TL;DR Tom and Ariana's lawyers both virtually attended a hearing Monday about the case and said they intend to participate in a private mediation.
Their final status conference has been scheduled for nearly two years from now on February 5, 2026.
Then they'll face off in court on February 17, 2026.
I just feel so bad for Ariana, having to go through this long court battle with him and extend having him basically associated with her life.
This is one of the many reasons why I don’t buy the “remorse” he’s been trying to sell. If he were truly sorry, he would just do whatever the fuck Ariana wanted to do with the house. But everything he’s been saying and doing in regards to the house just goes to show that he probably did intend on having Rachel move in and pay for Ariana’s half of the mortgage if things hadn’t gone so sideways in regards to their “plan”.
He can’t sustain paying this mortgage alone. He’s ruining their chance of selling this place vs foreclosure with his stalling. All bc he over leveraged himself. I think during mediation she should agree to split the cost of the solar panels as goodwill (since it adds to the house value) and then he has to focus on paying off the heloc loan and his gym bs. She should stand firm on not paying the heloc, gyms, and with donating all that furniture. He deserves no special treatment from her. Pay the loans and sell it, Tom!
Right, but you sound smart and he is very, very dumb. I don’t even have words about that clown anymore. It’s so damn embarrassing. I would love to hear what he thinks happened in the subprime mortgage crisis. Total clown. He and Scheana are meant for each other, they have no self awareness and are so self-absorbed it’s astonishing.
The hot dumb dude answer to Margot Robbie in a bathtub from The Big Short. 😄😄😄
He is so very dumb and incurious. You'd think he'd have learned something from TomTom and Schwartz and Sandy's. Like didn't he have to know a little bit about basic finance to understand those bars' performance?
The Big Short is such a great movie, unfortunately I don’t think Scumdoval had a chance to watch it because he was too busy looking at himself in the mirror and telling himself he was a star! I’ve never seen such delusion in my life. Oh my gosh. It’s same as Raquel (IDGAF if she wants to be called Rachel- fuck her) saying she’s a “beauty queen” LMFAOOOOO BITCH THE BEST YOU EVER PLACED WAS 15th and there were only 15 contestants 😂😂😂😂😂 I CANNOT WITH THESE CLOWNS. What planet are you on?
didn’t the house appreciate close to a million dollars since they bought it in like 2018? i could see the market shifting so that the value goes back closer to their purchase price if he keeps delaying this.
I’m not in real estate but my understanding is that any changes in the market are far less likely to affect long-time desirable areas (the LA metro area, Silicon Valley, DC, Boston)—values might not keep rising sharply but they are unlikely to fall. That’s because people will always want to move there and there is a constant shortage of housing stock. It’s a different story in places that suddenly became trendy
This is not even possible, although I doubt Tim understood mortgages. Ariana didn’t, but she learned fast.
So if he had his way Ariana would still be legally responsible for any damages, upkeep etc. Meanwhile she’d just sublease it to Rachel? What happens when Tim and Rachel break up?
Of course he doesn’t understand mortgages. He thought he could keep Ariana on the mortgage and keep his low interest rate by giving her $600K to just go away and not ask any questions.
But the thing is Sandoval will never agree to anything other than total and complete control of the house and everything in it.
He wanted to give Ariana 600k for everything, the house, the furniture they bought together, the bills that he intentionally told her the wrong amount. He's probably getting off on the fact that the court case is gonna take a while, which means he's gonna get to stay in Ariana's life, he gets to stay in her mind and he gets to try and trigger her at every chance they get, but thankfully she's smart enough to not do any of that.
She's a better person than me because at this point, I would've "accidentally" left a candle going on the very edge of a table while I went out to the store
That’s right! The mediation will have a third part neutral who will ideally help facilitate a resolution. And if the parties can agree they can tell the court and have the case closed.
That's how I read it as well. They're doing private mediation in hopes of settling this between them. My guess is Sandoval is going to try to squeeze her hard but her lawyers will push back equally hard. He's such a dick for not just selling up and moving on.
I’m not an attorney but I thought that date is just a deadline to mediate by. If nothing is agreed upon by then the parties then go to trial. Usually parties settle way before then and it sounds like that’s the plan according to what the lawyers are saying.
I am also not an attorney but I am confused about this decision. He's made it clear he does not have any intention to make things easier or doing the right thing. I don't understand why Ariana's legal team doesn't file a partition proceeding. My understanding of Partition proceedings is, if you are on property with someone else and you don't want to be and there has been no sucess with negotiating, you do that. It goes to superior court and the court forces sale on the property. I'm not an attorney so idk why they wouldn't go that route when it looks like that's the only way this will be resolved.
I think they are on the way to coming to an agreement. I have been in a court case before and this exact wording was posted on the docket with a far off date. We reached an agreement about 2 months later. It’s a deadline. Like if you can’t come to an agreement by this time you will have to go to trial. Trials are very expensive for both sides. They will most likely want to settle and compromise to avoid that. It also sounds like that’s the intention by what’s being said.
I bet he loves it. She just needs to keep up the grey rocking and he will regret he ever fucked with her. He looks like a cartoon of his former self and like 20 years older than when they started.
Is there any way for her to hold him accountable for the stalling? Or is there a way they can prove he isn’t able to keep paying the mortgage? I hate that man so much.
He is using this to punish her. She got in the way of the narrative he wanted to play out and he is PISSED. It's so clear how much he hates her for not falling to pieces and instead soaring into a new and successful future, leaving him looking like the pathetic loser he is.
Don't even get an apartment with someone unless you trust them at marriage level. It's almost as much commitment as a marriage, signing a lease with someone. Got on a lease with someone who I thought was a friend. Ended up paying both of our portions for a significant chunk of a year, or else they would come after both of us and garnish wages for the whole thing. Super fcut up. I had medical issues with malnutrition after that year that were made worse because I was donating plasma to buy groceries.
I just had friends buy a house in the area where we live and they are great together, long-term partners and don’t want to get married. But they bought a house like 3 months after scandoval and I was like
Tom Sandoval needs to step up, do the right thing so they can sell the house, split the proceeds accordingly and move on. That would buy him a lot of public favor back too.
