceeded to tell me that should he show good account conduct in the next 6 months then they would be able to accept the mortgage. But that still leaves me joint on the loan. Another problem is that he fell behind on payments to the ground rent and maintenance company who charge £1200 a year, he then arranged for this to be tacked on to the mortgage without my permission, and now is paying an extra £145 a month on the mortgage. I am so worried with the way he is conducting his finances he will drag me down with him.

He refuses to rent it out and we cannot sell due to negative equity of around £40k – as we do not have the available funds to clear this once it is sold, also I do not want to leave myself out of pocket. I cannot afford the mortgage on my own either. I do not want any money from the property I just want my names off the accounts and to move on with my life.

I have come up with a solution which would be him to consolidate all the arrears, his personal debt (which he pays £150 to each month) and the existing loan into his name, extend the term lowering the monthly payments, which makes affordability better for the mortgage, keep the accounts in order for 6 months and then reapply for the mortgage.

I put this idea to him and he told me to butt out as it was none of my business he is fine and he doesn’t want to extend the term of the loan.

By reading a few things on here I think it would be pointless to force a sale, but I am having sleepless nights about him falling behind on payments and getting me into an even worse situation.

Can anyone help, has anyone been in a similar or the same situation?

Emma

Emma, there are two things that strike me as being rather odd.

1. Why would the bank make a loan of the security of a property in negative equity, or if the effect of making a loan would be that the property would be in negative equity.

2. How could the Bank make a loan to him without your permission when the mortgage was in joint names ?

Could this be a case of possible fraud ?

LMM

Is he taking on the whole of the negative equity then or are you going to give him half (£20k)to get your name off?

If you rented it out would the rent cover the mortgage or would you both need to be paying towards it each month? Bear in mind mortgage rate may well go up if you rent out so you may end up out of pocket every month making up your share of the shortfall?

It may be cheaper for you to pay the £350 arrears on the mortgage and the months loan in order for them to then transfer it into his sole name. If the loan and mortgage are in joint names it''s suprising that they haven''t started chasing you for the arrears anyway if he hasn''t paid them.

He is taking on the whole of the negative equity himself yes, due to the fact that he plans to stay in that property for a long time, eventually prices will go back up and he will benefit from the equity.

I have thought about paying off the arrears, however the bank need to see 6 months worth of straight accounts and as he is seeming to struggle at the moment (spending more than he is earning) I am worried that he will just go back into arrears in that time.

LittleMrMike, are you talking about the arrears on the ground rent and maintenance, yes this is something that I am worried about as I did not give permission for this to take place, and I do wonder if my signature was forged.

WYSpecial, no the rental of the property would not cover the mortgage by around £200 plus there would be ground rent and maintenance charges on top of this of £100 and the property is in no fit state to rent out and would require around £2,000 of repairs to get it to rental standards. To add to this he point black refuses to rent it out.

I do think that if he did refinance the unsecured loan and refinance the mortgage in his name in 6 months time it would be the simplest option, its just finding a way whereby this is the only choice for him. I just dont want to push to hard so that he refuses to pay anything and forces me into bankrupcy.

Its a pain.