Let’s face it, sometimes things don’t work out between two people and it’s time to go your separate ways. Unfortunately, there are plenty of issues with divorce, one of the main issues being the dividing of assets. The largest asset usually being your home.
One of the biggest stressors during a divorce is the selling of a home. If you need to sell your house during a divorce, here are a few tips to help make it as smooth as possible.
Benefits of Selling a House During Divorce
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Even though the situation can be a difficult one, there are some benefits to selling a house during a divorce. Perhaps the biggest benefit of selling the marital home is dividing the profits of the sale. This allows both parties to receive in many cases a significant sum of money to start anew, pay off any debts, or simply take care of a child or children involved.
While not monetary, letting go of negative memories or experiences can be a relief when selling a home during a divorce. Simply selling a home can make you feel like you finally cut ties and have let go of the past. This often helps both people move on after the divorce has been completed.
Once the sale has been completed moving to a new home of your choice can be a great benefit as well. Getting rid of the burden of paying a mortgage can free you up to travel more or perhaps take a long-awaited vacation.
These are just a few benefits of selling your home during a divorce, but there is more to consider.
1. Discussing Your Options & Roles
It’s important to discuss options & roles in the process with your spouse regarding plans for selling the house. If you are on good terms this part can be easy, however, if you’re not on good terms this can get messy.
Prepare questions with your divorce attorney and check in with your divorce attorney before any final decisions or actions are taken.
If one spouse will remain in the home, it’s important to decide if they will continue to make payments on the mortgage and if the non-residing spouse will contribute anything towards those payments. Again, this may require a discussion with your divorce attorney prior to making any decisions.
If you decide selling is the best option, you should also discuss who will be responsible for showing the house, dealing repairs, speaking with potential buyers and more.
It is important to be clear on everything to ensure as smooth a process as possible.
2. Prepare Yourself for the Sale of the House
The first step in selling your home during divorce is to prepare yourself. This not only includes preparing the necessary documents such as the title, mortgage documents, and any other documents that may be required to complete the sale but also for the potential stress and headaches involved.
Considering you may be in the midst of the divorce process, it’s important to have proper legal advice to make sure no stone is left unturned. There will be responsibilities from both parties during and after the divorce that must be met.
You should prepare yourself mentally and emotionally, as in many cases the home has sentimental value making it difficult to let go of. If your plan is to sell house fast fort lauderdale, consider that you will leave behind any unwanted memories you had in the home as well.
3. Prepare Your House for the Sale
When selling your house during divorce you also want to prepare the home itself. In plenty of cases, the house has gone through some wear and tear, especially if you have children living in the home. Wear and tear of the home is normal, but your new buyer may not want to purchase the home in its current conditions if they are beyond a simple paint job.
Be prepared for the responsibilities involved and more importantly the time, costs, and stress involved in discussions with your soon to be ex on updating the property to be ready to sell.
If the property has very little wear and tear, a little clean up can have the home prepared and ready to sell. However, if there is lots of damage or the house itself is outdated and needs renovations there could be significant costs involved that you or your spouse may not be willing to deal with or pay for.
This is where selling to an investor or investment company works better as you are able to sell the house exactly the way it is and still get a fair offer for the property based on market value and it’s current condition.
4. Know Your Options for Selling Your Home During a Divorce
Refinancing Your House
If you have a monthly mortgage payment you may want to consider refinancing. By refinancing you are essentially buying out your spouse and taking over the mortgage on your own. If you decide to go this route and keep the home you will need to make sure you have enough money to handle the monthly payments on your own.
Selling with a Realtor
While you may think selling with a Realtor is the only option or even the best option, that is often not the case. Unless your house is in great condition and move-in ready it will take lots of money and time to get the house ready for a Realtor to sell it for you.
You also need to consider any commissions that must be paid to the Realtor for selling the house and understand these fees will reduce the total amount you get to divide with your spouse. Often these fees are 3%-6% if you list the home and the buyer also has a Realtor involved.
When selling to a Realtor you also must show the house to multiple buyers so be prepared to discuss who will be in charge of this out of the two of you. You will also need to continue making payments on the mortgage until the house is sold which can take a few months or longer depending on both your divorce process and how long it takes for the agent to find you a buyer willing to wait.
Selling Your House to a Real Estate Investor
If you’re not planning to keep the house or you prefer not to sell with a Realtor, another great option is selling directly to an investor buyer, better known as a real estate investor or investment company.
When selling to a real estate investment company, you can sell the home faster for various reasons. The main reason is that investment companies can purchase your house as-is, meaning you don’t have to wait for repairs to be made or spend any time or money fixing up the property.
Another advantage to selling to an investor is that you will receive a cash offer. Unlike a traditional buyer that has a loan with a bank that requires waiting on bank approvals, appraisals and more, you can skip all the houses and receive an all-cash payment. Even in some cases, if you prefer to stay in the home, the investor can take over the mortgage payments or purchase the home and keep you as a tenant in the home.
Every situation is different, but the options are more flexible when working with an investment company, and 100% legal.
5. Accept An Offer
Now that you have considered your options it’s time to accept an offer. This is where most couples clash, but is necessary to discuss how much you are willing to accept.
It’s best to consider a price that will allow the home to sell fast enough, while also providing enough room for you to split the profits. Going too high will keep your home the market for a long period of time with no guarantee of a real offer, and going too low will prevent you from having enough to share once the sale is completed.
Whether you decide to go the traditional route and list with an agent or sell to an investor for cash, if there are any disagreements about accepting or declining an offer seek advice from your attorney to avoid any issues.
Just remember, if you both come to an agreement you can sell the house faster and be over with it sooner than later.
6. Close the Sale
Now that you have agreed on an offer and accepted it’s time to go to closing.
The closing may require both you and your spouse to be present to sign necessary legal documents to make sure that both are willing and available when the time comes.
At the closing, the title company will process all the necessary paperwork and make sure that all taxes, fees, and parties are paid accordingly. This makes the entire process easy for you and stress-free so that all you and your spouse have to do is come in to sign a few documents.
At Property Nation, our team and title company also handles this all for you so the entire process is smooth and as simple as possible.
7. Divide the Profits
Now that you have accepted an offer and closed the sale, it’s time for the best part – getting paid.
Once the sale is complete the title company will either deposit the funds directly into your accounts or you will walk out with a check you can deposit. The total divided percentages will vary depending on the agreed amount during the divorce proceedings and is not always a 50/50 split.
This also depends on your state laws on property division. In Florida, it is an equitable distribution state. This means that marital assets and debts will be distributed in a fair and equitable manner. Child support, time-sharing, and alimony awards may be considered when the court determines what is fair in the determination of how to divide the property and debts. You can read more about this here.
There are also factors such as who contributed more to the mortgage during the marriage, the income of a particular spouse and other assets owned. This will determine if the house profits are split equally or one person will receive a larger portion. Remember to consult with your divorce attorney on this matter.
Want to Save Time & Money? Why Not Sell Us Your House Instead?
At the end of the day, coming to a peaceful sale of the property helps both you and your soon to be ex-spouse sell the home faster and with less stress. We can make that stress even less, by buying your house directly.
When you sell to Property Nation, you can avoid the hassles of selling your house yourself. There’s no need to do any repairs or deal with uncertainties of an unknown buyer. There are no listing fees or commissions to pay either like you would pay when selling with a Realtor.
If you decide selling is your best option, contact us and we can walk you through the process while also providing you with a fair offer for your property.
Get a real cash offer from us directly and get your house sold today. We’ll make you an offer within 24 hours, and if you think you still need more time to think about it, our offer is good for 14 days.
