From empty bedside tables to sleeping in separate rooms – divorce giveaways that put buyers off

When negotiating on a rental property in the wake of a separation, we usually recommend keeping your narrative as simple as possible. For example, tell the rental agent your profession and say you’re looking for a long-term tenancy – you can build in flexibility with break clauses, but you want to give the impression of a long-term intent. 

We were recently contacted by a newly separated husband who had lost out on three rental properties before getting in touch with us. He was providing too much information, making his situation sound complicated and unappealing to landlords, when it didn’t need to be.

Don’t rush to buy

In many cases we advise clients to remain in the rental market, even once their divorce is concluded. They can be quite emotionally battered and fatigued by the divorce process, so renting for a further year or two while they recover and can reassess their priorities can be helpful, take the pressure off and safeguard better long-term decisions.

When the dust has settled, the time will come to determine where you want to live and the type of property you need to buy to meet your own and your family’s needs. 

For those with teenagers, for example, once they’re no longer anchored to schools and clubs you won’t need a house full of double bedrooms with space for desks, so your property and location needs might look very different.

One divorcee we worked with decided to rent for the final years of her children’s education. Once they had both left for university, we helped her acquire a long-term home which was much more manageable and near her golf club, which had become integral to her new post-divorce life. 

The property was very different to what she would have bought immediately following the divorce, so by holding off she avoided the need to buy twice, with all the associated costs.

Beware of revealing ‘bad karma’

Agents often won’t disclose that a property is for sale as a result of a divorce situation, because some buyers might try to use that as leverage and an opportunity to capitalise on the need for a potential quick sale.

Buyers can also be superstitious and may be subconsciously wary, keen to avoid what they see as negative energy, or bad karma, in the property. 

Divorce giveaways can be an empty bedside table or sink in the principal bathroom, or empty wardrobes. It can therefore be a good idea for divorcing sellers, where one party has moved out, to keep some of their clothes and personal belongings at the home.

Sometimes, however, it can be really obvious and there’s no option to conceal the situation. We came very close to buying a £6m house for a client of ours where the husband was still living there and had set up the raised ground formal living room as a temporary bedroom with double bed. 

He was desperate to sell, whereas his wife was digging in her heels and insisting they stay until their youngest child had finished major exams.

The disconnect in their attitudes to the sale were too much of a risk and we decided not to offer, as we weren’t convinced they would reach an agreement and actually go through with a sale and our buyer didn’t want to face the potential risk of an emotional and expensive failed purchase.