Although estimates differ depending on who is asked, 40 to 50 percent of all American marriages end in divorce. That is a staggering number. If you find yourself going through a divorce you are probably wondering what your next steps should be when it comes to the home you have shared with your spouse.
There are several options as to what to do with the house when couples split up.
If you have decided to divorce, a natural question will be, what do we do with our house? So the three most common options include:
- One party keeping the home by buying the other’s share.
- One party retaining occupancy of the home temporarily (in order to raise the couple’s children in the family home).
- The house is sold and the proceeds split between the parties, according to their agreement.
If you and your soon-to-be-former spouse have decided to sell your home, I’d like to help you learn what to expect from the process.
The listing process
Listing a home is typically a pretty straightforward process but, unless the two of you remain on good terms, the “typical” doesn’t apply during a divorce sale.
Every aspect of the listing must be a joint agreement, from how much work you’ll do to prepare the home for the market to how much to ask for the home.
Easier said than done at this point in the marriage, right?
I understand that it may seem impossible to come to a meeting of the minds so what I’ll do is arm both of you with the information that may help you get there.
I’ll tour the home, making note of what I think should be done in order to prepare the home to sell. This is the part of the process where, despite the memories the home holds, you’ll need to also divorce yourself from your emotions wrapped up in it. Only then will the two of you be open to advice on what needs to be done to sell the home for top dollar.
The marketing process
I won’t tell other agents or prospective buyers why you’re selling your home.
It’s truly none of anyone else’s business and, sadly, I’ve learned that news of a divorce sale causes many buyers to submit lowball offers. Now while this is true in a buyer’s market, the good news is that if you are selling right now in Spring of 2022, buyers are just happy to see a new home listed in this highly contested seller’s market, but we’re still going to keep the divorce on the downlow.
The offers to purchase
Reviewing offers as they come in is probably the most challenging part of the process. Nothing will happen with an offer unless the two of you are in complete agreement. If communications are strained between the two of you, it will be important that you have a plan for reaching agreements regarding the sale of the home efficiently.
Discuss this up front. Do you want your agent to act as an intermediary between spouses? Best case scenario is If you can agree to at least put your differences aside during this pivotal point of the incoming offers and subsequent purchase process of the new buyer of your house, it will go a long way toward a successful outcome.
Dividing the proceeds
Both of you will need to meet with your lawyers in advance of the sale to determine how to divide the proceeds from the sale. Once we have a buyer, instructions should be given to the title company outlining your distribution agreement and the title officer will take it from there.
Distribution needs to be determined before we get an offer to purchase.
I realize this is one of the most difficult seasons of your lives so it’s my goal to make this process as easy on both of you as possible. One silver lining is that given the current market, you can at least take comfort in having this aspect of the divorce wrap up fairly quickly.
Looking for additional information? I’ve included the link for my guide titled Divorce & Your Home 7 Crucial Considerations discussing important topics. My goal is to equip you from the beginning so you’ll know the questions to ask and things to consider as you begin the process of selling your home in the midst of a divorce.
