Should I Sell My House When Getting Married in BC?

It’s a common question for couples starting a new life together: Should I sell my home when we get married—or keep it? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. The right choice depends on your finances, long-term plans, and how BC’s property laws handle homes owned before marriage.

Here’s how to think through the decision from both a personal and financial perspective, with insight into what makes sense under the Family Law Act and current BC market conditions.

1. Start With the Big Picture

Marriage changes your financial landscape. Combining two households means new opportunities—but also new responsibilities. The first question to ask is: What makes the most sense for us financially and emotionally?

Some couples choose to keep one home as a rental or investment, while others prefer a fresh start in a new space together. Both can work well—it depends on your goals, equity, and comfort with being a landlord.

2. How BC Law Sees Pre-Marital Homes

If you owned your home before getting married, it’s considered excluded property under BC’s Family Law Act. That means you keep its original value if you ever separate. However, any increase in value after the marriage is considered family property and is generally divided equally.

Example: You bought a condo for $600,000 before marriage. It’s worth $900,000 a few years later. If you sell after separation, the $300,000 increase in value would typically be shared 50/50, while the original $600,000 remains yours.

If you decide to keep the property after marriage, keeping clear records of its value at the time of marriage is essential to preserve your excluded share.

3. When Selling Makes Sense

Sometimes, selling before or shortly after marriage is the most practical and fair choice. It can simplify finances, clarify ownership, and help you start fresh together. Selling may be the right move if:

• You both want a home that reflects your shared lifestyle and goals.
• Your current property doesn’t suit your combined needs or location preferences.
• The market is strong, and selling helps fund your next purchase.
• You’d rather avoid future complications around excluded vs. family property.

Many couples find it easier to buy a new home together where ownership and investment are shared equally from day one.

4. When Keeping the Property Makes Sense

Keeping your existing home can also make financial sense, especially if it’s well-located or mortgage-free. You might choose to:

• Rent it out as an investment property.
• Use it as a stepping stone while saving for a larger family home.
• Maintain it as a safety net in case life plans change.

If you keep the home, decide early whether you’ll add your spouse to the title. Doing so changes ownership rights and could convert your excluded property into family property. If you’d rather maintain it separately, keep documentation and avoid mingling funds (for example, don’t use joint savings for renovations or mortgage payments).

5. Emotional Factors: The Fresh Start Effect

For many newlyweds, starting fresh in a new space helps mark the beginning of married life. A home that’s “ours” rather than “mine” can strengthen the sense of partnership and equality.

Still, if your existing home already feels like the right place for both of you—and it fits your future plans—keeping it can be just as meaningful. The key is communication: make the decision together and ensure you’re both comfortable with the reasoning behind it.

6. Financial and Tax Implications

If you sell your home after getting married, the Principal Residence Exemption protects most couples from paying capital gains tax, as long as it was your main residence. However, once you’re married, you’re considered one “family unit” for tax purposes, meaning you can only claim one principal residence exemption between you per year.

If both spouses own separate homes, you’ll need to choose which one gets the exemption for overlapping years. An accountant can help determine which option minimizes future tax exposure.

7. Mortgage Considerations

When buying a new home together, lenders assess your combined income, credit, and debt. If you’re carrying an existing mortgage, that can impact your borrowing power for your next purchase. Selling first often simplifies financing and allows both partners to start fresh with a new joint mortgage.

8. How to Decide: A Quick Framework

Ask yourselves three questions:

• Practical: Does our current home fit our shared future needs?
• Financial: Which option—selling or keeping—best supports our long-term wealth plan?
• Emotional: Do we both feel equally invested in this decision and its outcome?

When the answer to all three lines up, you’ve found your direction.

9. Professional Support Helps

Decisions involving real estate and marriage often overlap with financial, tax, and legal questions. Surround yourself with professionals who understand both sides—lawyers, mortgage specialists, and realtors experienced in family property law.

At Mansour Real Estate Group, we’ve helped many couples navigate these transitions smoothly, ensuring the process is fair, transparent, and tailored to your goals.

In Summary

Whether you sell or keep your home when getting married in BC depends on your goals, finances, and future plans. Selling can simplify ownership and create a fresh start, while keeping the home may make sense if it’s financially strategic and clearly documented.

If you’re unsure which path is right for you, reach out to Mansour Real Estate Group. We’ll help you weigh your options, understand the legal and financial implications, and create a plan that protects your investment and your relationship.

About Mansour Real Estate Group

The Mansour Real Estate Group, led by Mohamed Mansour, MBA and Associate Broker, is one of the Top 1% real estate teams in the Fraser Valley and a trusted authority in life-stage real estate planning—from first homes and newlywed purchases to family transitions and estate sales. With over 20 years of experience and more than $750 million in transactions, we deliver exceptional results with professionalism and care across Surrey, Langley, Delta, White Rock, and Abbotsford.

Related Reads

• What Happens to a House Owned Before Marriage in BC?
• Should We Buy a House Before Getting Married in BC?
• How Marriage Affects Property Ownership in BC

What Happens to a House Owned Before Marriage in BC?

