Ex buying my share of property - solicitor needed?

[MYOB]

Hi

I know I can get an answer from a solicitor but thought I would ask here first.

In a nutshell, my ex is buying me out of the matrimonial home by remortgaging.

My ex says she cannot proceed until I inform her of details of a conveyancing solicitor representing me.

Do I really need a conveyancing solicitor or is this down to her to use a solicitor? Or do we both need a conveyancing solicitor?

I simply, and naively, assumed I would be asked to sign some transfer of deeds forms but appreciate the process is a bit more complicated than that. But do I really need a solicitor when I am being bought out? Is this not something that I could manage myself?

Thanks all.

[limpsfield]

I did this a few years ago and yes you do need a solicitor in my view. Explain the situation to them, as it is more straightforward than buying from scratch, so they should be able to do it at a sensible rate.

i think your ex will need to pay stamp duty too, which seemed like a right stitch up to me.

[matjk]

i was going to mention the stamp duty, what a nice surprise that is!!

[MYOB]

There's a Court Order so I understand no stamp duty is payable?

[Seesure]

MYOB said:

There's a Court Order so I understand no stamp duty is payable?

I bought my ex out of our property - back in 2016 - it wasn't overly expensive -I had to use the mortgage company's "approved" solicitor but they broke the costs down as below:

Transfer Deed - £234
Cost of reviewing the court order £90
Land Reg plan £3
Land Reg fee £20
Additional Bankruptcy search fee £2

That was it, a total of £349. No stamp duty to pay.

It shouldn't cost you much if you use a solicitor - I recommend using one just for peace of mind.

[MYOB]

Seesure said:

I bought my ex out of our property - back in 2016 - it wasn't overly expensive -I had to use the mortgage company's "approved" solicitor but they broke the costs down as below:

Transfer Deed - £234
Cost of reviewing the court order £90
Land Reg plan £3
Land Reg fee £20
Additional Bankruptcy search fee £2

That was it, a total of £349. No stamp duty to pay.

It shouldn't cost you much if you use a solicitor - I recommend using one just for peace of mind.

Thanks for this. As I'm being bought out by my ex, can I ask if your ex needed a solicitor as well? I would have thought that my ex would need a solicitor but not I.

[anonymous-user]

MYOB said:

Thanks for this. As I'm being bought out by my ex, can I ask if your ex needed a solicitor as well? I would have thought that my ex would need a solicitor but not I.

You could do it without but you leave yourself open - eg you could sign the transfer and then not receive the money. You'd then have to chase this up yourself.

If you use a solicitor they will handle the process and matters won't complete until it's all done properly.

[MYOB]

desolate said:

You could do it without but you leave yourself open - eg you could sign the transfer and then not receive the money. You'd then have to chase this up yourself.

If you use a solicitor they will handle the process and matters won't complete until it's all done properly.

Cheers, thanks again. The ex has instructions and deadlines to meet as set out in the Court Order so I'm inclined to let her sort out the conveyancing solicitor. If she doesn't pay me by a particular date, she will be charged a high rate of interest.

But I'll discuss with a solicitor before making a final decision.

Thanks everyone.

[Seesure]

MYOB said:

Thanks for this. As I'm being bought out by my ex, can I ask if your ex needed a solicitor as well? I would have thought that my ex would need a solicitor but not I.

She already had one, for the bickering in court etc and as a result used him to check the paperwork and tie it up with the financial order.

[hutchst]

In any property transaction it is normal for the buyers and the sellers to have conveyancers (they don't have to be solicitors). The fact that the buyer and the seller may have been an item in the past doesn't alter that. The need will vary if you're just being removed from the mortgage, or also being removed from the title.

And be wary of obstructing (or being seen to obstruct) your ex in carrying out her obligations under any settlement agreement, or it could backfire.

[Jasandjules]

Needed? No. Desirable and sensible? Yes.

[MYOB]

Yeah, I think I need to be sensible and not do anything that could be deemed as obstructing the process. I'll make a few calls later.

[anonymous-user]

MYOB said:

Yeah, I think I need to be sensible and not do anything that could be deemed as obstructing the process. I'll make a few calls later.

You could just walk to the nearest high at office with your ID and tell them what is happening.
They'll probably charge you next to nothing.

[PostHeads123]

When I bought my ex out (not married) a few years back it was treated as if I was buying it from scratch again, even the mortgage company insisted on a survey and not just the valuation so needed own solicitor. Also she may have to pay stamp duty but seeing as your married you may not have to depending on the divorce agreement, also value of what she is buying out

[super7]

I did this a few years back when buying my ex out of the home. I just re-mortgaged the propety up to the market rate, leaving me with a load of equity and a big mortgage and then gave her half the equity,

This was done via a broker (as i'm a contractor) as a re-mortgage, so used the lenders legal team. My Solicitor for the divorce kept sticking her head in every now and then saying she needed to be involved with handling the money side if things. Solicitor wanted the equity to be placed into their account so they could send it to my ex's solicitor to send to the earning overnight interest and a fee for both solicitors for handling the transaction...

As the equity was already in my current account, put in there by the lender, I just met my ex in the local branch of my bank and handed it over at the counter. (My son did suggest running of to the Ferrari dealer when the ex was late turning up which was tempting)

I think Solicitors do a very good job of making us believe we need them, when in reality, you don't.

[MYOB]

desolate said:

You could just walk to the nearest high at office with your ID and tell them what is happening.
They'll probably charge you next to nothing.

I wish that was the case. I've got 4 quotes, all around £800.

[anonymous-user]

MYOB said:

I wish that was the case. I've got 4 quotes, all around £800.

From a small shop on your nearest high street?
That's surprising and more like the sort of quote you'd get from a conveyancing factory.

[killerferret666]

Seesure said:

I bought my ex out of our property - back in 2016 - it wasn't overly expensive -I had to use the mortgage company's "approved" solicitor but they broke the costs down as below:

Transfer Deed - £234
Cost of reviewing the court order £90
Land Reg plan £3
Land Reg fee £20
Additional Bankruptcy search fee £2

That was it, a total of £349. No stamp duty to pay.

It shouldn't cost you much if you use a solicitor - I recommend using one just for peace of mind.

Hmmmm I bought my ex out in 2016 as well. I had to pay stamp duty :-(

[YouWhat]

killerferret666 said:

Seesure said:

I bought my ex out of our property - back in 2016 - it wasn't overly expensive -I had to use the mortgage company's "approved" solicitor but they broke the costs down as below:

Transfer Deed - £234
Cost of reviewing the court order £90
Land Reg plan £3
Land Reg fee £20
Additional Bankruptcy search fee £2

That was it, a total of £349. No stamp duty to pay.

It shouldn't cost you much if you use a solicitor - I recommend using one just for peace of mind.

Hmmmm I bought my ex out in 2016 as well. I had to pay stamp duty :-(

From the government web site;

Divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership
A transaction is exempt from SDLT when a couple divorce, separate or end their civil partnership, and they either:

agree to split their property and land between them
split the property under the terms of a court order

See here