Divorce or separation is a painful and difficult time with plenty of hard decisions to make. One of these is what to do about the home you’ve been living in together.
If you own the property jointly, your main options are for one of you to buy the other out, to sell up and split the proceeds for a clean break, to transfer some the value in the family home to one party or to keep the property and rent it out. Inevitably, it’s stressful, but you can make it easier by understanding the process.
To help you decide how or when to sell your property in Woodford, Romford, Ilford, Stratford or Bromley, we have set out these tips. Read on for what you need to know about selling your home if you divorce or separate.
Before you dive into the process, here are three important tips to help you get started and set you off on the right track:
This article is an overview of how to sell a house when splitting up. Everyone’s situation is different, some more complicated than others, so always get the right legal advice from a solicitor experienced in family law. That said, if you can agree a way forward amicably between you, this may save you money and stress.
When you divorce, all of your assets will be identified and valued as part of the process of working out a settlement – your family home included. If you are married, this is regardless of whose name the property is in and, in England, there is no set formula for making this calculation.
Selling the matrimonial home before you divorce can make this process simpler, if you both agree on this without going to court and have a place to move in to.
Buying and selling at the same time?
Here are 10 things that could go wrong, and often do go wrong, and what, if anything, you can do to avoid them.
Buying and selling at the same time?
Here are 10 things that could go wrong, and often do go wrong, and what, if anything, you can do to avoid them.
If you are still living in the property, and it is not in your name, contact the Land Registry to get a Notice of Home Rights. This will mean your partner can’t sell the property without alerting you.
There are several ways to sell a house when splitting up, whether you’re selling the marital property or one partner plans to keep it.
One partner can buy the other’s share of the home, and take on their share of the mortgage too. This can be expensive but avoids further upheaval for families with children.
Selling up and releasing the equity is often considered the cleanest way to break ties (though children will have two new homes to settle into).
A transfer of property order can be used to transfer joint ownership to one partner.
If you’re married or in a civil partnership but just one partner owns the house, their partner is typically entitled to a portion of the house value. Seek specialist advice on your situation.
Want to feel prepared before you sell? Read about selling a house after probate and our tips for selling your house.
Check your title deeds to clarify, as your type of ownership will affect how you deal with the house when you split.
Selling a home can cause anxiety at the best of times, but during a divorce or separation the stress can be ramped up even more. Whatever your situation, you need to achieve the best price possible for your home, and probably hope to sell your house quickly too.
This means presenting it well for sale. To stage your property, you need to declutter and depersonalise – tricky if you’re wrangling over who gets what. To speed thing up, consider putting excess belongings and furniture into storage while the sale goes through.
Avoid mentioning your divorce to potential property buyers, if possible – allowing your estate agent to conduct viewings can help with this. A minority of people might find moving into a place where the owners have divorced a bad omen, while others might have more practical concerns.
If you and your partner are both looking to buy another property, the chain will be more complex, putting some buyers off.
You don’t necessarily need to sell the house, if one partner can buy the other out or afford to take on the mortgage payments. Other options to consider, or which the courts can impose, include one party paying part of the value of the home over to the other, in exchange for a bigger stake in the property.
If you have children settled in the home and at school locally, but neither of you can afford to buy the other out, you can allow one party to remain in the home while the other party retains their share in the property’s ownership – until the children reach 18 or one of you remarries, for example.
Where there’s a mortgage on the property, contact your mortgage lender as soon as possible. Some people decide to keep paying the mortgage jointly, even though only one party is living in the property, but this could create difficulties.
Both of your credit scores can be affected if one of you doesn’t meet the payments. Being named on a mortgage, even if you don’t live in the home, could also affect your chances of being granted a loan if you want to buy another property.
Want to feel prepared before you sell? Learn about the process of selling a house and how to sell my house quickly.
If the splitting of your assets is decided in court, the length of your marriage is usually a factor. Where one spouse relies on the other’s income in a long-term marriage, the court may decide their earning potential was affected by staying at home looking after children or working fewer hours. They will consider the welfare of the children and standard of living after divorce.
One partner can buy the other’s portion, you can defer the house sale while one partner continues to live in the family home, or choose to rent it out.
It’s down to your circumstances, but court orders can instruct you to sell if there’s a disagreement or to release shared capital.
You can if you’re in agreement, but conflict can disrupt the sales process.
Sometimes, but not always. If your spouse claims matrimonial home rights to stay in the family home, you can’t sell until the decree absolute has been issued.
Many couples choose to, by getting a market valuation or a report from a local estate agent.
You can buy your partner’s share of the home – but make sure it’s done officially. Consider using a mortgage broker to access suitable deals.
The house value is usually split according to factors including agreements made at the time of purchase, length of marriage, and if children are involved.
You’re not guaranteed half of the marital home’s value, though it may be the case in longer marriages.
If you are in this situation, we can advise you and help you through the process if you wish to sell your home in Tower Hamlets, Hackney, East Ham, Rainham, Beckton or the surrounding areas. Contact us to discuss your property sale today.
Selling your house can be a complicated process, but breaking it down can make it less intimidating. That’s why we have compiled this step-by-step guide to the process of selling a house in east London. Whether you’re selling for the first time, are buying at the same time, or just aren’t sure what the current advice is in 2026, read on for tips on how to sell your house. We’ll talk you through everything from mortgage matters to professional photography. We also answer your frequently asked questions about the selling process. Find out more.
When you inherit a property, there will be decisions to make regarding whether to sell the property, live in it yourself or rent it out, and there will be legal processes to follow.
If you are wondering what the next steps are then this guide explains how the probate process works, what tax obligations you may have and which documents you will need if you decide to sell the property.
We also cover the different options you have for selling an inherited property and answer some of the most common questions about inheriting a property.
If you are looking for a fast house sale, there are several ways that you can improve the chances of a quick sale. Choosing an experienced local estate agent will help to speed up the sale but you can also get your paperwork prepared and make sure that your property is presented well to attract more viewings and prospective buyers.
Read our tips on how to sell a house quickly in East London for a full guide on the actions you can take to help to achieve a faster property sale.