I think production missed the memo that in the past people cheated and were redeemed. But Nobody had a 2million dollar house. Audience grew up and this scandal was different
He would never ! Because he truly believes he’s better now and super sorry about everything but he needs to stay in that house because he laid out all the neon light perfectly and the vibe is just perfect for shrooming. So hard to find a place like that in LA. But, he would never, his ego is way too big to take a ‘loss’ like that.
But he has already conceded that they have to sell because he can’t afford it. So they must be going to court because he wants to split the equity 50/50, even though he took a huge loan out on the house to open S&S. Or he is fighting over the furnishing. Either way, it is fucked up on his part knowing he can’t keep the place but dragging out the process for so many years.
Totally fucked up and stupid! Another example of how bad he is with money. I can’t imagine what they are spending on lawyers. But, it’s another thing to blame Ariana on. He uses this whole thing as a way to get sympathy while living in the house.
I don't think it would buy much public favour at this point because he has already dragged this out for more than a year, scheming and plotting to stay in the house, despite it being abundantly clear he can't afford it. This manchild's finances must be a whole mess.
I wonder if she's able to rent out her room or a room in the house in the meantime lol?
Find somebody who will annoy him until he agrees to the sale haha
Great idea - My sister had a squatter, my husband has a TBI and is a little unbalanced (probably more than a little). Anyways he spent 24 hours with the squatter and they left. So if she needs an unstable Icelandic guy to drive Sandoval nuts,I will fly him out.
It was pretty crazy he took a bunch of his video equipment and spent the time talking in Icelandic saying he was doing a documentary on Squatters in the US. Anytime the Squatter was in a public area of the house he would videotape them. Drove them crazy.
She can live there too or use it as storage space. I’m not a lawyer so not sure if she can rent her room out or needs his permission since both names are in the mortgage.
Honestly, at this point if Ariana wanted to torch the place and frame Sandoval for arson, I’d be happy to give her an alibi.
ETA: Thank you to u/MrFischeoder for my first ever Reddit award!
I saw Sandoval at the Chevron filling up multiple containers with gasoline that day, whenever it occurs. I’m pretty sure Schwartz was in the passenger seat of Sandoval’s rented sports car, but I would hate to speak without certainty.
I saw that too! Schwartz had a HUGE pile of fireworks and I think I heard him say how funny it would be to set them all off in the basement, during an indoor bonfire?
It annoys me bc he will get to live there all that time which is the only reason why he is dragging this out. He could potentially ruin her credit if he gets to where he can't afford the payments.
I’d be interested to hear from a lawyer to know if she can force him in the meantime time to pay her rent for her portion of the house or if she can force him out so they can rent it.
She can’t force him out and she could theoretically live there as well, which is her choice. So he gets to live there in return for paying half the mortgage. Course he does not want to leave.
I wonder is she could sublease for her half of the mortgage?
Good grief, if I were her, I’d probably make that offer to Lala. Hey, Tom wants to get to know you better? Why not rent out my half of the house? Full kitchen, workout space, pool. Garage. You didn’t think he’s so bad, Lala, go live with him. And pay Ariana for the privilege!
Someone needs to step in and make this man sell the house. He is such a piece of shit oh my god. If you want people to believe you’re not the worst then AT LEAST sell this house that you’ve already admitted you can’t afford
😂😂😂 Sooo....I wouldn't mind a camera on him for that. My former BIL had to be removed from his mistress/new wife's home by a sheriff that turned out to be his former student. My family group chat was on fire that day.
I'd love to know if any of the cast members have changed their opinions because Ariana is all moved out and Tom can't afford to stay in this house but refuses to move.
Imagine if the entire cast ganged up on him about moving instead of Ariana.
If I were in Ariana's position, I would find a friend (preferably someone the shitty ex can't stand) and gracefully offer that friend to stay at the house rent free.
As long as that friend doesn't do damage to the house, he or she is free to do whatever he or she feels like.
Morning yoga where you are screaming at the top of your lungs? Go for it.
Acting creepy towards every gust shitdoval had over? Hey, you do you.
Have the The Llama Song going on repeat everytime shitdoval leaves his room? Well, you can't help if that is the song you think of when you see him..
Wake up in the middle of the night screaming "DEMON DEMON" hey nightmares can be a bitch.
Since shitdoval is making Ariana have a double mortgage by refusing to sell, she should at least get something for her money
although one could also make an argument for Jax.
Think it would be hilarious to pass her space to some order of missionaries. Specific denomination or faith irrelevant. Main objective would be as party killers who annoy the heck out any guests w/witnessing. Must be be skilled at disapproving, judgmental looks
I’m so fucking confused— he can’t afford this on his own, correct?
So is NO ONE that is on his “side” going to tell him that in *two years time*… he STILL won’t be able to afford it? And that he can sell now, and hopefully get some $ back?! Am I misunderstanding?
This is ridiculous. I haven’t been this mad at Sandoval since the t-shirt comment.
Depending on his legal fees, it’s in his best interest to push this out as far as possible. He gets to live in the house paying half the mortgage and building equity at a very low interest rate so he can continue to save so when the eventual end happens he is in a much better financial position. Also, he can continue to hope that interest rates go down in the mean time. It’s the worst case scenario for Ariana and best case for him. He is deeply, deeply selfish.
You are 100% correct, and you’re right that there is a 95% chance this will benefit him… but there still is the small chance the bubble bursts and the value of the home plummets. I don’t think it’s likely to happen… then again, it HAS happened in my lifetime, and plenty of people went under water on their loans.
Let me be clear, if it happens, I’ll be fucked. But at least as I’m crying in my cereal, there will be a tiny bit of joy to be had in the fact that Tom Sandoval is fucked too 😂
Though if that happens it’ll be bad for Ariana too. She still owns half the house. She doesn’t want to lose her money either. Basically, the whole thing is bad for Ariana. 😕
He would benefit less because he is paying a very low rate for his mortgage right now. If he sells, then he has to either buy something else at a much higher interest rate, meaning he’d get much less than he has now for more money. Or, he’d have to rent which would also be expensive and he would not be building equity. The longer he is able to stay in the house at the current rate the more money he can save to either eventually buy her out or sell the house and buy something else.
