The client obtained a mortgage from Abbey National (now Santander) in 2004 with the help of her friend, who acted as a guarantor due to her income level.
The client understood that her friend would only be responsible for the mortgage payments if she was unable to pay, and he would not have any rights to her property.
However, more recently, when the client tried to sell her property at the age of 75, she found out that her friends name was added to the mortgage and land title, and she needed his permission to sell the property.
Despite her friend never having financially contributed to the property, he intends to claim rights to it and financial gains from its sale. This situation is causing the client extreme hardship as she cannot retire as she wishes.
The story of her friend being a guarantor was not credible as he obtained a mortgage with the client. In law they were joint owners of the property, meaning her friend would get 50% of the proceeds if the property was sold. Severing the Joint Tenancy with immediacy. Gaining the relevant evidence from the bank that confirms the client was the sole contributor to the property.
Counsel had to navigate both a client who wasn’t revealing the whole truth and couldn’t produce key evidence, as well as the uphill battle of a client position that was exceedingly tenuous, especially with the opposition being backed by key evidence. Nevertheless, counsel successfully extracted critical information from the client, enabling them to advise and present the client’s position in the clearest light. This ultimately brought her friend to the negotiating table, where an amicable agreement was reached regarding the percentage of sale proceeds to go to him.
Call us – Mon-Fri 8:30am – 6:30pm
+44 (0) 20 3034 0077
By submitting this form, I accept this website’s Privacy Policy