Divorce - can one partner prevent you doing the house up to sell for more money?

hazyjo

Totally agree with those above. No way will it add that much. I sold my house for around £5k more than my next-door-but-one-neighbour, and I had lots more in EA's fees to pay as they went with Purple Bricks or something, so it kind of evened out. Mine was done while theirs was a bit scruffy round the edges, with much more dated things like electrics, boiler, etc. And that was at a level over £500k!


I would hate for someone to put a new kitchen in to sell. Maybe 5% might pick something I'd choose, but it's unlikely. I bought a house once with apparently a 'new kitchen', but I hated it. Was all done on the cheap, no wall cupboards, just a few metal Ikea type shelves, and barely any storage or worktops. Ripped the lot out and started again. My house I'm in now is the only one where I've actually liked a kitchen and it would prob be a similar layout to what I'd have put in there.

MX5huggy

If your numbers were true (and I don’t think they are) it would be best for your mum to buy out Dad for £100k spend £20k on tarting up sell for £350k she walks away with £230k minus fees.

OldMusicGuy

Friends of ours recently went through a break up. Their house needed a lot of work doing to it (for example it didn't have central heating) but they had to sell quickly. Based on what "done up" houses were going for, they came up with a number they felt was realistic. They got three valuations from estate agents, all of which were above what they felt was "realistic". They sold the house (very quickly) for £20K MORE than the highest estate agent's estimate, despite it needing a lot of work.

Moral of the story - your parents need to get three estate agent estimates immediately to get a true sense of the value of the house. The estate agents should also be able to advise what difference, if any, improvement work would make.

There are zero legal grounds for your father's position. There is no way one party can force the other not to sell because they want to carry out improvements first, provided they are joint owners. Your mum could take legal action to force your dad to sell straight away.

They could of course agree jointly to undertake improvements but it's up to your mum to decide what she wants to do. This could be the time for her to stop your dad pushing her around. But she should take legal advice to guide her through the process.

Pollycat

OldMusicGuy wrote: »

your parents need to get three estate agent estimates immediately to get a true sense of the value of the house. The estate agents should also be able to advise what difference, if any, improvement work would make.

I agree with all of this.

OldMusicGuy wrote: »

There are zero legal grounds for your father's position. There is no way one party can force the other not to sell because they want to carry out improvements first, provided they are joint owners. Your mum could take legal action to force your dad to sell straight away.

I think it's the opposite way round.
OP's Dad want to sell as is, Mum wants to spend money on renovations.

IvyandEleanor wrote: »

Hello :wave: My parents are starting down the divorce route but nothing has been discussed other than the marriage is over and trying for the last 12 months has failed so they are calling it quits. There is quite a lot of work that needs doing on the house such as putting a new kitchen in (it's the same one as when they moved in 30yrs ago!) but my mum is worried that my dad will just want to put it on the market as it is straight away as he'll not want to spend anything on it. I have looked and houses in our area "done up" can go for £350k + so it'll be more than worth it as it's currently worth about £200k (it's 5 bed detached with lots of potential but has been neglected)
My question is, if one person doesn't want to do it but the other does then what happens? If my dad doesn't want to then my mum (and him) stands to lose a lot of money so it would disadvantage my mum. My dad has always been in control at home though with it being his way or the highway so my mum's worried that she won't get a say. Any advice?

Thanks :A
Xxx

OldMusicGuy

Pollycat wrote: »

I think it's the opposite way round.
OP's Dad want to sell as is, Mum wants to spend money on renovations.

Oops! Should have paid more attention!

In this case, mum can't do this unless they both agree. Dad can take legal action to force her to sell.

pimento

OldMusicGuy wrote: »

Oops!
Dad can take legal action to force her to sell.

True but it could cost him ££££ and take months. Far better to come to an amicable agreement.

Pollycat

pimento wrote: »

True but it could cost him ££££ and take months. Far better to come to an amicable agreement.

Agreed.
Let's hope the OP can broker an agreement that both parties are satisfied with and then they can both move on.

Red-Squirrel_2

IvyandEleanor wrote: »

Thank you everyone, lots of great advice here! I'm just trying to get answers to things before emotions start to take over. After all, they've been together for 47yrs so everything will change for the whole family. It's a bit overwhelming at times to be honest. Anyway, thank you again x

47 years?

That's a long marriage and must mean neither of them are exactly young!
Consider the disruption and hassle of major renovations as well as the financial side.

OldMusicGuy

pimento wrote: »

True but it could cost him ££££ and take months. Far better to come to an amicable agreement.

Definitely. But in many situations like this, amity and reason seem to go out of the window pretty quick...... Best to know what all eventualities may entail.