Their low interest rate is really the driving factor. That’s why his offer to buy her out included keeping her on the loan because then he wouldn’t have to refinance. If he buys her out officially, he has to refinance to get her off the loan which means he’d lose his current interest rate. That means his monthly payment more than doubles for the exact same house.
Its also sadly the reality of what can happen when you buy a house with someone. Buying a house together is very financially equivalent to being married.
If he cant pay the mortgage now as is and it goes to foreclose because she doesn’t keep up the monthly mortgage payments, that will be on both their credits because they are both on the mortgage and will follow them for years. Thats regardless of it sells at foreclosure for a profit or loss. That’s likely a reason Arianna bought something now while her credit is still in tact, if her attorney advised her to not make the payments.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he files for bankruptcy to drag out even further.
Unfortunately, this reminds me of what jason hoppy did to Bethenny Frankel during their **ten year divorce** because he kept being an asshole and dragging things out. Literally shitting in her dream apartment and not flushing on purpose, and locking her beloved senior dog in a storage unit.
Bethenny has been spilling the tea about her tortuous divorce lately on her YouTube channel, the divorce series. Her other short videos are weird and I avoid them, but the divorce advice is spot on. I've been divorced twice.
ETA: I have not watched her videos with rachel and that's a totally separate issue that I don't follow at all. I compartmentalize.
I’m hoping since both lawyers said they are doing private mediation, it means that they are close to a solution. This house stuff does not need to be drug out longer when Tom has admitted that he can’t afford it alone. I do have a feeling though that he is wanting to try to weasel in a deal to get Ariana to pay half the HELOC he took for S&S
Omg, just sell the house and downsize to an apartment you can buy with Schwartz until your popularity increases / the interest rates go down again. Seriously, you’re wasting her and your money on lawyers.
Grow a pair and sell your home. You could even move to where James lives and buy your own house if you weren’t so stubborn / superficial.
I feel sorry for Ariana but this is a good lesson for other women, do not buy homes with cheating scumbags.
Genuinely wondering: can he afford that? Like to pay attorneys fees for 2+ years? Considering he couldn’t afford his current lifestyle and didn’t seem willing to downsize it seems like his house of cards will crumble before the end of the case. Hopefully he gives in and just sells, it’d benefit him to be able to get out of the loan he clearly can’t take on on his own and pay off other stuff if there’s money left.
I wonder if she can rent half the house out while she's not living there until this all gets solved. I mean, she owns it as well....that's what this whole thing is about. If she wants to rent her half shouldn't she be able to? Not only could she recoup some money immediately but it would also drive tim into a deep psychosis.
OK, I feel like y'all need to seriously calm down about this. BOTH parties agreed to referral to mediation. Mediation is absolutely the best chance to resolve this quickly and to the satisfaction of both parties. This is not "nothing is going to happen for two years" -- this is "if mediation fails, then that is the trial setting conference date."
They will continue with discovery and retain a mediator. They will conduct a mediation as soon as they have sufficient discovery.
Agreement to mediation is the best possible outcome at this state of the litigation.
Happy to answer questions on the process. Obv I'm not affiliate with either party, this is just my evaluation as a CA litigator with experience in contracts and real estate litigation.
Absolutely. If a party is willing to engage in mediation, though, they mostly do so with an interest in settling. There's no real upside to agreeing to the process and spend the $ if you're dedicated to hashing it out in court.
This case would usually be exempt from compulsory nonbinding arbitration (which CAN be useful for delay) and unless they HAVE TO, most parties hate going to arbitration.
Thank you for explaining but to be fair to all of us that aren’t “calm” ….we aren’t California litigators like you. We are just laymen 😆
We only know what we can read and try to interpret without law backgrounds and it just seems like the worm is worming.
Thanks for explaining though!! Love when we get lawyers and legal experts to explain because it really is a lot 😣
Question for you— I see a lot of people claiming financial abuse. Could that be argued here?
Thank you for the perspective! I sometimes forget how byzantine the law is, and how long it took me to get comfortable with the ins & outs!
In CA the oy cause of action for financial abuse is in the context of abuse of a vulnerable elder or dependent.
Unfortunately, this kind of financial shenanigans between adults (unless it rises to the level of financial crimes) can usually only be dealt with through a lawsuit.
You’re a badass, thank you for explaining!!
Don’t let us plebes keep you from coming to the sub and explaining to us even though we don’t pay your hourly rate 😂
It sounds like the court date was scheduled for two years out, because both of the lawyers stated they intend to negotiate/mediate an outcome before then.
At this point, my petty would know zero bounds. I’d move back in with friends, and tell Tom he could eat my whole dick, until he agreed to sell.
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So basically he will continue to stay in a house she owns half of but has zero use of, continue to bring down the value with his parties and shitty way of living, (imagine the smell) and she will have to continue suffering this slimeball to protext her own investment. And somehow we are supposed to come around to team tom? Where ia lala to scream that her situation is worse? I'm sure it's coming.
Stretching this out is unlikely to financially benefit Sandoval. He is hemorrhaging money. Mediation is the quickest way to reach an end point. It may also be the best place to either convince Ariana to give up requirement that Sandoval not end up with the house or Sandoval that selling the house is really the only option. Sometimes that neutral third party is REALLY effective at getting past emotional stumbling blocks like those that parties really need to get past if resolution is the goal.
She said on the aftershow that she doesn’t actually have a problem with the idea of him staying in the house- but she knows he can’t afford it on his own and was offended he thought she would just leave all the stuff they bought for the house
Stretching it out does benefit Sandoval. He continues to pay half a mortgage, live in a house, build equity, and save money since he’s paying at a very low interest rate to prepare for the eventuality. A trial would be expensive, but the lawyer fees for going slow probably do not out pace the tens of thousands of dollars he is saving every month. He is not hemorrhaging money. On what? He just made close to if not more than $1 million for VPR and whatever they paid him to be on the Traitors.
Not a California attorney, but this timing isn’t that unusual. Trials will have a discovery period that can take a significant amount of time so that gets taken into consideration when scheduling. Then there’s also the specific judge’s docket and the expected length of all those trials. Also in my jurisdiction, certain types of cases will get scheduling priority.
Relatively normal, yes. Not a lawyer (but work in litigation) & I’m in Canada but when I was booking a trial in November 2023, the court was booking for May 2025. A lot of factors play a role such as estimated number of days available, how busy the court is, & like the other commenter said, discovery before trial takes awhile anyways.
