Divorce is one of the most difficult periods in someone’s life, and it’s not easy to learn how to sell a home through a divorce. We’ll go through practical advice that can help make the process of selling a house as easy and painless as possible.
These pointers are useful whether you’ve owned your house for a few months or decades. If you’re wondering how to sell your property in Lackawana County after a divorce agreement, this information can help you avoid frustration and conflict. Adapt these ideas to fit your own situation. Every case is unique, so keep that in mind. Most importantly, keep in mind that things will eventually get better.
The most critical questions to ask yourself and your spouse during these times are:
- What do we want to accomplish in the future?
- Do either of us want to stay in the house?
- What is our timeline for selling the property?
Can I Sell My House During A Divorce?
You certainly can! It is, of course, dependent on how far into the divorce agreement and process you are. You generally cannot sell a property immediately.
You must keep these two processes separate from one another. Have you ever considered the idea of selling a home before getting started with your divorce? There are a few benefits to this. Let’s get into it.
Benefits of selling a house before a divorce
Time is of the essence. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same timetable. You may avoid a lot of potential roadblocks if you sell your home before the divorce process starts.
It gives both parties a clean slate. This is one of the more significant benefits of selling your home before a divorce. It allows both people to start with a new beginning and move on from there.
It might be necessary to sell if you’re leaving the state. You may not have any other choice but to sell up and leave if your spouse is moving out of state. If you don’t want to move, then selling might be the best option for you.
Spouses who share ownership in a house in Lackawana County may start the process of selling it as usual before getting divorced. The sale will usually have to be agreed upon by both parties before it goes through.
You do not have to decide who gets the primary ownership of the property, or who gets to stay there with the kids. This can be a huge weight lifted off of your shoulders and help the divorce process move along smoothly.
However, it’s critical that you and your partner are on the same page.
It is best to document all of your agreements. If you and your partner want to sell your house before beginning divorce proceedings, you may create a short, written agreement stating as much. This keeps everyone accountable, as well as avoiding misunderstandings in the future.
Short timeline for selling a house
You and your spouse may have previously agreed to sell your house before getting divorced. But the most typical problem that arises in this situation is the timing of the sale.
How quickly you may be able to sell your house before a divorce largely depends on a number of factors:
- Economy
- Real Estate Values and Demand
- Home Buyers in your area
Best Practices to sell a house quickly
If you are looking to sell your house in Lackawana County as soon as possible in 2022, you’ll want to find a home buyer who is willing to pay cash for your property. Using cash to pay for a house is the quickest and most straightforward way to finalize a sale.
Cash home buyers
Cash home buyers can help you close on your house in as little as seven days. This is a significant benefit if you’re looking to move out quickly or need the money from the sale right away to start fresh elsewhere.
Home buyers who use traditional methods, such as mortgages, can often take up to 60 days or longer to finalize a sale.
A home buyer who borrows money from the bank to buy a property is at the mercy of the bank’s timeline. The bank will need to appraise the value of the house and approve the loan, which can take weeks. Sometimes, the process can be quick and easy. Other times, it can be lengthy and frustrating especially when the buyer doesn’t get approved for the loan.
The average closing time for a cash home buyer is around 30 days, but some buyers can close as soon as 21 days.
When you work with a cash buyer, you’ll be able to sell your house on your timeline.
When working with the appropriate home buyer, it is possible to sell a property in 3 weeks if your divorce condition is three weeks.
Selecting a good Title Company
The title company is another element that may help or hinder the selling of a property quickly.
A title company is a middleman who manages the transfer of money and deeds between home purchasers and sellers without bias. There’s a lot of communication between all parties, as well as the title firm. If they’re sluggish, it’ll be tough to sell your property quickly. If the title company takes several days to respond to emails, provide information, or pass papers, they are probably not the best option for you and your spouse.
So where do you find a good title company?
If you’re selling your first house before a divorce, we recommend getting recommendations from friends and family. Ask around town for recommendations about local companies in Lackawana County that have sold a home fast. Check out which title company they utilized and how pleasant their experience was. The last thing you want to happen after you’ve convinced both of you is for the contract to drag on because the title company you picked is sluggish.
A quick online search should be enough for homeowners who can’t locate a good referral. A title company that has worked with investors in the past is your best bet. They prefer to work quickly and efficiently. Before selecting one, go through their internet reviews. Here are several additional online locations where you may locate trustworthy title professionals:
- Yelp
- BiggerPockets
If you’re sure that selling a house after divorce is not an option, work with a reputable title business. This will guarantee that the task is done correctly.
Taking professional photos
Pictures tell 1000 words. This saying holds more truth as time goes on, and as people get nicer cell phones. Countless products and services are now purchased primarily online. Real estate is beginning to head in that direction. Professional photographs can help you sell a house after a divorce agreement, or even before. It may appear to be a pain at first, but once you’ve completed it, the rest is simple.
Whatever online platforms you decide to utilize to market your property for sale should feature attractive pictures. Cash home buyers rarely purchase a house that they don’t see. However, if you want to profit from this, there must be a lot of interest in your home and the area must be ideal. On the other hand, by showcasing your home and highlighting the positive aspects using professional photographs, you raise your property’s chances of selling.
Home buyers will be scouring the internet for houses to purchase on sites such as Zillow, Redfin, Craigslist, and Facebook. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to get the most money for your house.
Selling A House After A Divorce Agreement Settles
There are a lot of variables to consider when determining whether or not to sell your house. Before the divorce begins, you and your spouse should discuss selling your home. If you have decided to sell, there are a few options available to you. You can:
- Sell the house and split the proceeds
- One spouse buys out the other
- Rent the property until it is sold
One of the problems that both of you may face is that your timelines don’t align. For example, one person may not have time to sell your home before the legal separation is final. The other may want to move out of state as soon as possible.
