Split the mortgage or split up? Nearly a quarter of homeowners have BROKEN UP with a partner whilst looking for a home to BUY together - with financial secrets and conversations around children leading causes
1st June 2023
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Young Brits under 25 are most likely to have split up with a partner whilst looking for a home - six in ten have
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Many expected their partner to pay more towards the home - but still own half
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Brits spend longer planning a holiday than buying a home - despite a home costing on average over 200 times more
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Nearly half of people have had to move AGAIN because they couldn’t agree on the right place first time - costing them thousands of pounds
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Zoopla teams up with the UK’s leading life coach Jacqueline Hurst to help Brits tackle the tricky conversations every couple needs to have before buying a home together - including money and children
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday 1st June 2023, London: Nearly a quarter of British homeowners (22%) have SPLIT UP with a partner whilst looking for a home to buy together, whilst one in ten (9%) have done so on multiple occasions, according to new research from Zoopla. Young Brits were found to be the worst culprits - with more than six in ten under 25s who are lucky enough to own a home (61%) having broken up with a partner whilst looking for a place to buy together.
A lack of planning is a key reason many couples end up arguing - but incredibly, Brits on average spend longer planning a holiday (7.8 hours) than they do planning the search for a home (5.5 hours). This is despite the average home costing over 200 times more than the average holiday.*
Why do people split up whilst looking to buy together?
Financial secrets coming to light during the home-search process (34%) and the need to have big conversations about the future - such as whether kids are on the agenda (19%) - led to a split for many. Meanwhile, 23% say their partner became obsessed with money and how much they would own, leading to the relationship breaking down. In addition, one in ten got the boot for not being able to meet their financial commitments to buying a home (10%).
Finances leading to fighting
Arguments over money are a serious issue for couples when buying homes - even if they don’t split up. Nearly half (47%) of those who have bought a home with their partner quarrelled - with four in ten of all couples (40%) saying they disagreed about finances.
As a result of not discussing it beforehand, three in ten (30%) of those polled say they or their partner made incorrect assumptions about who was paying what. Amongst them, a huge 87% say it was about how much they would each be putting into the deposit, while even more (89%) say it was about how much of the mortgage they would each pay. And likely another cause of arguments, 68% of those who say they assumed their partner would pay more still expected to own half the property themselves.
Consequences of not planning
The consequences of this are very real - nearly half (46%) say they had to move AGAIN because they and their partner didn’t agree on a place they both liked when they bought together. Given the cost of moving home is usually many thousands of pounds, a lack of planning can be a very costly mistake indeed.
To help couples tackle tricky conversations and plan properly to find their dream home, Zoopla has created an expert guide on how to harmoniously house hunt. The guide includes tools such as an online mortgage calculator and Map Search, tips from leading UK lifecoach and relationship expert Jacqueline Hurst, as well as a checklist for all the conversations couples need to have before they even start to look for a home. The guide can be found HERE.
Daniel Copley, Consumer Expert at Zoopla says: “There’s no sugar-coating it - looking for the right home can be stressful if you’re unsure about what you want and don’t plan. When two people, with differing ideas and differing thoughts on finances, are doing so, the stress is multiplied. As such, many couples who expect to be having discussions about splitting the mortgage end up simply splitting instead.
“However, it doesn’t need to be this way and the vast majority of arguments can be avoided by simply discussing it all beforehand. Looking for a home without having done so is like trying to run before you can walk. That’s why we’re trying to help British couples looking for their dream home avoid the arguments and find their perfect place. We’ve got all the tools to help plan the search. For example, our travel time tool can show how far a home is from your places of work, whilst map search allows you to draw the exact area on a map that you want to live in, showing what properties are available.”
The UK’s Leading Life Coach Jacqueline Hurst, who is working with Zoopla to help couples find the right home said: “Buying a home together can mean having tough and ‘big’ conversations with your partner. But the truth is, if you’re not comfortable having these sorts of conversations, it may not be the right time to buy a home together.
“Two of the many ‘big’ topics are finances and children. The thing is, talking to your partner may feel awkward, but it can actually bring you closer to each other, help you connect, and deepen the relationship. It’s normal to feel a bit of trepidation. My advice is to do it at the right time - over a nice lunch at the weekend, not when you are both tired after work.”
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For further information, please contact PR Team on pr@zoopla.co.uk or +44 (0)20 3873 8770.
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