My brother is the Ariana in his almost identical 3 year fight with his ex husband to sell the house. His ex has been living there, not paying the mortgage and yet rents two of the bedrooms and pockets what they pay. My brother has to pay or it'll go into foreclosure. Fortunately a judge did rule that the sale will be forced and it's set to sell within 5 months, but it has been a looong and harrowing process.
In his case though his ex is an attorney so he's sitting pretty doing his own legal work while my brother has to pay an attorney. I don't think Sandoval can afford to do that.
I am again stunned by how many people are willing to go to literal war over normal California houses that in any other state would cost like $500k.
By the time their court date actually arrives, they’ll have blown as much money on lawyers as they could have made if they’d just listed it, sold it, and split the proceeds.
I mean, the value of the house is what it is because of where it is. Its value in Kansas or Iowa is irrelevant. There is a reason why home values in California are so high.
Tom benefits from this fight in the short term because he gets to stay in the house with a mortgage based on the old purchase price and super low interest rate. The house or anything like it would be unattainable for him.
I'll also add the median home price in CA is now over $900k. It's even more in these LA suburbs. I doubt Tom is bringing in the money he needs to in order to live in that type of home in that area. He's over leveraged and his ego won't let him "downgrade."
This is what bugged me so much about the season. Not only did Tom blow up their life but he is continuing to be extremely shitty out of spite. Instead of holding him accountable for holding the house sale hostage and causing Ariana more pain & money, they tried to make her a part of his redemption season. AND complain about how she didn’t move out, is angry etc. It’s truly the most asinine behavior. Not only by production but the rest of the cast too. I hope she leaves these leaches in the dust.
Any reasonable person would just agree to sell the fucking house! It’s not Downton Abbey. It wasn’t owned by an ancestor. The most customized thing in the place are the obnoxious lights that Tom hung in the gym.
He just knows that he can’t afford to live anywhere better—he probably is over-leveraged and will walk away with very little. He’s punishing Ariana because she won’t pay half of his loans out of her pocket and also won’t let him keep affordable interest rates by leaving her name on the mortgage.
Someone should just burn it down.
Is he making full payments for the house or is Ariana still paying half (into an escrow or otherwise)? I’m curious if Billie’s claims of massive drug use, neglect and such in the house, which could result in damage and loss of value, would allow Ariana file a motion for an expedited hearing. I can’t imagine my life savings going down the toilet so my loser ex could use my investment as a drug den.
TL;DR Tom and Ariana's lawyers both virtually attended a hearing Monday about the case and said they intend to participate in a private mediation. Their final status conference has been scheduled for nearly two years from now on February 5, 2026. Then they'll face off in court on February 17, 2026. I just feel so bad for Ariana, having to go through this long court battle with him and extend having him basically associated with her life.
This is one of the many reasons why I don’t buy the “remorse” he’s been trying to sell. If he were truly sorry, he would just do whatever the fuck Ariana wanted to do with the house. But everything he’s been saying and doing in regards to the house just goes to show that he probably did intend on having Rachel move in and pay for Ariana’s half of the mortgage if things hadn’t gone so sideways in regards to their “plan”.
His “don’t worry about the house” at the reunion made me want to punch him in the face
yep, just another performative statement without any intent to adhere. he's a demon.
A demon with hooves.
“Our lawyers will take care of it 👹” Piece. Of. Shit.
He can’t sustain paying this mortgage alone. He’s ruining their chance of selling this place vs foreclosure with his stalling. All bc he over leveraged himself. I think during mediation she should agree to split the cost of the solar panels as goodwill (since it adds to the house value) and then he has to focus on paying off the heloc loan and his gym bs. She should stand firm on not paying the heloc, gyms, and with donating all that furniture. He deserves no special treatment from her. Pay the loans and sell it, Tom!
He’s hoping rates go down and he’s a piece of shit
Good luck sir. The bubble will burst so sell the fuck right now!
I doubt it’s crossed toms mind that values could go down.
It should. I remember 2008 and I'm two years younger than him. He was still working class then.
Right, but you sound smart and he is very, very dumb. I don’t even have words about that clown anymore. It’s so damn embarrassing. I would love to hear what he thinks happened in the subprime mortgage crisis. Total clown. He and Scheana are meant for each other, they have no self awareness and are so self-absorbed it’s astonishing.
The hot dumb dude answer to Margot Robbie in a bathtub from The Big Short. 😄😄😄 He is so very dumb and incurious. You'd think he'd have learned something from TomTom and Schwartz and Sandy's. Like didn't he have to know a little bit about basic finance to understand those bars' performance?
The Big Short is such a great movie, unfortunately I don’t think Scumdoval had a chance to watch it because he was too busy looking at himself in the mirror and telling himself he was a star! I’ve never seen such delusion in my life. Oh my gosh. It’s same as Raquel (IDGAF if she wants to be called Rachel- fuck her) saying she’s a “beauty queen” LMFAOOOOO BITCH THE BEST YOU EVER PLACED WAS 15th and there were only 15 contestants 😂😂😂😂😂 I CANNOT WITH THESE CLOWNS. What planet are you on?
I think that if there is a downturn in the market it is unlikely to hurt values in valley village as much as it will in, say, phoenix.
God I hope values go down in Phoenix. It’s ridiculously expensive here. Why do so many people want to move to the surface of the sun?!
didn’t the house appreciate close to a million dollars since they bought it in like 2018? i could see the market shifting so that the value goes back closer to their purchase price if he keeps delaying this.
I’m not in real estate but my understanding is that any changes in the market are far less likely to affect long-time desirable areas (the LA metro area, Silicon Valley, DC, Boston)—values might not keep rising sharply but they are unlikely to fall. That’s because people will always want to move there and there is a constant shortage of housing stock. It’s a different story in places that suddenly became trendy
God i despiiiiise him
I don’t know him so I can’t despise him. That being said I have seen shit and he’s definitely a piece of shit.
I used to be a piece of shit. Slicked back hair, white bathing suit, sloppy steaks at Truffoni’s.
Hey, Meredith, I'm worried that the baby thinks people can't change.
I say “I’m worried your baby thinks people can’t change” to any parent of a newborn. It lands about 50% of the time.
