HOW TO AVOID COSTLY MISTAKES ABOUT YOUR HOME WHEN YOU’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A DIVORCE?
Divorce involves a lot of emotional difficulties and important financial decisions that you have to know how to manage. One of the most important decisions concerns ownerships. In the emotional whirlwind and material worries that a divorce entails, you especially need clear, precise and impartial answers about your real estate assets. Once informed about what is likely to happen with the mortgage, taxes, all matters related to the home, decision-making will be facilitated. The opinion of a third party, neutral and well documented, will allow you to make rational rather than emotional decisions. Probably the first question to ask is: do you want to continue living in this environment? Will the familiar neighborhood bring you some kind of comfort, or rather painful memories? Do you want to minimize the upheaval by staying put or move to the place that will symbolize a new beginning for you? Only you can answer these questions, but regardless of the answer, the financial implications must be considered in the decision-making process. What can you pay? Can you support the property with your “new” budget? Can you reopen your mortgage and negotiate a refinance? Is it better to sell and buy something else? What do you think you can buy with your new means? The objective of this study is to help you ask the right questions in order to make informed decisions that will correspond to your new situation.
4 OPTIONS
It is important to fully understand the financial implications of each of these scenarios.
- Sell the property and split the profits
Your main interest in this option is to maximize the sale price of the property. We can help you avoid the mistakes that owners in your situation make, mistakes that compromise the expected results. As you try to get your affairs in order, be sure of the net profit you can expect. After the expenses surrounding the sale and after determining the profit sharing, what will be left? The partition could not be half/half because the divorce judgment ruled something else, or the cash on purchase was different, or because the laws in force concerning the family patrimony would influence things differently.
- Buy your spouse’s share
If you intend to keep the property, you will have to determine how you will be able to meet your monthly obligations if you only have a salary. If you had relied on two incomes to qualify for the mortgage, you may have difficulty getting a refinance on your own.
- Sell your share to your spouse
If you leave, you have the option of starting fresh with cash in your pocket. However, be aware that if the existing mortgage remains in effect, you and your spouse who signed the loan will remain jointly and severally liable. This liability for the previous loan can prevent you from obtaining a mortgage if you buy a new home even if in fact you no longer legally own the first one.
- Remain owners
Some divorced couples will postpone the decision to sell for a while even if only one of the spouses lives in the property. This situation allows you to breathe and saves you worries up to a certain point, but requires a certain vigilance given the tax rules. Keep in mind that on the date of the sale, your situation regarding your tax return may have changed.
When you decide to sell
If you and your spouse decide to sell the property, surround yourself with professionals to get the most out of this important asset. Your disputes must be put aside, you will have to be involved at the time of taking the brokerage contract.
