Dan Salamone | Realtor

What Options are There With Your Home?

• Selling your Home: This is the most straightforward option. Once the house is sold, the proceeds will be split according to your agreement or court order. The benefit of this is that there is a clean break and each spouse can go their own way.
• One Spouse Keeps the Home: One spouse may choose to “buy out” the other. The most common option is to refinance the mortgage to pull money out and use it to pay off your spouse. Be sure if you choose to refinance the home that you are comfortable with the new payment.
• Co-Ownership: You may decide to retain joint ownership of the home. One reason you may elect to do so is to allow your children to finish school before selling the home.
• Nesting Arrangement: This is a temporary custody arrangement where children stay in the family home while parents take turns living in the home. It is important to set clear house rules between each other.
• Deferred Sale: A temporary delay in selling a marital home, usually agreed upon by both spouses or ordered by a court, where one party can continue living in the house while the divorce proceedings are finalized, allowing for a smoother transition for the children involved.
• Rental Property: You may choose to turn the house into a rental property, sharing in the rental income and expenses.

With any of the options that involve retaining joint ownership, there will be decisions to be made, expenses to share, and an ongoing relationship with one another. It is strongly recommended to have some what-if discussions to determine a plan for moving forward. What if a major repair or update is needed on the home? How much money should be set aside for repairs? How will this money be managed? Will there be a property manager involved, and how will you select one? At what point would you decide to sell the home?