If you’re going through a divorce in King County, WA, you may be wondering, “Can the judge force the sale of our home during a divorce?” The answer may surprise you.
Hi, my name is Emily Cressey, I’m a real estate broker, and I know going through a divorce can be both scary, and liberating, so I have put together a series of videos to help answer your questions.
Video: How Can You Sell Your Home After A Divorce?
Here in the Seattle area, we typically find that for most couples, their home is one of their biggest assets. So, naturally it can also create the biggest disagreements about how it should be divided up if you are going through a divorce.
And technically, YES – it is true that a judge can force the sale of your home in a divorce. If you live in the Seattle, WA area of King County and you and your spouse have a lot of wealth tied up in your home but few other outside assets, the judge may force the sale of the home when dividing up the marital assets, especially if one spouse is uncooperative.
This is because your wealth is considered community property when you are married, and should be divided equally when you get a divorce. Say you have $500K in equity in your house, but you don’t have $250K in cash or retirement accounts. For each spouse to get their share of the $500K, it may have to come from the sale of the home.
Other options, to help you avoid the sale of the home would be for one spouse to refinance it and pull out $250,000 cash from the home to give to the other spouse. But both parties have to be willing to go down this route, and the refinancing spouse must be able to get the loan and make the payments on the new higher mortgage.
Why Would One Spouse Be Uncooperative In A Divorce?
There are many reasons a spouse may be uncooperative about selling the home when splitting assets in a divorce. Besides the financial value of the home, there are often other considerations such as the sentimental value and memories carried by the property. In most cases, the couple can work out which party stays in the marital home. However, if the parties are not able to agree, then a judge will determine whether the couple is forced to sell the home.
Judges Don’t Like To Force The Sale Of A Home In A Divorce
Historically, many Washington State judges have been reluctant to force the sale of the home because it’s expensive, it displaces family members, and it forces people out into the pricey Seattle real estate market, when they already have a lot going on. Selling a home can cost up to 10% of the homes value – between Washington State Excise Taxes, Escrow & Closing Costs, and Realtor Commissions. Children who may have spent their whole lives in a certain home or school district may be forced to leave, which creates a lot of upheaval if they have to move and make new friends in addition to seeing their parents split up. Paying on a mortgage from a few years ago, can actually be much less expensive than buying or renting a new house in today’s fast moving, high-flying real estate market, plus each ex-partner will need their own residences, so the number of households to house will have doubled. Both halves of the divorcing couple may find their cost of living to have increased dramatically if the home is sold.
If you want to access the equity from the home, and a sale is necessary, it’s a lot better to sell the house on your own terms, then sell due to a judge forcing the decision and supervising the process.
What If You Do Not Want To Sell Your Home After A Divorce?
You may not want to sell your home after a divorce, but if a judge deems it necessary, you may no longer have a choice. Here are some of the top reasons the judge may force the sale of your home.
Typically, if an agreement about the house is not made, the court can and will order the house to be sold and the proceeds divided. However, this is relatively rare and undesirable. A better solution may be for the house to be refinanced, and a portion of the equity given to the vacating spouse in the form of cash. The other spouse stays in the house with a new, larger mortgage payment.
However, there are circumstances in which a divorce judge will force the sale of the marital home. Particularly when the finances would not allow one spouse to remain in the home and there is a high risk it may be lost through foreclosure. Not everyone has the income or credit to be able to refinance the home and take on the new higher debt payment, especially after the financial crisis usually caused by a break-up.
Another reason that could compel a sale is that the spouses may need funds to survive on during and after the divorce. This could include paying for legal fees.
Losing a job during a divorce may also be a legitimate reason to force a home sale, as well.
The sale of the house will be included as part of the final settlement.
In Seattle-area divorce cases, one of the judge’s most important roles is to preserve the value of the couple’s assets. Under Washington law, a judge is given broad discretion to act.
How To Choose A Real Estate Agent To Help You Sell Your Home After A Divorce?
If you’re going through a divorce and think you might have to sell your home, we are happy to help and can act as both real estate brokers, or buy the home from you directly if you prefer. Although it can be a difficult time, both financially and emotionally, we can help you get the home sold, no matter what the condition.
As real estate professionals, we can help you market it properly, even if you are working with limited time and resources to get the property sold…. If it’s show-ready and can sell for top dollar, that’s great. If it needs a lot of rehab and TLC, we can help with that, too. We even have contractors who will delay their payment on the work that needs doing until after the home has been sold, so you can still get your house in great shape before you sell.
At HomeProAssociates.com we believe there is a solution to every problem, and as seasoned real estate professionals, we know the right questions to ask and the right people to talk to, to help you get your property problems resolved!
Give us a call today for help selling your home in a divorce.
I’m Emily Cressey, the Owner of HomeProAssociates.com and remember – we are here to serve!