It would be best if you could agree on a timeline that works for both of you. In an ideal situation, the house would sell before the divorce is finalized to avoid any awkwardness. However, this isn’t always possible. You should still try to come to an agreement about when you want to sell the house so you won’t be rushed to do so.
Divorce Court Decisions
“How did I get here?” you might be wondering. Fortunately, courts are usually without bias. Each side is given a fair opportunity to present its case. It’s beneficial for you and your ex-spouse to research as much as possible before appearing in court.
This can help you save time and effort in the future. Not all events will play out like that, and you may not wish to communicate with them again. It’s perfectly natural.
Keeping the House
After the divorce settlement, are you still thinking of selling your house? Since you initially made your decision, things may have changed. If only one person, or both, wants to keep the home, you’ll need to work out a few details:
- Who will be living there?
- Who is paying the bills?
- What’s the long-term plan?
- Who gets access, and when?
- Additional rules?
For those who have children, it is unquestionably more difficult. It’s hard to say “I’ll sell my home after a divorce” without second-guessing yourself. There may be additional individuals who are affected by your choice. You’ll need to think about how it will impact parents who have children in schools. Do you need to transfer your kid to a new school? Moving isn’t typically a pleasure for youngsters.
Who will be the child’s primary caregiver? If you don’t want to sell the home, they’ll most likely be living there. Try to organize as much as possible before arriving at divorce court to ensure that it is as informative as possible.
Existing Mortgage
If you have an existing mortgage, you must figure out who will be making the payments. It’s possible that it’ll be both of you. It makes more sense for the person who will live in the house to assume the payments. You should also take into account financial variables while determining who should float the mortgage.
What should you do if you’re going through a divorce and want to sell your house? Consider the financial aspect of your lives, since that may provide you the answer. Divorce might be a difficult time for all parties involved, especially if the home is worth a significant amount of money. It’s possible that you don’t want to keep the property because after separating from your spouse, it would be tough to financially manage. There may be a mortgage and other home costs that must be paid. After a divorce settlement, determining everything out is something of an ordeal. Taxes, insurance, and utilities will need to be paid in order for you to keep your home.
It is best to remove the other spouse from the mortgage if one spouse takes complete responsibility for it. To have this altered, work with your primary lender who handles your loan. You must follow a number of procedures and fill out forms in order to complete this task. They can rearrange the borrower’s names to meet your needs. It is beneficial to separate things if you intend to completely remove responsibility for paying your house’s mortgage.
Buying Out The Other Spouse
Another alternative to this situation is when one spouse buys out the other and takes full ownership of the property. For example, you and your spouse may own the house together, but after you go through the divorce, one spouse may want to continue staying in the home while the other spouse may have plans to move to a new place and wants to sell the house fast. In this case, the spouse that wants to keep the property may buy-out the other person’s share. They will take on full responsibility for the mortgage and all future payments.
This is not always a possibility for people going through a divorce. It depends on your particular financial situation and relationship with your ex-spouse. If you can come to an agreement and both decide that this is the best option, then you can start working on the buy-out process.
Determining the value of your house
When one party purchases the equity of another, they generally pay market value for the proportion of ownership. What does this signify? This is the ideal answer if you believe you must sell your home following a divorce but can’t because your spouse wants it.
Your spouse can then take 100% ownership of the home while you walk away with the money you need. It’s a process that can be beneficial to both sides, but it doesn’t work in every circumstance.
Here’s the breakdown
To do that, you must get the house appraised to find its fair market value.
The appraiser will likely ask to see recent sales of comparable homes in your neighborhood, called comps, and take into account the square footage, age, upgrades, and other factors that affect a home’s value. For example:
- EXAMPLE: $100,000 in current value
- EXAMPLE: $5,000 line of credit take out and used only by the selling party
- EXAMPLE: the house is owned 50/50 by each spouse
- FINAL PAYOUT: $100,000 x 50% = $50,000 – $5,000 = $45,000
The selling party should receive $45,000 in this example. Again, there are many factors to be considered, but this is a quick way to estimate what you might expect. If you plan to sell a house after a divorce, follow this simple guide to ensure you get what you’re owed.
Selling a house with items inside
You might be wondering what to do about the items left in the house. It’s important to remove all items of sentimental value before putting your home on the market. This includes family photos, heirlooms, and anything that might trigger a negative emotional response in potential buyers. You don’t want potential buyers to feel like they’re intruding on someone’s personal space, so it’s best to make the house feel like a blank canvas.
But you may be wondering, who gets to keep the items in the house?
The answer to this question depends on your divorce agreement. If you have a divorce lawyer, they will help you come to an agreement about who gets to keep what. If you don’t have a lawyer, you and your spouse will need to come to an agreement yourselves. The best way to do this is by making a list of all the items in the house and who wants to keep them. Once you’ve made this list, you can start going through the house and removing the items that are going to be sold with the house.
This may seem like a daunting task, but it’s important to remember that you’re doing this for your own peace of mind. Selling a house after a divorce can be a stressful experience, but if you follow these simple tips, it will be much easier.
Tax Changes After Selling Your House In A Divorce
Before you take any actions, speak with your financial counselor. A lot can change if you move from married to single on your taxes. This could be a good or bad thing depending on your financial situation. For example, Your asset column will look very different.
After consulting with a professional, you’ll have a better understanding of what to do next. It’s best to work with your spouse to make these decisions so that you’re both on the same page and that you won’t be negatively impacted by tax changes.
Going through a divorce is a very difficult experience. Selling a house following a divorce can be a complicated process, but if you take the time to understand your options and consult with professionals, it doesn’t have to be.
Click here to learn more about how to sell your house quickly for cash in Lackawana County, PA.