Both owners must agree · No pressure · No fees

Selling a house during divorce or separation

A calm, private sale, on a date you are both ready for

Separation is hard enough without the house becoming a battleground. If you have both decided a sale is right, we can buy it without fees, on a date you choose, at your pace, with no viewings and nobody walking through the house.

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No fees at allYou choose the dateHandled discreetly

“I can’t recommend this company enough. The level of customer care has been exceptional from start to finish. My situation ended up a little tricky but it was dealt with quickly, efficiently and professionally.”

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Take legal advice before you agree anything about the house

Deciding what happens to a home you shared is one of the hardest parts of separating. The house is usually the largest asset too, and how it is dealt with affects everything else in the settlement. Before you agree a sale, a buyout or anything else, both of you should have your own independent legal advice. Citizens Advice is free, and Resolution lists family solicitors who work non-confrontationally.

The single thing worth knowing before you read any further: both legal owners have to agree to a sale. Neither of you can sell the property without the other, and no buyer, including us, can change that. If you cannot agree, that is a matter for solicitors and ultimately the court, not for a house-buying company.

Where an agreement to sell already exists, or a court has directed one, we can act as the buyer. What we can offer is certainty, speed and no fees. What we cannot do is take sides, advise either of you, or proceed on one signature.

If you have both agreed to sell

Two ways we can buy

Both are fee-free and both give you a fixed figure to put in front of your solicitors. Which suits you depends on whether certainty or value matters more at this point.

Fastest

We buy it directly

Complete in 7 to 28 days

Up to 80%of market value

We purchase with our own funds on a date you choose. Useful where continuing to share ownership, or a house nobody can afford to keep, is the pressing problem.

Best suited for: those who need the asset converted to cash on a known date.

A fixed figure for the settlement
You choose the completion date
No viewings or open days
Legal fees covered
Full market value is not possible

How the cash route works

Best value

Sell to our investor network

Usually 30 days or less

Up to 93%of market value

We agree a fixed net sum with you both before we start and match the property to our network of vetted cash-ready buyers. More of the equity stays in the settlement.

Best suited for: those who can wait a few more weeks and want to protect the equity.

Receive close to market value
Sum agreed in advance, in writing
Buyer commits with a £1,000 deposit
Legal fees covered
Takes longer than a direct purchase

How the investor route works

Why a fast sale helps

When a fast sale is the right answer in a divorce

A divorce sale is different from most of the situations we handle. There is rarely a court date or a lender forcing the pace, but there is something else: a house that two people who no longer want to share it are still jointly paying for, maintaining and negotiating over. Every month it stays unsold, it keeps the two of you tied together financially and delays the settlement that lets both of you move on.

An open-market sale adds viewings, a chain and an unknown completion date to a situation that is already difficult. It also hands a stranger the power to withdraw at week eleven and put you both back to the beginning. A sale to us removes all of that in exchange for a discount that both solicitors can see and account for.

A quick sale earns its place when something concrete makes waiting worse: neither of you can cover the mortgage alone, the arrears are building, the property is deteriorating while nobody wants to spend on it, one of you has already moved out and is paying rent as well, or the process itself has become so corrosive that ending it has a value of its own. Those are real reasons, and they are more common than people expect.

If one of them applies to you, this is exactly what we are for. We put a single firm figure on the house within one hour, in writing, which both solicitors can work from. There are no viewings, so nobody walks through the house while one or both of you are still living in it. Both owners are dealt with equally and neither of you has to negotiate with the other over the price. You choose the completion date, so the move happens when you are both ready rather than when a buyer decides.

The realistic options

What can happen to the house

Alternatives to selling

One of you buys the other outThe person staying takes on the mortgage alone and pays the other their share. It keeps a home for children and avoids sale costs entirely, but it depends on that person qualifying for the mortgage on one income.

Transfer the property as part of the settlementThe house passes to one party, often offset against pensions, savings or other assets. Whether it is possible depends on the whole financial picture, which is why solicitors look at everything rather than the house alone.

Agree to sell laterCourts can allow a sale to be deferred, commonly until children reach a certain age, with the proceeds divided at that point. It keeps children in their home and it leaves both parties financially tied together for years.

Sell on the open marketUsually produces the most money and therefore the biggest settlement. It needs cooperation on price, viewings and offers for several months, which is the part some separations cannot sustain.

Selling to us

A fixed number, quicklyA firm offer in under one hour gives both solicitors an actual figure to work with instead of an estimate that keeps moving.

No viewings and no marketingNobody has to keep the house presentable, host strangers, or coordinate access between two people who would rather not coordinate anything.

A date you both chooseWhich lets rehousing, school terms and tenancy start dates be planned around a real date rather than a hoped-for one.

It costs you less than it looksNo commission, no legal fees and no months of two households funding one mortgage. Net that off before comparing our figure with an asking price.

The honest bit

What it costs, and why your solicitors must know

Nothing in fees. No commission, no valuation charge, no admin fee, and we cover the conveyancing for both of you.

