Divorce: Should you sell the house?

So, you’ve decided to move forward with divorce. This will impact your life in many ways, and one of the most significant changes will be to your finances. You will have to adjust your lifestyle and make other changes in order to suit your new situation. Despite these things, you may want to try and keep your family home in your divorce.

Your house is probably the most valuable asset you and your spouse have. Deciding what will happen to the house is one of the most common sources of disagreement in a divorce, but you may think that it will be best for you and your children to remain in the home. If this is the right choice, there are multiple things you will want to consider before you move forward.

Things to think about before buying

You probably have a strong emotional attachment to your family home, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should try to keep it. You will need to consider your post-divorce income and whether you can afford things like taxes, upkeep, HOA payments and more. If you can afford to do so, you may be able to try and buy out your spouse’s share of the family home. 

Buying out your spouse’s share is possible, but it can be a complex situation to navigate. First of all, your spouse will probably need to agree to that. After that, you may be able to negotiate payment in lieu of other assets, a lump-sum payment or other means. Additional factors to consider include:

• Mortgage – Do you know what kind of mortgage you will need and how much payments will be? Do you have preapproval?
• Equity – How much equity is in the home? This will determine how much you owe your spouse.
• Interest – Have interest rates changed since you originally purchased the home? It is possible this could change your payment amount.
• Refinancing – You may be able to refinance your home in only your name after the divorce process is final. 

It’s smart to consider the financial implications of all the choices you make during your divorce process. If you want to keep the family home, it’s smart to be certain that this will truly be best long-term. Before you agree to anything or move forward with an important decision, you may want to discuss your case with an experienced Texas family law attorney.