A couple who is “untying the knot and unloading the lot” is among several property owners flaunting the fact that they are selling their homes due to relationship break-ups.
Agents say publicising that homeowners are selling due to separation when listing a property is a way of showing buyers they are serious about selling and moving on.
The listing for a half-finished three-bedroom, one-bathroom home at 1/730 Beach Road, in Browns Bay, Auckland, leads with the headline: “Untying the knot and unloading the lot”.
Harcourts salesperson Andrew Harley, who is marketing the home with Cam Brooks, said the owners decided to tell people they were getting divorced to show buyers they were motivated sellers, as well as making it stand out against other listings.
Start your property search
The listing added: “Marriages may not always stand the test of time, but this home is sure to.”
And so far, the out-of-the-box marketing strategy appears to be working.
“It’s got people talking ... people are noticing it.”
Read more:
- TV champ spends almost $1m on unfinished Riverhead house with just one wall
- Mortgage stress: Kiwis ditch the kitchen reno as banks pile on more pressure
- Coromandel beach home destroyed by landslip to be sold at $1 reserve
Harley said the three-bedroom, one-bathroom home was half-finished so needed a specific buyer who would either take over that work or be willing to pay someone to finish it.
He had not noticed an increase in houses being listed due to separation, but said there was talk that it was happening as the cost of living was putting people under pressure both financially and in their relationships.
A three-bedroom, one-bathroom house at 1/52 Sikkim Crescent in Clover Park, Manukau, also on the block after a relationship split, is also looking for a specific buyer due to not having a code compliance certificate for building work carried out six years ago.
Harveys salesperson Bobby Ali, who is marketing it with Chamalee Ratnayake, said the vendors decided to lead with the headline “Relationship Split – Must Sell” to show people they had a valid reason for selling and to draw people in.
Ali said the property would most likely attract investors due to it being hard to get bank finance on unconsented work.
The new owner of 1/730 Beach Road in Browns Bay will have to finish the renovation. Photo / Supplied
A relationship breakdown is the reason why the owners of 1/52 Sikkim Crescent in Clover Park, Manukau, are selling after 10 years. Photo / Supplied
Meanwhile, Ray White agent Rubal Singh is marketing a five-bedroom, two-bathroom property at 27 Multose Drive in Flatbush with the headline “Marriage Split Sale”.
Singh said he always encouraged owners to state their motivation for selling whether it be a deceased estate, mortgagee sale or divorce to show buyers they were serious about selling and to encourage people to attend the auction.
“I guess people like cashing up on other people’s miseries, so I don’t know if it helped or not, but that’s actually the truth,” he said.
“Mortgagee auctions and deceased estates – people know that it will be selling, that people are not just testing the waters, but they are going to sell.”
The Multose Drive house is the second property he’s listed in the last four months that was being sold due to a relationship breakdown. However, Singh didn’t think there was a trend and instead put it down to “one of those unfortunate situations”.
He also didn’t think people had been holding off listing until an upturn because in most cases they would be buying and selling in the same market anyway.
Divorce lawyer Jeremy Sutton advises people against advertising they are selling their homes due to divorce. Photo / Supplied
“I don’t think it would be a true reflection – if you’re not happy with your partner it doesn’t matter if the market is good or bad.”
All three of the properties listed on OneRoof as being sold due to marriage splits are heading for auction.
SM Properties principal Scott Muirson said in the last month they have worked with four separate buyers who had split with their partners. The buyers, all women, had purchased two to two-and-a-half-bedroom townhouses in West Auckland priced in the mid-$600,000 to $700,000.
But Muirson said instead of moving from the large family home, they tended to be selling a townhouse they owned with their partner to buying another townhouse, but this time on their own.
“There’s definitely something in the water that there’s a lot of break-ups happening.”
However, divorce lawyer Jeremy Sutton advised clients against publicising the reason for the sale because it made it sound urgent and may not attract a fair price.
Sutton said not only do people who were separating want the children’s privacy protected from the community, but they also don’t want people to think they were desperate.
Because of this, Sutton said there would be a lot more properties being sold because of divorce than people would think.
“In terms of my clients, I see more properties looking to be sold because of necessity. If they’ve waited, then how long is the wait going to be?”
Other things people selling due to divorce should consider is to sell by way of tender, get a new valuation, make sure the LIM is up to date, stage the house and sign a Section 21A settlement agreement before the listing goes live, he added.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Auckland
