Negative equity forces couples to live together

Charity officials have recently stated that there are many estranged couples that are being forced to live together under the same roof as a result of the property still being in negative equity, which means that they are unable to sell their home and move on as a result of the relationship ending.

Many couples have been affected since house prices started to plunge in 2007, and whilst property prices have increased to some degree those that purchased their homes just before they fell from their peak may find that they still owe more than the property is worth.

Falling into negative equity can result in many problems, and one of these issues is where couples have seen their relationship come to an end but because they purchased a home together and have fallen into negative equity find themselves stuck under the same roof. Whilst some couples may be able to live under the same roof amicably there are others that have experienced a messy break up and may therefore find the situation extremely distressing.

The data was released by the homeless charity Shelter, and officials from the charity said that a recent study had shown that 25 percent of people said that they or someone that they knew had been forced to live with a partner than they had officially broken up with simply because their property was in negative equity. The study showed that out of these 75 percent said that the experience had been a very stressful one.

An official from the homeless charity stated: “Relationships do break down, which is painful enough, but being forced to carry on living with an ex-partner, even for a short time, adds real pressure to the situation. The fact that one in four of us either have experienced or know someone that has experienced this situation means this may be more widespread a problem than we realised.”

Tags: Personal life, percent, Homelessness, finance, Social Issues, charity, negative equity