If one of us stays
Splitting up and one of you wants to keep the home? See what the one who stays pays the other, under the split you agreed. Free, nothing saved.
Our draft agreement uses a RICS valuer's figure, chosen by you both.
Each of you gets your own deposit back, then what is left is shared equally.
What the one who stays pays
Money to share: £93,550, which is the home's value less the mortgage and £6,450 of selling costs.
Jordan's money under your split: £31,775, less half the valuer's fee (£300).
Alex then takes on the mortgage of £230,000 alone, plus any borrowing to pay Jordan. The lender will check Alex can afford it on one income.
If Alex stays
Alex keeps the home and pays Jordan.
If Jordan stays
Jordan keeps the home and pays Alex.
Illustration only: ignores any costs you have not entered. Taking over the other's share can mean stamp duty (Land Transaction Tax in Wales), worked out on the payment plus the share of the mortgage taken on.
General information for England and Wales, not legal advice.
How paying the other one usually works
Value it fairly
A RICS valuer you both choose gives a figure you can both trust.
Work out the money
The one who leaves gets what they would have got from a sale under your split.
Ask your conveyancer
Any change to who's named on the home is a separate step they handle.
What a couples agreement says about this
In a couples agreement (also called a cohabitation agreement), the section "If we split up" covers it in money terms. Either of you can offer to stay. The one who stays pays the other the sum they would have got from a sale, after the costs of selling, under your agreed split, worked out from the value a RICS valuer you both choose puts on the home. You share the valuer's fee equally. The one who stays pays within a number of months you choose, and arranges for the other to be released from the mortgage. If the payment has not been made in time, the home is sold.
It is an agreement about money between the two of you. The lender will usually want to check the one who stays can afford the whole mortgage alone, and any change to who is named on the home is a separate step for your conveyancer. See how a written agreement counts.
General information for England and Wales, not legal advice.
Questions
Can the one who stays get the mortgage alone?
Maybe. It is your lender's decision. Lenders usually check that the one who stays can afford the whole mortgage on their own income, including any extra borrowing to pay the other, and the lender has to agree before the other person is released from it. Until then you are each still liable for all of it. Ask your lender early, before you agree a figure.
Who pays the valuer?
That is for you to agree. Sharing the valuer's fee equally is a fair starting point, and it is what this calculator does and what our draft agreement says. The valuer should be a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) that you both choose, so that you can both trust the figure.
How long do we have to pay?
That is for you to agree. Our draft agreement asks you to choose a number of months from the valuation for the one who stays to pay the other, and to have them released from the mortgage. If the payment has not been made in that time, the home is sold instead. Allow time for your lender's checks.
Is my information saved or sent anywhere?
No. The sums happen in your browser. Nothing you type is saved or sent to us.