What it costs is price. On a direct purchase we pay up to 80% of market value. In a divorce that matters more than usual, because the difference does not come out of one person’s pocket. It reduces the pot that both of you are dividing. Tell your solicitors what we are offering before you agree to it. A sale below market value is relevant to a financial settlement and they need to see it, not discover it afterwards.

Through our investor network sellers typically achieve up to 93%, so where you can both wait a little longer, that route puts more into the settlement while still avoiding viewings and an open-ended chain. Read the full explanation.

Regulated and accredited

Where people usually are

Common situations, and what tends to help

These are the circumstances in which people usually contact us. Every one of them is more common than it feels from the inside, and none of them will be met with judgement.

Call us on 0330 004 0050 or email hello@bettermove.co.uk. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and you should take your own before agreeing anything about the house.

You have both agreed to sell

The straightforward case. We deal with both of you equally, keep both informed at every stage, and take instructions from both rather than from whoever calls first.

How the sale works

Neither of you can afford the mortgage alone

One income against a two-income mortgage is the most common reason a sale becomes necessary rather than optional. Acting before arrears build protects both credit files.

If payments are already behind

One of you has moved out

Two households on one income, often with rent on top of the mortgage. That quietly costs more each month than most people expect, and it changes the maths on waiting.

Selling on a timeline

You cannot agree, and it is with solicitors

Then the house is not ours to buy yet. A no-obligation valuation can still be useful evidence of what the property would actually fetch, and we are happy to provide one for that purpose alone.

Get a valuation for the file

The house is in poor condition

Deferred maintenance is common when neither party wants to spend on a property they are leaving. We buy in any condition and nothing needs fixing first.

Selling as-is

Real customer story

From stress to sold in 10 days

Sarah contacted us with a looming mortgage issue and no time for delays. Within just 10 days of her initial enquiry, we purchased her 3-bed semi-detached home below market value but with speed and certainty, giving her the financial breathing space to move forward.

Sarah was particularly impressed with how we shared the survey report findings with her to allow for full transparency and disclosure.

24-hour offer
No viewings required
Completion in 10 days
Seller’s legal fees paid by Bettermove

Got questions?

Selling a house in a divorce FAQs

General information only, and no substitute for your own solicitor. Where the honest answer is “that is a legal question”, that is what it says.

Can my ex force me to sell the house?

Not unilaterally. Neither owner can sell without the other’s agreement. What can happen is that a court orders a sale, either as part of the financial settlement in divorce proceedings, or through a separate application about jointly owned property. Whether that is likely in your case is a question for a family solicitor, and it depends on the whole financial picture rather than the house alone.

Can I sell the house without my ex agreeing?

No, and no legitimate buyer will proceed on one owner’s signature. If you are married, your spouse may also be able to register rights over the family home that would show up on the title. If you cannot reach agreement, that is a matter for solicitors and, if necessary, the court.

Do we have to sell the house at all?

No. A buyout by one party, a transfer as part of the wider settlement, or a court-approved deferred sale, often until children reach a certain age, are all possible. Selling is one option among several and frequently not the best.

Should we sell before or after the divorce is finalised?

That is a legal and tax question rather than a property one, and the answer differs case to case. Ask your solicitor before you decide, because timing can affect both the settlement and the tax position.

How is the money split?

By whatever your settlement provides for, which is not necessarily 50/50 and is not something we have any part in. We pay the agreed sum to the solicitors handling the sale and the division happens there.

Will you deal with both of us?

Yes, equally and separately. We copy both parties into everything, we take instructions from both, and we will not act on one person’s say-so. If communication between you has broken down, we can deal with each of you through your own solicitors instead.

What if one of us wants to sell quickly and the other does not?

Then there is no sale for us to make yet, and pushing it would not be right. A free, no-obligation valuation may still help, because it turns an argument about what the house is worth into a number both solicitors can look at.

Do you charge anything?

No. No commission, no valuation fee, no admin charge, and we cover the legal costs. Be cautious of anyone asking a separating couple for money up front.

Will it be kept private?

Yes. On a direct purchase there is no listing, no board and no viewings, so the sale is not visible to neighbours, colleagues or anyone else.

What if the house is in one name only?

Sole ownership does not necessarily mean sole control. A spouse may have rights over the family home regardless of whose name is on the title, and those can affect a sale. Check the position with a solicitor before assuming you can sell.

More ways we help

Whatever your situation, there is a route

Separation often arrives alongside other pressures. These pages cover the situations we deal with most often.

Sell your house fastCash house buyersSell your house for freeStop repossessionSell a flat fastSell an unsellable houseSell an inherited propertyPart exchange your homeBroken property chain

Want to know what the house is actually worth?

Whenever you are ready. A free valuation and a firm written offer in under one hour, which both solicitors can work from. No pressure, no obligation, and we will not chase you.

Get my free offer WhatsApp us 0330 004 0050

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