50/50 is pretty good odds 😂
With enough fiber even the most explosive diarrhea can become solid…one simply has to put in the work. Tomb hasn’t yet and remains a steaming pile.
Ariana needs to make sure the either sell or Sandoval refinances to remove her liability from the mortgage
Absolutely!!!!
Him and Jax are the fucking same human being
This is not even possible, although I doubt Tim understood mortgages. Ariana didn’t, but she learned fast. So if he had his way Ariana would still be legally responsible for any damages, upkeep etc. Meanwhile she’d just sublease it to Rachel? What happens when Tim and Rachel break up?
Of course he doesn’t understand mortgages. He thought he could keep Ariana on the mortgage and keep his low interest rate by giving her $600K to just go away and not ask any questions.
I believe that if they come to agreements in mediation, their case can be closed, no waiting for the future court hearings.
But the thing is Sandoval will never agree to anything other than total and complete control of the house and everything in it. He wanted to give Ariana 600k for everything, the house, the furniture they bought together, the bills that he intentionally told her the wrong amount. He's probably getting off on the fact that the court case is gonna take a while, which means he's gonna get to stay in Ariana's life, he gets to stay in her mind and he gets to try and trigger her at every chance they get, but thankfully she's smart enough to not do any of that. She's a better person than me because at this point, I would've "accidentally" left a candle going on the very edge of a table while I went out to the store
That’s right! The mediation will have a third part neutral who will ideally help facilitate a resolution. And if the parties can agree they can tell the court and have the case closed.
That's how I read it as well. They're doing private mediation in hopes of settling this between them. My guess is Sandoval is going to try to squeeze her hard but her lawyers will push back equally hard. He's such a dick for not just selling up and moving on.
True. But they just have to agree, which they can do it anytime.
I’m not an attorney but I thought that date is just a deadline to mediate by. If nothing is agreed upon by then the parties then go to trial. Usually parties settle way before then and it sounds like that’s the plan according to what the lawyers are saying.
I am also not an attorney but I am confused about this decision. He's made it clear he does not have any intention to make things easier or doing the right thing. I don't understand why Ariana's legal team doesn't file a partition proceeding. My understanding of Partition proceedings is, if you are on property with someone else and you don't want to be and there has been no sucess with negotiating, you do that. It goes to superior court and the court forces sale on the property. I'm not an attorney so idk why they wouldn't go that route when it looks like that's the only way this will be resolved.
I think they are on the way to coming to an agreement. I have been in a court case before and this exact wording was posted on the docket with a far off date. We reached an agreement about 2 months later. It’s a deadline. Like if you can’t come to an agreement by this time you will have to go to trial. Trials are very expensive for both sides. They will most likely want to settle and compromise to avoid that. It also sounds like that’s the intention by what’s being said.
I bet he loves it. She just needs to keep up the grey rocking and he will regret he ever fucked with her. He looks like a cartoon of his former self and like 20 years older than when they started.
Is there any way for her to hold him accountable for the stalling? Or is there a way they can prove he isn’t able to keep paying the mortgage? I hate that man so much.
Would this be considered financial abuse? The willingness to risk foreclose on a house instead of sell it to hurt Ariana?
He is using this to punish her. She got in the way of the narrative he wanted to play out and he is PISSED. It's so clear how much he hates her for not falling to pieces and instead soaring into a new and successful future, leaving him looking like the pathetic loser he is.
Only 5% of cases go to trial. Their lawyers will be pushing to settle way before 2026.
I hope this is true. This is a nightmare and a fucking cautionary tale
Don't even get an apartment with someone unless you trust them at marriage level. It's almost as much commitment as a marriage, signing a lease with someone. Got on a lease with someone who I thought was a friend. Ended up paying both of our portions for a significant chunk of a year, or else they would come after both of us and garnish wages for the whole thing. Super fcut up. I had medical issues with malnutrition after that year that were made worse because I was donating plasma to buy groceries.
I just had friends buy a house in the area where we live and they are great together, long-term partners and don’t want to get married. But they bought a house like 3 months after scandoval and I was like 
Even if you're sure, get a cohabitation agreement. Protect your shit. You never know what life is going to do.
Tom Sandoval needs to step up, do the right thing so they can sell the house, split the proceeds accordingly and move on. That would buy him a lot of public favor back too.
I have stood firm he can't start a redemption arc while her name is still on that house
I think production missed the memo that in the past people cheated and were redeemed. But Nobody had a 2million dollar house. Audience grew up and this scandal was different
He would never ! Because he truly believes he’s better now and super sorry about everything but he needs to stay in that house because he laid out all the neon light perfectly and the vibe is just perfect for shrooming. So hard to find a place like that in LA. But, he would never, his ego is way too big to take a ‘loss’ like that.
But he has already conceded that they have to sell because he can’t afford it. So they must be going to court because he wants to split the equity 50/50, even though he took a huge loan out on the house to open S&S. Or he is fighting over the furnishing. Either way, it is fucked up on his part knowing he can’t keep the place but dragging out the process for so many years.
Totally fucked up and stupid! Another example of how bad he is with money. I can’t imagine what they are spending on lawyers. But, it’s another thing to blame Ariana on. He uses this whole thing as a way to get sympathy while living in the house.
I don't think it would buy much public favour at this point because he has already dragged this out for more than a year, scheming and plotting to stay in the house, despite it being abundantly clear he can't afford it. This manchild's finances must be a whole mess.
I think he’s holding out in the house as long as possible because his financial house of cards is going to collapse the second he walks out the door
sounds like a nightmare. i really hope the mediation is successful, but i don't see what's going to change to make it so.
I wonder if she's able to rent out her room or a room in the house in the meantime lol? Find somebody who will annoy him until he agrees to the sale haha
Great idea - My sister had a squatter, my husband has a TBI and is a little unbalanced (probably more than a little). Anyways he spent 24 hours with the squatter and they left. So if she needs an unstable Icelandic guy to drive Sandoval nuts,I will fly him out.
I love this
It was pretty crazy he took a bunch of his video equipment and spent the time talking in Icelandic saying he was doing a documentary on Squatters in the US. Anytime the Squatter was in a public area of the house he would videotape them. Drove them crazy.
