Selling a house in a separation

Both signatures, every time

Both owners sign the listing authority and both sign the agreement with a buyer. One owner cannot list the property, accept an offer or bind the other. That holds whether or not one of you has moved out, and whoever has been paying the mortgage.

Each of you needs your own lawyer, and from the point where selling is being considered rather than after an offer is on the table. How the proceeds are divided, what happens to the mortgage and how relationship property is settled is their work.

What the agent does and does not do

The agent acts for both owners. That means the same information to both of you at the same time, every offer put to both, and no taking of sides. An agent cannot mediate the separation, advise on the split, or hold the proceeds. Money moves through the lawyers.

Where communication is difficult, agree at the start how it will run: one written update to both of you at the same time, and one agreed contact for access and keys. Anything looser produces two versions of events and a fight about which is right.

Decisions to settle before listing

• The lowest price you will both accept, agreed in advance and in writing, so it is not being worked out at nine at night with an offer in front of you.
• The method of sale and how long the campaign runs.
• Who lives in the house during the campaign, and how access and presentation are handled.
• Who pays for marketing and any preparation work, and how that is accounted for at settlement.
• Where the proceeds go on settlement, which the lawyers will set out.

If one of you wants to sell and the other does not, the agent cannot act at all. That has to be resolved by the lawyers, or by the court, before a campaign starts. A campaign that is withdrawn or stalls part way through is visible to every buyer looking at it, which is why the decision to sell needs to be settled before a campaign starts.