Many people enter marriage already owning a home, but few stop to think about what that means legally. Does the house stay yours? Does your spouse gain any ownership after the wedding? In British Columbia, the answer depends on how the law defines family property and excluded property under the Family Law Act.

If you own real estate before marriage—or plan to marry someone who does—understanding these rules can help you make smart, informed choices that protect both partners fairly.

Excluded Property: What You Owned Before Marriage

Under BC’s Family Law Act, anything you owned before getting married is considered excluded property. That means it remains yours if you ever separate. This includes homes, savings, and investments purchased before the marriage began.

However, while the home’s original value stays excluded, any increase in its market value during the marriage is considered family property—and that portion is generally shared equally.

Example: You purchased a townhouse in Surrey for $600,000 before marriage. Five years later, during your marriage, it’s worth $900,000. If you separate, the $300,000 increase in value is typically divided 50/50, but the original $600,000 remains yours.

Why the Increase in Value Gets Shared

The idea behind this rule is fairness. During marriage, both spouses contribute to the partnership, financially or otherwise, and the law recognizes that shared effort. Even if one spouse didn’t directly pay the mortgage, they may have contributed through other means—childcare, household expenses, or supporting the other’s income.

Because of this, BC law treats the appreciation of excluded property as something both people helped make possible.

Documenting Your Pre-Marital Home Value

To protect the portion that’s truly yours, documentation is key. You’ll need to be able to prove what the home was worth when you got married. To do that, keep:

• Property tax assessments or an appraisal from around the date of marriage.
• Purchase and mortgage records.
• Bank statements showing your original down payment and payments made before marriage.

Without documentation, it can be harder to separate excluded value from family value later on.

What If You Add Your Spouse to the Title?

Adding your spouse to the title of a home you owned before marriage changes things significantly. Once both names are on title, the property becomes co-owned—legally and financially. That means both spouses now have equal ownership rights, regardless of who paid the down payment or mortgage.

Even if your intent was symbolic (to show unity or help qualify for refinancing), adding a spouse to title can make the entire home subject to equal division later. Before doing this, it’s best to get advice from a lawyer familiar with family and real estate law.

Using Pre-Marital Property to Buy a New Home

If you sell your pre-marital home and use the proceeds to buy a new property after marriage, things get more complicated. The new property is generally family property—but your original contribution can still be excluded if properly documented.

To protect your share:

• Keep full records of sale proceeds and deposits used for the new purchase.
• Note that if excluded funds are mixed with marital funds (for example, combined savings), tracing them may be difficult later.

Lawyers often recommend keeping the proceeds in a separate account until the new purchase is completed to clearly trace the excluded portion.

When Appreciation Happens Before Marriage

If your property increased in value before you got married, that growth remains excluded—it’s still part of what you brought into the marriage. The law only divides the increase that happens after marriage or the start of a common-law relationship.

That’s why timing and documentation matter so much in BC property law.

Renovations and Mortgage Payments During Marriage

If marital funds are used to renovate or pay down the mortgage on a pre-marital property, those contributions may increase your spouse’s claim to the home’s value. Even if the property stays in your name, joint financial effort creates shared benefit, which the law reflects in how equity is divided.

What About Common-Law Relationships?

In BC, couples who live together in a marriage-like relationship for two years are treated the same as married couples for property division. So, even if you never have a wedding, the same rules about excluded and family property apply once you reach that two-year mark.

Owning a home before moving in together can still be protected, but documentation and clear agreements are crucial to avoid future disputes.

When a Marriage Agreement Helps

If you own a home before marriage, a marriage agreement (similar to a prenup) can define how property will be treated if the marriage ends. It’s not about mistrust—it’s about clarity. It can confirm that your existing home remains your separate property, while outlining how future growth or investments will be shared.

Handled respectfully, it protects both spouses and often prevents confusion or tension later on.

Estate Planning Considerations

If you keep a property in your name only, your spouse doesn’t automatically gain ownership—but they do gain inheritance rights under BC’s Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA) if you pass away without a will. That’s why updating your will after marriage is essential, especially if you have children from a previous relationship or plan to retain separate property.

In Summary

Owning a home before marriage in BC gives you a strong starting point—but marriage changes how future growth in that property is treated. The home’s original value remains yours, but any increase during marriage is shared equally unless an agreement says otherwise.

If you’re marrying soon and already own property, reach out to Mansour Real Estate Group. We can connect you with the right professionals and help you structure your next property move with both your heart and your finances protected.

About Mansour Real Estate Group

The Mansour Real Estate Group, led by Mohamed Mansour, MBA and Associate Broker, is one of the Top 1% real estate teams in the Fraser Valley and a trusted authority in life-stage real estate planning—from first homes and newlywed purchases to family transitions and estate sales. With over 20 years of experience and more than $750 million in transactions, we deliver exceptional results with professionalism and care across Surrey, Langley, Delta, White Rock, and Abbotsford.