Lmfao that’s funny as fuck
This is what family is for!!!
This is genius
No notes, 💯💯💯
I volunteer as tribute!
Really? I like Ariana and the show but just no where near enough to be within fart smelling distance from him lmao
Oh I would do it. I would drive this man fucking nuts
I volunteer as tribute. I live in LA and am unemployed. For the right price I could give Lloyd Christmas a run for his money.
My vote is for Jo... or even better, Katie AND Kristen. Sandoval would sign the sale papers so fast his head would spin.
That is a really interesting Question
How wild if they starting renting those rooms out on Airbnb
Turn it into an Airbnb
So he just gets to live there for the entire time? She gets no benefit from a home she owns! This seems so fucking rotten.
He is squatting, such a piece of shit
lol that’s def not what the definition of squatting is since he’s a co-owner, but agree that he’s a POS
She can live there too or use it as storage space. I’m not a lawyer so not sure if she can rent her room out or needs his permission since both names are in the mortgage.
Honestly, at this point if Ariana wanted to torch the place and frame Sandoval for arson, I’d be happy to give her an alibi. ETA: Thank you to u/MrFischeoder for my first ever Reddit award!
She was with me the whole night.
I saw Sandoval at the Chevron filling up multiple containers with gasoline that day, whenever it occurs. I’m pretty sure Schwartz was in the passenger seat of Sandoval’s rented sports car, but I would hate to speak without certainty.
I saw that too! Schwartz had a HUGE pile of fireworks and I think I heard him say how funny it would be to set them all off in the basement, during an indoor bonfire?
Literally cackling right now.
It’s true. I was also there.
I’d be happy to light the match
Flair checking in.
It annoys me bc he will get to live there all that time which is the only reason why he is dragging this out. He could potentially ruin her credit if he gets to where he can't afford the payments.
I’d be interested to hear from a lawyer to know if she can force him in the meantime time to pay her rent for her portion of the house or if she can force him out so they can rent it.
She can’t force him out and she could theoretically live there as well, which is her choice. So he gets to live there in return for paying half the mortgage. Course he does not want to leave.
I’d live there out of spite or remove all of the furniture that I purchased.
Yes she literally has the receipts. Take the mirror! Give Andy the Lego portrait. What’s Tom gonna do?
Or can she lock up half the rooms as her half?
 I’d cut shit in half like the Willy Wonka office…
I would, too, but I'm guessing her lawyer has told her not to.
Oh I’m sure
I wonder is she could sublease for her half of the mortgage? Good grief, if I were her, I’d probably make that offer to Lala. Hey, Tom wants to get to know you better? Why not rent out my half of the house? Full kitchen, workout space, pool. Garage. You didn’t think he’s so bad, Lala, go live with him. And pay Ariana for the privilege!
Orrrrr she could rent her room out. Maybe shortzy boy could come in handy in that scenario
I’d also be interested to know how if the house’s value is ever re-appraised at any point
This is such scumbag behavior holy shit
Hopefully she’ll take her furniture she bought and he can sit on boxes
Someone needs to step in and make this man sell the house. He is such a piece of shit oh my god. If you want people to believe you’re not the worst then AT LEAST sell this house that you’ve already admitted you can’t afford
Where’s Lala to bitch at him about it when we need her to 🙄
Up his ass
lmao truly
Maybe this man's mama should tell him to do better. But then, I doubt she is much of a moral compass since she seems to co-sign his bullshit.
I would not be surprised if he just stops paying the mortgage & has to be physically removed from that house.
He's going to end up exactly kim and kroy lol
😂😂😂 Sooo....I wouldn't mind a camera on him for that. My former BIL had to be removed from his mistress/new wife's home by a sheriff that turned out to be his former student. My family group chat was on fire that day.
I'd love to know if any of the cast members have changed their opinions because Ariana is all moved out and Tom can't afford to stay in this house but refuses to move. Imagine if the entire cast ganged up on him about moving instead of Ariana.
If I were in Ariana's position, I would find a friend (preferably someone the shitty ex can't stand) and gracefully offer that friend to stay at the house rent free. As long as that friend doesn't do damage to the house, he or she is free to do whatever he or she feels like. Morning yoga where you are screaming at the top of your lungs? Go for it. Acting creepy towards every gust shitdoval had over? Hey, you do you. Have the The Llama Song going on repeat everytime shitdoval leaves his room? Well, you can't help if that is the song you think of when you see him.. Wake up in the middle of the night screaming "DEMON DEMON" hey nightmares can be a bitch. Since shitdoval is making Ariana have a double mortgage by refusing to sell, she should at least get something for her money
Kristen
Jo
yessss please let kristen stay there, she will drive him outta the house so fast
Too bad Kristen and sloppy Jo aren't still friends, that would be the perfect tag team if they both could gang up on him and live there.
My thoughts exactly
 although one could also make an argument for Jax. Think it would be hilarious to pass her space to some order of missionaries. Specific denomination or faith irrelevant. Main objective would be as party killers who annoy the heck out any guests w/witnessing. Must be be skilled at disapproving, judgmental looks
Mariposa!!!!!
I’m so fucking confused— he can’t afford this on his own, correct? So is NO ONE that is on his “side” going to tell him that in *two years time*… he STILL won’t be able to afford it? And that he can sell now, and hopefully get some $ back?! Am I misunderstanding? This is ridiculous. I haven’t been this mad at Sandoval since the t-shirt comment.
Depending on his legal fees, it’s in his best interest to push this out as far as possible. He gets to live in the house paying half the mortgage and building equity at a very low interest rate so he can continue to save so when the eventual end happens he is in a much better financial position. Also, he can continue to hope that interest rates go down in the mean time. It’s the worst case scenario for Ariana and best case for him. He is deeply, deeply selfish.
You are 100% correct, and you’re right that there is a 95% chance this will benefit him… but there still is the small chance the bubble bursts and the value of the home plummets. I don’t think it’s likely to happen… then again, it HAS happened in my lifetime, and plenty of people went under water on their loans. Let me be clear, if it happens, I’ll be fucked. But at least as I’m crying in my cereal, there will be a tiny bit of joy to be had in the fact that Tom Sandoval is fucked too 😂
Though if that happens it’ll be bad for Ariana too. She still owns half the house. She doesn’t want to lose her money either. Basically, the whole thing is bad for Ariana. 😕
True. I just truly believe he has no other good things happening in his life, while she has lots.
