Divorce can be downright brutal. On top of that, imagine trying to figure out what to do with one of your most important assets…Your home. As isolated as a divorce can seem, you’re not alone. In 2019, there were more than 782,038 divorces in the United States – that’s a rate of 7.8 per 1000. Divorcing couples have attorneys to help them through divorce proceedings, various organizations to assist them throughout the process, divorce law resources, and support groups to help get through the emotional roller coaster that comes with a divorce. If a home sale is part of the equation, you’ll want to enlist the help of a real estate agent as well. No matter how much outside help you receive, it’s the attitude that determines how difficult your home sale will be. If you go into the home sale ready for battle, you’ll only drag out the process and cost yourself a lot of extra money. Here are some tips to help you navigate the selling of your home successfully during your divorce.
#1: Remember that Selling Your Home is Business. The home sale process is complex. Decisions will need to be made that both parties will have to agree on. Couples who get personal tend to make poor decisions out of spite. Keep your cool and remain professional throughout the process. If you end up derailing a home sale in an effort to hurt your spouse, you’ll just end up hurting yourself financially. Set aside the personal aspect and focus on the fact that selling your home is just part of getting a divorce. Not only will this help with your mental health and financial well-being, it will also help you to move on faster.
#2: Let Your Agent Be the Go-Between. If you’re going through a divorce, most likely, communication with your soon-to-be-ex is not that great and may result in fights. If you’re like most, these fights are often about money. It’s not uncommon for divorcing couples to argue over bigger things like setting a list price or accepting an offer but also little things like painting or improving curb appeal. While these arguments may give you an outlet to exact your revenge, all you’re really doing is dragging out the process. Do yourself a favor by routing all communications in regard to the sale of your house through your agent.
#3: Hire an Agent You Both Trust. Every hear the adage, “there’s two sides to every story?” A good agent should be able to listen impartially to both sides and make recommendations that best benefit both parties. With so much upheaval going on, it may make sense to stick with the agent you know, the one that sold you the house to begin with. This is only a good idea if both parties agree that your former agent can remain impartial. If not, you’ll need to find a new one.
#4: Continue to Pay the Mortgage Until the Home Sells. Filing for divorce does not mean your responsibility to your mortgage lender has ended. If the home and loan are in the name of both spouses, both are financially responsible for the debt, even if only one is still living there. If you stop paying during the home sale process, it will damage the credit of both parties. It’s true that there are ways to remove yourself or your spouse from a title, such as with a quitclaim deed, but this does not remove the name from the mortgage, and by doing so, you may be surrendering your rights to any proceeds from the home sale. Your best bet is to ask an attorney or mediator to help you come up with an agreement as to how the mortgage and other bills will get paid during the divorce proceedings.
#5: One Spouse Should Move Out Before Listing the Home. When couples are going through a divorce, it makes sense for one party to move out, but this doesn’t always happen. Why? Because when you move out, it can feel like you are relinquishing ownership of your home, but that’s not true. If your name is on the title and mortgage, or the home is legally recognized as an asset of the marriage, your ownership is established. This is true even if one spouse is granted exclusive rights for the use of the property during the divorce proceedings. As long as you have an agent you trust, you don’t need to worry about being left out of decisions related to the sale of your home. With only one spouse living in the home, showings are also easier to set up and the home will be able to be shown more often. The more you show the home, the more potential buyers will see it and the more likely you are to sell it in the shortest amount of time, and the sooner your home is sold, the sooner you can move forward with finalizing the divorce.
Divorce is difficult. Selling your home during a divorce can make it doubly difficult. But remember to keep calm and carry on. The sooner you close this chapter of your life, the sooner you can move on the the next one.
