Selling a Home when Going Through Divorce: What to Consider
With the divorce rate steadily increasing, more and more people are considering what it means for them. One of the most difficult decisions that must be made is if you should sell your home or not. There are many factors to consider before selling a home during this time in your life. Some of these include whether you want to move near family members, how long will it take for the house to sell, and who will have custody of any children living there? Keep reading for tips on how to make this decision!
For some people, the decision to sell their home is an easy one. Moving away from family or giving up a favorite spot where they’ve lived for many years is just not worth it when your marriage has ended in divorce. For others, this might be less of a factor but still important because you may have children that will need stability and familiarity if things get tough with being without both parents around during daytime hours. Some people also consider using the equity gained by selling their homes to help them buy another place nearby so they don’t feel completely uprooted due to changing schools and neighborhoods.
The best way to decide whether or not it’s time for you (or your spouse) to move on after divorce is really about what YOU want!
Working with an Agent or Investor?
If you choose to work with a real estate agent, your house will be listed on the MLS system and advertised as an exclusive listing. This means that the agents in your area won’t have access to all of the information about this property so it might take longer for them to show up at open houses or make offers. You can also list on sites like Realtor.com and Trulia which has more traffic but is less personal than being able to sell directly through a local agent who knows potential buyers personally from going door-to-door every day.
We will say that there are more agents than properties on the market so picking a good agent is NOT very easy. Pick a bad agent and your property could be sitting on the market for months and months.
Investors are people who buy homes quickly because they know how much money they’ll get back when reselling–often times after just one month! They’re usually looking for properties that need a lot of work and in areas that are up and coming or good for rentals. There are lots of benefits to working with an investor.
It’s important to remember that even if you don’t have the time or money, there are still plenty of ways for people going through a divorce to be able to sell their homes.
There is a lot of help available from organizations like the “National Association of Realtors” who offer resources and classes on how to handle property sale while going through divorce proceedings as well as local programs in various states which can provide more information about what your state laws say about marital assets and real estate when dealing with a breakup. One resource is DivorceNet-a site for attorneys that provides advice related specifically to issues involving family law matters such as divorces, legal separations, child custody cases, and other legal matters.
Settling on an asking price
Deciding on what to sell the property for is one of the most important aspects to selling a home. The first step is deciding on what price you want to put your house up for sale, and it’s often best to start by considering how much market value your property has – which can be an appraisal from a professional or simply research online about comparable properties in the area that have been recently sold.
Once you’ve determined this number, then consider whether or not there are any other factors that would make people more likely to buy your property over others – like if it had updated features such as large rooms with high ceilings; spacious closets; new kitchen appliances, upgraded bathrooms; newer windows. Depending on these upgrades and improvements (or lack thereof), setting an asking price will take some trial and error in most cases.
Another thing you can do is contact 1-2 of the top home buying companies in your area local preferably as they understand your market better and see what kind of cash offer they would be willing to give. Remember time is money and if you need to sell fast this might be the best option for you. Here are some of our FAQs that most people ask when working with a local home buying company.
Preparing to show the property
The next step is to make sure the property has been tidied up and arranged so that it can be shown. It’s important to know what you want potential buyers to see, such as a modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances or warm hardwood floors in all of the living areas.
If there are renovations underway, then they should be finished before arranging for showings – this way people won’t have any preconceived notions about the space based on its current state. And if you’re dealing with someone who will need approval from their spouse when making any decisions about selling the home, then it might help things go more smoothly by hiring an appraiser first (so both parties can discuss how much money needs to change hands).
If the house needs a lot of work then your best bet is to look for a local home buyer.
The most important thing to think about when deciding whether or not you should work with a real estate agent versus finding your own local homebuyer is the timeline for selling the house and how much time they would be willing to devote towards marketing, open houses, etc. The more hands-on involvement there is in getting it sold quickly, the better (and fewer headaches).
Some of these strategies might help make this process as smooth as possible – but if you have any other questions then please feel free to reach out! I’m happy to answer them for you.
TIP – considering working with an appraiser first so that both parties can discuss what needs changing before going forward with negotiations or signing paperwork.
Reviewing offers
When reviewing offers from potential buyers it’s important to consider what they’re willing to pay and how much time they are offering you for the property. It’s important to review the offers together and make sure you on the same page. In today’s market, it’s all about who’s gonna close the fastest and put the biggest deposit down!
Also, keep in mind CASH is King! Meaning that you may get a higher offer with someone who is using a loan BUT that means that needs to be approved and also the appraisal also needs to be in line with the offer amount. With a cash offer, you don’t have to worry about all that as most local investors are buying the property “as-is” so you don’t have to worry about loans and making any repairs.
Dividing the proceeds
Now once the property is sold, it’ll be time to divide the proceeds. This is where things can get tricky. You should have a lawyer help you with this process so that everything gets divided as evenly and fairly as possible. We hope that this is something that the couple can work out on their own but most times they can’t so having a professional can be very useful in these kinds of situations.
In conclusion, divorce sucks…..period! But ultimately these things happen and people have to work through them. Selling a property can be very stressful during these times which is why it’s important to understand your options and prepare and plan ahead for these events.
Philly Home Investor is a local home buying company that specializes in purchasing homes and helping individuals with whatever issues they may be currently facing. Whether it’s divorce, foreclosure, back taxes, relocation, or cashing out on your investment portfolio we’ve love to make you a FREE Cash Offer Today!
Call us anytime at 215-322-1648 or Fill out the online form. We are currently buying properties all over the Philadelphia region, New Jersey and SW Florida, you can view a full list of the area’s we buy properties here.