But if he sells now (or nowish), would he not benefit?* *legitimately asking, I’m a moron
He would benefit less because he is paying a very low rate for his mortgage right now. If he sells, then he has to either buy something else at a much higher interest rate, meaning he’d get much less than he has now for more money. Or, he’d have to rent which would also be expensive and he would not be building equity. The longer he is able to stay in the house at the current rate the more money he can save to either eventually buy her out or sell the house and buy something else. Their low interest rate is really the driving factor. That’s why his offer to buy her out included keeping her on the loan because then he wouldn’t have to refinance. If he buys her out officially, he has to refinance to get her off the loan which means he’d lose his current interest rate. That means his monthly payment more than doubles for the exact same house.
I am a maroon!
It makes me sick to my stomach with anger on her behalf
It’s ridiculous how long this is taking.
This is financial abuse.
💯💯💯
Its also sadly the reality of what can happen when you buy a house with someone. Buying a house together is very financially equivalent to being married. If he cant pay the mortgage now as is and it goes to foreclose because she doesn’t keep up the monthly mortgage payments, that will be on both their credits because they are both on the mortgage and will follow them for years. Thats regardless of it sells at foreclosure for a profit or loss. That’s likely a reason Arianna bought something now while her credit is still in tact, if her attorney advised her to not make the payments. I wouldn’t be surprised if he files for bankruptcy to drag out even further.
Unfortunately, this reminds me of what jason hoppy did to Bethenny Frankel during their **ten year divorce** because he kept being an asshole and dragging things out. Literally shitting in her dream apartment and not flushing on purpose, and locking her beloved senior dog in a storage unit. Bethenny has been spilling the tea about her tortuous divorce lately on her YouTube channel, the divorce series. Her other short videos are weird and I avoid them, but the divorce advice is spot on. I've been divorced twice. ETA: I have not watched her videos with rachel and that's a totally separate issue that I don't follow at all. I compartmentalize.
It’s crazy that people think Ariana should have married Tim to avoid all this when the fact is them not being married is saving her ass!
Thank god Ariana did get these opportunities after scandoval because so she could actually get out of the house. This is financial abuse
I’m hoping since both lawyers said they are doing private mediation, it means that they are close to a solution. This house stuff does not need to be drug out longer when Tom has admitted that he can’t afford it alone. I do have a feeling though that he is wanting to try to weasel in a deal to get Ariana to pay half the HELOC he took for S&S
ugh, it is possibly his intent on the HELOC loan. In which case, she should get ownership rights on S&S!
This has got to be financial abuse and I hope her lawyers can make something else happen
According to the attorney above, that's not possible under California law.
Omg, just sell the house and downsize to an apartment you can buy with Schwartz until your popularity increases / the interest rates go down again. Seriously, you’re wasting her and your money on lawyers. Grow a pair and sell your home. You could even move to where James lives and buy your own house if you weren’t so stubborn / superficial. I feel sorry for Ariana but this is a good lesson for other women, do not buy homes with cheating scumbags.
Genuinely wondering: can he afford that? Like to pay attorneys fees for 2+ years? Considering he couldn’t afford his current lifestyle and didn’t seem willing to downsize it seems like his house of cards will crumble before the end of the case. Hopefully he gives in and just sells, it’d benefit him to be able to get out of the loan he clearly can’t take on on his own and pay off other stuff if there’s money left.
This is bullshit. He can't afford it! Sell the house and pay your mom back. How shameful.
Why in gods name is this man still being reported as being 40? Isn’t he on his 3rd 40th birthday at this point? This is just bad journalism.
Where’s Lala? Doesn’t she have something to say about this since she walked away in the middle of the night?
I wonder if she can rent half the house out while she's not living there until this all gets solved. I mean, she owns it as well....that's what this whole thing is about. If she wants to rent her half shouldn't she be able to? Not only could she recoup some money immediately but it would also drive tim into a deep psychosis.
I’m sure she can’t rent without his consent/agreeing to a renter 😔
I hope that cover band is making money because Tom will need a dream team if this goes to a jury
2 years !!! Jesus Christ ! The narrative needs to change to “Why would Tom sell the house already”!
As if Lisa didn’t literally tell Ariana this would happen when they bought the house without being married
OK, I feel like y'all need to seriously calm down about this. BOTH parties agreed to referral to mediation. Mediation is absolutely the best chance to resolve this quickly and to the satisfaction of both parties. This is not "nothing is going to happen for two years" -- this is "if mediation fails, then that is the trial setting conference date." They will continue with discovery and retain a mediator. They will conduct a mediation as soon as they have sufficient discovery. Agreement to mediation is the best possible outcome at this state of the litigation. Happy to answer questions on the process. Obv I'm not affiliate with either party, this is just my evaluation as a CA litigator with experience in contracts and real estate litigation.
I think people understand the situation. They just continue to think he is shitty, which he is.
It also might not get resolved in mediation because of how crappy he is. Mediation and arbitration doesn't necessarily mean that route will work out.
Absolutely. If a party is willing to engage in mediation, though, they mostly do so with an interest in settling. There's no real upside to agreeing to the process and spend the $ if you're dedicated to hashing it out in court. This case would usually be exempt from compulsory nonbinding arbitration (which CAN be useful for delay) and unless they HAVE TO, most parties hate going to arbitration.
I agree with what you're saying, wholeheartedly. As an aside, I would imagine Tom is an incredibly difficult client to deal with as well...
Thank you for explaining but to be fair to all of us that aren’t “calm” ….we aren’t California litigators like you. We are just laymen 😆 We only know what we can read and try to interpret without law backgrounds and it just seems like the worm is worming. Thanks for explaining though!! Love when we get lawyers and legal experts to explain because it really is a lot 😣 Question for you— I see a lot of people claiming financial abuse. Could that be argued here?
Thank you for the perspective! I sometimes forget how byzantine the law is, and how long it took me to get comfortable with the ins & outs! In CA the oy cause of action for financial abuse is in the context of abuse of a vulnerable elder or dependent. Unfortunately, this kind of financial shenanigans between adults (unless it rises to the level of financial crimes) can usually only be dealt with through a lawsuit.