Related Reads

• How Marriage Affects Property Ownership in BC
• Prenups, Cohabitation Agreements, and Buying Property in BC
• Adding Your Spouse to the House Title in BC — What to Consider

How Marriage Affects Property Ownership in BC

Marriage is about joining lives—and often, joining finances and property. But many couples in British Columbia are surprised to learn that saying “I do” can change the way the law views their real estate. Understanding how marriage affects property ownership in BC helps you plan wisely and avoid surprises down the road.

Here’s what really changes (and what doesn’t) once you’re married when it comes to your home, mortgage, and property rights under the Family Law Act.

Marriage and the Family Law Act

In BC, the Family Law Act governs how property is owned and divided when a marriage or common-law relationship ends. Once you’re married, any property you acquire during the marriage is considered family property—even if it’s only in one person’s name.

That means both spouses generally have an equal right to the value of property purchased or paid into during the marriage, regardless of who earned more or who’s on the title.

Family Property vs. Excluded Property

There are two key categories of assets under BC law:

• Family Property: Assets acquired during the marriage, including real estate, savings, investments, and pensions. This also includes the increase in value of excluded property.
• Excluded Property: Assets owned by one spouse before the marriage, as well as gifts, inheritances, or personal injury settlements received during it.

However, even excluded property can become partly divisible if it grows in value after the marriage begins. The increase (for example, appreciation in a home’s value) is usually shared equally.

What Happens When You Own Property Before Marriage

If you owned a home before getting married, that property remains excluded—meaning you keep its original value if you ever separate. But any increase in its market value during the marriage is considered family property and would typically be split 50/50.

Example: You bought a condo for $500,000 before marriage, and it’s worth $800,000 five years later. If you divorce, the $300,000 increase in value would usually be shared equally between both spouses, while the original $500,000 remains yours.

Adding a Spouse to the Title

Some people choose to add their spouse to the property title after marriage. While this can simplify estate planning, it also changes ownership rights. Once both names are on title, the property is legally co-owned, and both have full rights to it—regardless of who paid the mortgage or down payment.

Before adding a spouse to title, it’s wise to get legal advice. In many cases, a marriage agreement or postnuptial agreement can clarify intentions and protect both partners fairly.

Buying a Home After Marriage

When you buy property after marriage, it’s automatically considered family property. Both spouses are entitled to an equal share of its value, even if the title is registered in only one name. This is because marriage creates a financial partnership under BC law.

If one spouse provides a larger down payment using excluded funds (like proceeds from a previous home or inheritance), that contribution can remain excluded—but only if it’s properly documented.

Mortgages and Joint Debt

In most cases, both spouses are responsible for debts accumulated during the marriage, including mortgages. Even if only one person is on the loan, the court can take joint benefit into account when dividing property or assigning responsibility for debt repayment.

That’s why clear communication—and sometimes a written agreement—can prevent misunderstandings about who pays what if life circumstances change.

Protecting Pre-Marital Assets

If you or your spouse owned real estate before marriage, protect it by keeping good records:

• Keep copies of purchase and mortgage documents.
• Document the property’s market value as of your wedding date.
• Keep records of major renovations or improvements paid for individually.
• Consider a marriage agreement to clearly define ownership and intentions.

Proper documentation helps distinguish excluded property from family property later if needed.

What About Common-Law Couples?

In BC, common-law partners who have lived together in a marriage-like relationship for two years have the same property rights as married spouses under the Family Law Act. That means property division rules apply equally whether or not you had a wedding.

Estate Planning After Marriage

Marriage also impacts estate rights. Spouses automatically inherit under BC’s Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA) if their partner passes away without a will. This makes updating your will and property documents essential after marriage—especially if one or both of you own property individually.

Adding each other to title or updating beneficiary designations ensures your assets pass as intended and avoids complications later.

When a Prenup or Marriage Agreement Makes Sense

Not every couple needs one, but if one spouse owns significantly more property or plans to inherit family real estate, a marriage agreement can bring peace of mind. It’s simply a tool to set clear expectations, not a sign of mistrust.

Handled thoughtfully, it can protect both partners and help avoid confusion if things ever change.

In Summary

Marriage in BC doesn’t automatically transfer ownership, but it does change how property is viewed under the law. Real estate bought or paid into during marriage is shared equally, while pre-owned property remains yours—except for any increase in value.

Whether you’re newly married or planning ahead, it’s smart to understand how ownership, title, and documentation shape your long-term financial picture. Reach out to Mansour Real Estate Group for personalized guidance on buying, selling, or protecting your property after marriage. We’ll help you plan with clarity and confidence.

About Mansour Real Estate Group

The Mansour Real Estate Group, led by Mohamed Mansour, MBA and Associate Broker, is one of the Top 1% real estate teams in the Fraser Valley and a trusted authority in life-stage real estate planning—from first homes and newlywed purchases to family transitions and estate sales. With over 20 years of experience and more than $750 million in transactions, we deliver exceptional results with professionalism and care across Surrey, Langley, Delta, White Rock, and Abbotsford.

Related Reads

• Should We Buy a House Before Getting Married in BC?
• What Happens to a House Owned Before Marriage in BC?
• Adding Your Spouse to the House Title in BC — What to Consider