Selling A House in Rochdale After Splitting Up

Working through a relationship break-up can be emotionally upheaving. If you have the added stress of selling your house due to the relationship ending, the upcoming period could be very challenging.

You may find it difficult to agree with your former partner on some aspects of selling the house and the living arrangements. Delays in decision-making could strain your short-term finances, while bad decisions could impact your long-term finances.

A recent survey revealed that Manchester has one of the highest divorce rates in the UK. So if you are going through the process of splitting up and selling a house in Rochdale, there are plenty of homeowners in Rochdale going through the same experience. Depending on your situation, it may be advisable to seek advice from a family law solicitor to get legal advice on your rights.

As well as navigating through the legal elements of selling your home after splitting up, learning more about the process will help you to finalise the situation faster so that you are ready to start the next chapter in your life.

We’ve put this guide together to walk you through the process of selling a house in Rochdale after splitting up, including several different scenarios and options.

What happens to the house when you get divorced?

What happens to the house will depend on your specific scenario. We have explained the outcomes for the most common scenarios below:

Married or in a civil partnership

If you are married or in a civil partnership, there will usually be three options:

1. Sell your home and split the money

If you are both looking for a clean break, the best option is to put your house up for sale and split the proceeds (provided there is equity). This option should help separate your financial ties as soon as the sale goes through. If you have negative equity in the property or are still within a period where an early repayment charge applies to your mortgage, you should consider whether to sell now or wait.

2. One of you buys the other one out

Another common scenario after a break-up is that one person decides to keep the home by buying the other person out. This will involve taking out a new mortgage in just one person’s name to enable them to pay their former partner their share of the property equity.

3. Keep your home and one party continues to live in it

In some cases, where children live in the home, but one partner cannot afford the mortgage on their own, the courts may issue a Mesher Order. This usually means that the primary carer of the children will remain in the home until the children have grown up. Once the children reach the age of 18 or are in full-time education, the house can be sold, and the other party would receive their share of the sale at that point.

What if you’re not married?

If the title deeds for the property are in one party’s name and you are not married and have no children, the other partner may not have any rights to the house. If you moved into a partner’s home and the mortgage was already in their name, you will unlikely have any rights to stay in the property or entitlement to any of the capital.

If you are unsure whether you are named on the title deeds, you can check the Land Registry for England and Wales.

Not married and have children

Where children are involved, non-married couples’ legal rights are slightly different. If custody arrangements are decided through court, the primary carer for the children may be able to obtain an occupation order to stay in the family home for a certain period. In this situation, legal advice is highly recommended.

What if the home is jointly owned, but you’re not married?

If your home is jointly owned, but you are not married, there are usually two options:

• To sell the house and split the sale proceeds
• One person buys the other out

Both parties will be liable for paying the mortgage until it is paid off, which can cause complications if one person wants to live in the property until it is sold or until they buy the other person out. Taking legal advice to ensure you get the best outcome is always a good idea.

How to sell a house when splitting up

Talk to your mortgage lender

Contacting your mortgage lender to explain the situation will help you to understand whether the mortgage can be transferred to one person. Your mortgage lender can also tell you how much of the mortgage is left to be repaid if you sell the property.

You can also discover if financial issues such as an early repayment charge or negative equity could mean it is not a good time to sell. You may decide to rent the property until the ERC period ends or until enough of the mortgage is repaid to be out of negative equity.

Get a market valuation from a local estate agent

A valuation from an estate agent will help you understand the financial picture. Specifically, how much money each party would receive from the sale. Other costs must be considered, including solicitor’s, estate agent’s and mortgage exit fees.

Prepare your property for sale

You might be tempted to get packed up and take everything out of the home, but a bare house can be off-putting to buyers. Keep it furnished, clean and tidy to look more homely and help potential buyers see themselves living there.

Avoid telling buyers why you are selling

Sometimes honesty isn’t the best policy, at least not when selling a home and wanting to build up a positive feeling about the house. If a potential buyer asks why you are selling, telling them you are moving out of the area is probably a better reason to provide.

At Cowell Norford, we have been helping homeowners to sell their properties in the Rochdale area for over 40 years. We can help you get the best price for your property and provide expert guidance at every step. Contact us today to get started with selling or renting out your house in Rochdale.

Request a Call Back

"*" indicates required fields

Email

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Name*

First Last

Phone/Mobile Number*

Email Address

When is the best time to call?*

Choose your suitable time...Morning [9am - 12pm]Afternoon [12am - 5pm]

Message*

Submit