Paying the mortgage on boyfriend and his ex's property for 4 years. do i have any rights when they sell?

Question

She hasnt paid a penny since she left the property 7 years ago but her name is on the house. She thinks she should get half. Is this right????

they wern't married, does this make a difference?? and she has been very nice about everything (they also have 2 children together, we now have a child of our own aswell)up till now, just shows you cant trust anyone!!!

when we sell the house, I understand she has to sign for the sale to go through but does she need to know how much it goes for?

Can I just say, thank you all for your comments it has helped a lot. and yes i feel like a div for getting myself into this istuation, guess you live and learn. Also can I just say the reason i was paying the rent is that he was in a car accident and is now disabled.

If we offer her a sum for her half of the house (we actually have the deeds to the house as we padi the mortgage off), write an agreement ourselves me, him and her sign it will we have rights when we sell the house if she still says she wants half.

Answer 1

She she will know how much it goes for! 1/2 of the equity is hers! She has to be at closing as well as your boyfriend. Her legal rights are the same as his, he has not right to sell w/o her consent.

You, as the present girlfriend, have no legal claim to the property at all and should not be involved in the selling process.

Answer 2

This is why people shouldn't 'play house' without the benefit of marriage, because marriage gives them legal protections that living together does NOT provide.

Yes, she gets half of the equity or she will refuse to sign off on the sale of the home, yes, she can do that......her name has been on the title and she was smart enough to get someone else to foot the bill for it.

No, you have ZERO rights. It was your choice to pay someone else's bills without a contract. You have no legal agreement with the boyfriend or his ex-girlfriend so you are SOL.

Consider it rent paid...you wouldn't have lived somewhere else for free, would you?

She thinks she can get half because SHE CAN get half....her signature is REQUIRED to sign off on the sale so SHE is in the driver's seat unless you and your boyfriend are willing to just sit on the house...so bite the bullet, pay her what is owed, and move on with your life.

PS: I go to court often as a legal expert in real estate...I have NEVER seen a case where someone has successfully gained an equity award for a property, or had their name put on the title, just by paying the bills and living in the property...you know why? Because the LAW REQUIRES that ALL real estate contracts BE IN WRITING and RECORDED....this is why real estate law is different than ANY OTHER in regards to property. You CANNOT have a verbal real estate agreement or "win" it by actions. Remember...the ex-girlfriend didn't agree to ANYTHING.

Answer 3

Did you have some type of an agreement with the parties? if not then you are looking to acquire equity in the property by the fact you contributed to paying the note for 4 years

May want to talk to a real estate attorney to see if you have any possibility of a case, the problem as it sits now since she is on the deed with the your boyfriend in the eyes of the law they each entitled to half the profits in a sale,

also the sale can not go threw without her signature as well, if she will not budge you will have to retain a lawyer and sue, that is if you have standing which you may not

Answer 4

Sigh. Another amateur real estate move. If she and the BF are on the title, she's entitled to half, regardless of who paid what over those four years. Absent any written agreement to the contrary, she will get half at closing if she desires.

And YOU were making the payments ? Consider it rent which you will never see again.

And yes, she will see how much the property is sold for. As co-owner, she has to sign all the documentation required to complete the sale, and that includes the HUD statement, which reveals the entire details of the transaction.

Answer 5

This all depends where you live and the laws, you need a good lawyer. If you are living with this man for over 3years in Canada you would be his spouse and then I believe if you have proof of payments then when the property is sold you should get your money back first before she gets her half. You may also be safe in putting a lien against this property to make sure you get back what you put in. Again you need a lawyer.

Answer 6

The contract is between the mortgage company and the buyers, BF and ex-GF. Assuming that payments were made on time, when she pulls up her credit report it's going to show she's got great credit- thanks to your payments.

As far as "rights," I assume you're talking about if the house gets sold, do you get anything? Probably not.

HOWEVER. If you have proof you were making the payments, you should DEFINITELY CONTACT AN ATTORNEY to see. Don't throw away four years of payments without investigating your chances FIRST!

But don't be disappointed if he laughs and says "no," either.

Answer 7

yes it is, if her name is on the deeds then she is co owner of the property and entitled to half the proceeds

edit - no it makes no difference if they were not married, if her name is on the deeds she gets half simple as!

Double Edit - yes you can offer to buy her out and get her name off the deeds, you would know better than i if she would accept that tho, if she does get everything signed in front of a solicitor

Answer 8

if he got divorced, he is a moron to not have gotten a quit claim deed when he got divorced, she can take him for half unless he shows the court ( going to be a lawsuit for sure ) when he divorced and he was given the property,, and guess what,, you wont get JS, ( bad word Jack is the first S*** is the second) because your name is not on anything, and the courts will call you a renter,,

Answer 9

Your boyfriend should of bought her out or sold the property when they broke up. Go and see a solicitor but I don't think it looks good for you. This may be an expensive lesson for you and your boyfriend.

Anyway, good luck!

Answer 10

You'll only have a claim on his half. That's if his wife doesn't try and claim more than half.

Divorce laws are so wrong the wife gets it all no matter what.