Equal split house sale in amicable divorce

Xichro

Hi all. I'm currently going through either an annulment (seeing as we were married less than a year ago) or a divorce later down the line. We haven't decided yet, all we know is it's an amicable split.

My question is, once we've finished the required renovations to the house, how do we equally split the sale of the house so that she gets money (as she wants to go back and live with her parents for a while) and I use the other half to put down on a new house deposit/mortgage? I've tried to research this but I can't for the life of me find out if this is possible or not. We also don't want to bother with lawyers etc. seeing as we're still on good terms.

If anyone can tell me where I'd find this information or how we'd go about it I'd be greatly appreciative.

Many thanks.

KatrinaWaves

Maybe I am missing the obvious but you sell the house. You pay the agents fees for selling it.

Then you look in the bank, see how much money you have from the sale and divide it by 2.

lisyloo

I’ve been married 21 years and trust my husband.
When my husband started a company he was very strongly advised to split the equity 49/51 which he did.

I would strongly suggest you get your divorce formalised and finalised even if only the minimum is done with lawyers.
There is a possibility that later on pressures come from a 3rd party.
There is also the possibility that one of you falls on hard time and requires benefits and needs evidence rather than a vague amicable agreement.
If you are really against paying lawyers then at least write down your agreement and both sign and get it witnessed.
The problem with this is that it could have holes in but it still is evidence of what you both intended should there be a dispute later on.

Why don’t you want to sell the house if neither of you are living in it?
Is it a BTL or are you trying to release equity before a sale?
There are several ways to sell
1) through an estate agent to get market value, this can take time
2) at auction for about 70% of value
3) with “we buy any house” type properties again for a large discount

Properties are not liquid assets and there is a big discount to liquidating in a hurry.

Could you live in it whilst it’s being sold, saving you rent In return for which you maintain it and pay the bills?

Xichro

This was my first home so I'm not sure what happens in these scenarios. So say for instance I find another house and I want to buy it. I'm then stuck in a chain of selling, then buying. They'll of course need to know about my funds before I can put an offer in? I'm not so sure it's as simple as having money in your account.

Xichro

Hi lisyloo,

We are indeed living in it but we started renovations on some rooms and they need to be completed otherwise it'll look a mess in the photos! We're happy to finish them before selling.

I'll look into the lawyer part, I just didn't want more expense when I know we might be able to do it without help.

Thanks.

LandyAndy

Xichro wrote: »

This was my first home so I'm not sure what happens in these scenarios. So say for instance I find another house and I want to buy it. I'm then stuck in a chain of selling, then buying. They'll of course need to know about my funds before I can put an offer in? I'm not so sure it's as simple as having money in your account.

I think it is.

You sell your house. Your wife takes her half of the money and goes to her parents. You take your half and use it to buy a new house, either at the same time or later. If later then you use a bit of the money to rent until you find somewhere.

DigForVictory

Without wanting to sound like a dyed-in-the-wool cynic, please document these ideals, agree them, print two copies & both of you sign each copy. For example, set a time limit on these refurbishments, to avoid any debate as to whether "it's ready to sell" yet?

In a perfect world you wouldn't need lawyers, but we do not live in a perfect world & we do need lawyers, mostly as they are the most alarming fantasists in employment - their "what if" trees make the sequoia look bonsai.

It need not be gruesome expensive, now, while your friendly, so go talk to a lawyer and draw up a document that covers both what you want to happen & as many nightmare scenarios as you can stand. If you can both agree that, then you have an agreed basis on which to sort a financial separation, which is frankly often the more contentious and overlooked bit of undoing a relationship legally. (Have either of you got Wills? We have Wills in contemplation of marriage - but for you both, a Will in contemplation of returning to single status might be in order.)

As for buying a house - the buyer with the cash in the bank and no chain is in the best position to buy. If you both have alternative places, sell asap so you can physically move on without fuss.

hazyjo

Xichro wrote: »

This was my first home so I'm not sure what happens in these scenarios. So say for instance I find another house and I want to buy it. I'm then stuck in a chain of selling, then buying. They'll of course need to know about my funds before I can put an offer in? I'm not so sure it's as simple as having money in your account.

That is literally what the majority of people do when selling/buying. Nothing unusual about a chain or using property equity to put towards the next one.


Twice divorced here. Didn't use solicitors. Had houses to sell both times. Was pretty easy.

G_M

Both key bits of advce above are good.


1) normalsale with a chain. Find buyer. Find seller for new house. Wait for chain to complete. Sell/buy at same time as everyone else in the chain, using the money from your sale to buy new property.



Then see what £ was received, what was spent - new purchase plus selling fees (ignore buying these - these are down to your partner asthat was his choice) then calculate who owes who how much and divvy up.


2) but I too recommend documenting it all - how the money was split and why, aad signing. I also recommend using a lawer for both the above. Find a solicitor who specialises in conveyancing and divorce work.

lisyloo

Xichro wrote: »

I'll look into the lawyer part, I just didn't want more expense when I know we might be able to do it without help.

You could do it yourselves but there might be scenarios you haven’t thought of that a lawyer would.

For example what happens if one of you dies?
Currently if the house is held jointly then the survivor would get the house.
Is that what you want?
If it isn’t then you need to do something to make sure your wishes are followed. For example a lawyer might suggest changing the property from joint tenants to tenants-in-common.
That basically means it’s 50/50 rather than 100% shared.
There is a difference if one of you dies.

That’s just one example of one thing that could go wrong if you DIY.

A chain is normal procedure.
This is how most people buy and sell houses.
It’s often a pain trying to tie everything up, so if you can stay with parents and can sell and then buy without a chain then that is an advantage. Not everyone can do this.

Xichro

Thank you everyone for your wonderful responses. I need to now do some more research and think about this a little more when we're ready to sell.

Apologies if I doubted anyone, seeing as I had no prior knowledge of any of this.

Thanks again.