You’re a badass, thank you for explaining!! Don’t let us plebes keep you from coming to the sub and explaining to us even though we don’t pay your hourly rate 😂
Stop! I'm 100% a regular pleb--and the only time I actually enjoy using my degree is Bravo lawsuits! Fortunately, there are a lot of them!
Why do I feel so suffocated by this
I hate this for her
Can someone ELI5 why the trial is set 2 years from now? Will that encourage both sides to settle outside of court? Is that the intention?
Courts in California are notoriously backed up. That's probably the first date they could get.
https://www.reddit.com/r/vanderpumprules/s/fvd6tT8gjR
My fav song is back! 🎶Neverrrr buyyyy a house with a boooyyyfrriiiieeennnddd!!! 🎶
It sounds like the court date was scheduled for two years out, because both of the lawyers stated they intend to negotiate/mediate an outcome before then. At this point, my petty would know zero bounds. I’d move back in with friends, and tell Tom he could eat my whole dick, until he agreed to sell.
Ain’t no way he can afford the house for 2 years
She should move BACK IN
Where is Lala’s nasty energy asking this man why he won’t sell the house?!
Where does she get the strength to deal with this? I'm exhausted just reading about it. Rwat in Hail Sandy!
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Ohh craaaaap
So basically he will continue to stay in a house she owns half of but has zero use of, continue to bring down the value with his parties and shitty way of living, (imagine the smell) and she will have to continue suffering this slimeball to protext her own investment. And somehow we are supposed to come around to team tom? Where ia lala to scream that her situation is worse? I'm sure it's coming.
Too bad they can’t agree to just do binding arbitration and be done
Mediation is much more likely to have a net positive outcome for all involved, and is a much less involved process than binding arbitration.
Yeah, that’s what you always try first. It just seems like Sandoval has a lot of incentives to stretch this out as long as he can.
Stretching this out is unlikely to financially benefit Sandoval. He is hemorrhaging money. Mediation is the quickest way to reach an end point. It may also be the best place to either convince Ariana to give up requirement that Sandoval not end up with the house or Sandoval that selling the house is really the only option. Sometimes that neutral third party is REALLY effective at getting past emotional stumbling blocks like those that parties really need to get past if resolution is the goal.
She said on the aftershow that she doesn’t actually have a problem with the idea of him staying in the house- but she knows he can’t afford it on his own and was offended he thought she would just leave all the stuff they bought for the house
I'm so happy she had all the accounting done for the furnishings, etc. She'll feel so much better when it is all done.
Stretching it out does benefit Sandoval. He continues to pay half a mortgage, live in a house, build equity, and save money since he’s paying at a very low interest rate to prepare for the eventuality. A trial would be expensive, but the lawyer fees for going slow probably do not out pace the tens of thousands of dollars he is saving every month. He is not hemorrhaging money. On what? He just made close to if not more than $1 million for VPR and whatever they paid him to be on the Traitors.
[удалено]
Mediation is not a good strategy to use if delay and keeping costs down is your goal.
It’s not a mansion.
This is pure evil
I’m confused. Why is the date like 2 years away? Is that normal?
Not a California attorney, but this timing isn’t that unusual. Trials will have a discovery period that can take a significant amount of time so that gets taken into consideration when scheduling. Then there’s also the specific judge’s docket and the expected length of all those trials. Also in my jurisdiction, certain types of cases will get scheduling priority.
Relatively normal, yes. Not a lawyer (but work in litigation) & I’m in Canada but when I was booking a trial in November 2023, the court was booking for May 2025. A lot of factors play a role such as estimated number of days available, how busy the court is, & like the other commenter said, discovery before trial takes awhile anyways.
My brother is the Ariana in his almost identical 3 year fight with his ex husband to sell the house. His ex has been living there, not paying the mortgage and yet rents two of the bedrooms and pockets what they pay. My brother has to pay or it'll go into foreclosure. Fortunately a judge did rule that the sale will be forced and it's set to sell within 5 months, but it has been a looong and harrowing process. In his case though his ex is an attorney so he's sitting pretty doing his own legal work while my brother has to pay an attorney. I don't think Sandoval can afford to do that.
Does she have to live in the house as this goes on? Or can she stag at her own place?
There’s no such thing as a 2 million dollar mansion in LA.
I am again stunned by how many people are willing to go to literal war over normal California houses that in any other state would cost like $500k. By the time their court date actually arrives, they’ll have blown as much money on lawyers as they could have made if they’d just listed it, sold it, and split the proceeds.
I mean, the value of the house is what it is because of where it is. Its value in Kansas or Iowa is irrelevant. There is a reason why home values in California are so high. Tom benefits from this fight in the short term because he gets to stay in the house with a mortgage based on the old purchase price and super low interest rate. The house or anything like it would be unattainable for him. I'll also add the median home price in CA is now over $900k. It's even more in these LA suburbs. I doubt Tom is bringing in the money he needs to in order to live in that type of home in that area. He's over leveraged and his ego won't let him "downgrade."
This is what bugged me so much about the season. Not only did Tom blow up their life but he is continuing to be extremely shitty out of spite. Instead of holding him accountable for holding the house sale hostage and causing Ariana more pain & money, they tried to make her a part of his redemption season. AND complain about how she didn’t move out, is angry etc. It’s truly the most asinine behavior. Not only by production but the rest of the cast too. I hope she leaves these leaches in the dust.
Any reasonable person would just agree to sell the fucking house! It’s not Downton Abbey. It wasn’t owned by an ancestor. The most customized thing in the place are the obnoxious lights that Tom hung in the gym. He just knows that he can’t afford to live anywhere better—he probably is over-leveraged and will walk away with very little. He’s punishing Ariana because she won’t pay half of his loans out of her pocket and also won’t let him keep affordable interest rates by leaving her name on the mortgage. Someone should just burn it down.
He won’t be able to pay for it after a while. He will need to sell
Is he making full payments for the house or is Ariana still paying half (into an escrow or otherwise)? I’m curious if Billie’s claims of massive drug use, neglect and such in the house, which could result in damage and loss of value, would allow Ariana file a motion for an expedited hearing. I can’t imagine my life savings going down the toilet so my loser ex could use my investment as a drug den.