relationship breakup and house
Discussion
Me and my ex girlfriend bought our first house last July and moved in in August. Because she had not long ago left uni, and was still classed as a student with no job yet, the mortgage and all bills were in my name. She sent me around £200 a month from savings and then bought the odd food shop as and when she could afford it while she waited for her job to start which was a guaranteed position to begin in the December when the previous person left. Once she started work I agreed she could use her wage to clear her own finances for the first few months as I was managing by myself. Anyway, we broke up in march/april this year and she willingly moved back to her parents and took her own stuff with her.
A few more details:
The mortgage and land registry is solely in my name.
All bills were taken from my account and in my name.
The initial deposit was £8k from my own savings plus a £4k gift from her grand parents. During the application we needed a letter from them to say the money was a gift with no requirement to repay and no interest in the house.
I paid her grandparents £3000 back, the last of my savings as they were very helpful and it seemed only right IMO , this was all I could afford. For my own peace of mind they signed a receipt letter saying they accepted my offer of £3k and had received payment and had no further involvement in the house.
We weren't married and have no children together.
Today I got a call from her saying she is going to pursue for half of the house as she contributed towards it.
I'll no doubt have to lawyer up in the coming months but can anyone give me any advice?
A few more details:
The mortgage and land registry is solely in my name.
All bills were taken from my account and in my name.
The initial deposit was £8k from my own savings plus a £4k gift from her grand parents. During the application we needed a letter from them to say the money was a gift with no requirement to repay and no interest in the house.
I paid her grandparents £3000 back, the last of my savings as they were very helpful and it seemed only right IMO , this was all I could afford. For my own peace of mind they signed a receipt letter saying they accepted my offer of £3k and had received payment and had no further involvement in the house.
We weren't married and have no children together.
Today I got a call from her saying she is going to pursue for half of the house as she contributed towards it.
I'll no doubt have to lawyer up in the coming months but can anyone give me any advice?
BluePurpleRed said:
shes deluded. Tell her to jog on. At best she was paying a little rent.
Exactly what I told her. All in all, her family was left only losing £1000 which was agreed. I guess now they've all changed their mind as the house next door is up for sale, identical to mine and is considerably more than i paid last year.gaz1234 said:
how much equity in it?
i guess she is on a wage whereby she cant buy the same house by herself?
Not alot of equity in the house at the moment as i'm only a year into the mortgage.i guess she is on a wage whereby she cant buy the same house by herself?
There's no way she could afford the mortgage by herself let alone the other financial obligations which come with a house like council tax, insurance, utility bills etc
I've spoken to her grandad (he's the only person in the family who you can speak sense to).
I said i will find the last £1000 of the 'gift'.
All in all i received £1400 over 8 months from the ex, which she will also get back.
He agreed to this and thanked me. He doesn't want any legal fuss and was happy with the £3000 anyway!! But the others don't listen to him even when he tells them there's no way they'd get half or anything close and they're arguing over a few grand max when money isn't a problem for the family.
Seems if i get the grand to him asap I at least have an ally on the other side?
Sorting out a written agreement that the £2400 to them will be made monthly over the next 12 months (quickest I can afford to do unless a get a tidy bonus this year.
That way they haven't lost out. Even if the house was to be sold and it was more than the purchase price, the costs of selling and sorting the mortgage could possibly mean they say goodbye to any extra from the sale.
Like others have posted, I may have been able to go through the courts and had to pay naff all to her but could cost me a fortune. This is just the easiest way.
Muzzer79 said:
The house must be worth £150k+ at the bare minimum, no matter where you are?
I bought the house for £168,000 as a new build in July 2013. Moved in in August 2013. Next door has just accepted an offer of £182,000. The house is identical to mine.The phrase 'our first house' is probably the wrong one. Rather 'our first home together'. When I was looking at houses I was buying either way to get away from the parents house. Whether she was ready to move in or not. She was unsure if she wanted the financial responsibility before she started the job or that we were ready as a couple. I said I would be buying the house either way, she can move in if she wants to at whatever point and contribute towards bills for the time being, but i'll pay the mortgage and council tax.
Her grandad gave me the £4k as the mortgage i could get was only just short. The money was a gift but I did always have the intention (whether we were together or not) to pay him it back as I was grateful he was helping me out. At this point she hadn't even decided whether she was moving in so this was pretty good of him, it was a gift to me, not to her.
When she did decide to move in the same time I did, she even told friends 'i'm moving into Dan's new house'. Any items for the house she bought were taken when she moved out.
It's only now, through bitterness she's back at her parents home where she hated and the circumstances behind the breakup that she's decided she's entitled.
I know it's hard to work out exactly but surely the money she gave me can be seen as for what she used in terms of utilities, Sky TV/broadband etc. She has not lost out, like some say, giving back the money she paid essentially means she lived scott free. She never parted with money to move into the house so is left no worse off than when she started.
Her grandad gets his cash back meaning he is no worse off.
Maybe there would be a cheaper way, there is obviously a more expensive route, but this seems to not cost me a great deal, and it's the quickest way to keep them happy and frankly move on with my life.
Genuine solicitors, I'm grateful for the advice by the way.
Her grandad gave me the £4k as the mortgage i could get was only just short. The money was a gift but I did always have the intention (whether we were together or not) to pay him it back as I was grateful he was helping me out. At this point she hadn't even decided whether she was moving in so this was pretty good of him, it was a gift to me, not to her.
When she did decide to move in the same time I did, she even told friends 'i'm moving into Dan's new house'. Any items for the house she bought were taken when she moved out.
It's only now, through bitterness she's back at her parents home where she hated and the circumstances behind the breakup that she's decided she's entitled.
I know it's hard to work out exactly but surely the money she gave me can be seen as for what she used in terms of utilities, Sky TV/broadband etc. She has not lost out, like some say, giving back the money she paid essentially means she lived scott free. She never parted with money to move into the house so is left no worse off than when she started.
Her grandad gets his cash back meaning he is no worse off.
Maybe there would be a cheaper way, there is obviously a more expensive route, but this seems to not cost me a great deal, and it's the quickest way to keep them happy and frankly move on with my life.
Genuine solicitors, I'm grateful for the advice by the way.
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