Selling a house after a divorce agreement signing isn’t always easy. Should you sell your home? What if you don’t want to part with it? This may not be a decision you get to make on your own since your ex likely has some claim to the home as well. The choice to sell is ultimately up to you and your ex-spouse, so consider your situation carefully to determine the best possible solution.
Reasons You May Want to Sell Your House After Divorce:
You Need a Fresh Start
Perhaps the most obvious reason to sell your home after a divorce agreement is to distance yourself from the space and associated memories shared with your soon-to-be-ex. It’s not easy, but making that break may be in the best interest for you and your family. According to The Atlantic, your brain ties memories to physical locations. Those memories will likely take a long time to fade if you remain in the same home. It’s time to start a new chapter. You deserve to create new memories instead of dwelling on the old ones.
You’re Unable to Afford the Payments
Let’s be frank. With likely half the income coming into the home, you may not be able to afford the payments any longer which can lead to a forced sale of the house during a divorce. While you may be able to pay the mortgage payment, most homes require much more to maintain them. This includes your ongoing homeowner’s association fees, utilities, insurance costs, and updates and repairs throughout the year.
You also have to consider other bills you have, such as the cost to raise your family and to pay for your car. When you calculate your budget based on your current income, remember that your mortgage, property taxes, and home insurance should not be more than a third of your income. If it is, it will be financially difficult to manage the ongoing payments.
Also, be cautious not to count on child support to help you to reach your housing fund requirements. Eventually, child support ends. And, when that happens, you will be unable to make the payments.
You Don’t Want to Deal with the Expenses of Buying Your Spouse out of the Home
There’s another substantial problem associated with selling a house after a divorce agreement. In many situations, to take ownership of the home after the divorce you have to be able to buy your spouse out of it. That means you have to give them the equivalent of their share of the home’s value.
Many divorces end with a judge requiring an equal or fair split in the value of the assets. As a result of this, you may be forced to pay for the “fair share” of the home to your spouse. That may be through a cash settlement or by providing other assets. Yet, even in these situations, that’s hard to do. This may force the sale of the home on its own.
Should you sell the house before or after divorce? That’s another key question. If you sell the home, you and your spouse have to split the closing costs. If you keep the home and wait to sell, you have to pay those closing costs on your own.
You’ll Likely Have to Refinance
In addition to all of this, you also have to think about the legal ownership of the home and the debt owed on it. If the home has a mortgage (and most do), you will need to refinance the home’s mortgage to remove your ex’s name from the loan. Most lenders will not do this automatically. Instead, they may require you to go through the approval process to obtain a new home loan to replace the old one. That complicates matters, too. You may not even be able to refinance if you do not have your spouse’s income to take into consideration to qualify.
If you decide to keep your home and not refinance the mortgage, your spouse may be able to remain on the mortgage documents. However, he or she has to agree to this and to be held legally responsible for the home loan’s payments. And, that may make it very hard for the spouse to buy his or her own home later.
How Can I Sell My House Fast and Move On?
When it comes to selling the home after a divorce, there are a few things to consider. First, if you can agree to sell the home, do so, and then split the value of any compensation. If you are unable to agree on pricing, allow a real estate agent to help you to find some middle ground. You may have to settle for a lower price if you want to sell the home or condo fast so you can move on. And, in other cases, you may have to invest a bit to bring up the value and to tackle any concerns present.
Divorce is a complex and time-consuming process, but selling your home doesn’t have to be. HomeGo can provide you with a same-day cash offer to help you move out and move on quickly and confidently.
