Often the most important (and valuable) asset couples have together is their home. Deciding what to do with your home when going through a divorce can be difficult. The first decision to discuss is whether both of you agree on selling the house. There are at least two other options that we discuss often instead of selling: either one person keeps it and buys the other person out, or they continue to own it jointly with an agreement that they will sell it at a later time. There can be positives and negatives to any of these options. It all depends on your particular situation and can be worked through when you hire a San Diego mediator. Living in San Diego it can be difficult because although it may be a great time to sell your home, you may not be able to afford to buy anything else and rent can be prohibitively expensive as well. There are two main reasons I find couples decide to sell their home which I’ll discuss here.
They Don’t Want Any Combined Finances
While sometimes couples might think that continuing the own the home together could be a great idea and would allow them to keep their children in the home that they’ve grown up in, other times the last thing they want to continue to have anything joint. If you’re going to keep the home jointly and sell it at a later time you are still tied to your ex-spouse. If you’re the one not remaining in the home then your equity is tied up until you guys do agree to sell it. Additionally, it’s usually too difficult for the spouse not staying in the home to go out and get another mortgage if their name is on the mortgage for the home still. But I think not wanting to have any combined finances anymore is the main reason to deter people from that option. And this is understandable, it may be that financial issues are what contributed to the breakdown of your marriage and you don’t want to have those ties anymore. Not everyone wants to or should have to continue to have joint financial ties with their soon to be ex-spouse.
It’s Too Expensive
Often couples decide that they have to sell the house because it’s too expensive for one spouse to continue living in it by themselves and for the other spouse to go rent something. Many people decide this after working with a San Diego mediator. Especially if you’re getting divorced after your children are grown, but may still live in a home that has room for the whole family. It may just be too much space and be cost prohibitive. Additionally, it may be that there aren’t the funds to buy out your spouse and refinance the loan into your own name. It can be difficult for people to part with a home, especially if they’ve lived there for a long time. However, understanding exactly how much it actually costs to remain in the house is important so that you know what you’re getting into before you decide to stay.
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by: Amanda Singer
