If you are headed towards divorce and you and your spouse own a home, you will have to determine what to do with the marital home. Should you keep the house? Should you sell it, or should you rent it out?
As of this writing, a modest 3-bedroom home in Katy, Texas runs about $210,000. For a 4-bedroom, 2,866 square foot home, you are looking at about $300,000. There is a good chance that the marital residence is the most valuable asset in your marriage, so you should put some serious thought into what to do with it during your divorce.
When it comes to the marital residence, there is no one-size-fits-all approach because every couple’s situation is different. While many financial advisors recommend that couples simply sell the home and make a clean break, that approach does not work for every divorcing couple.
If a couple is trying to sell their house in a depressed market, their house can sit on the market for a while and they can lose a lot of money. In this scenario, it may make more sense for the couple to move out and rent the property instead of selling it.
Considering Your Options
Sometimes, people are attached to the home and do not want to move out. Perhaps they poured a lot of money into a remodel, or perhaps they believe that remaining would be best for the children. In this case, the spouses usually consider having one of the spouses buy the other spouse out of their portion of the equity.
If you are considering buying out your spouse, you need to first make sure that you can afford the home. If you wish to refinance, do you qualify for a mortgage in your name alone? Can you afford the monthly mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs?
Also, if your children are going off to college soon, you may not need all that house. If you are going to have an empty nest in a year or two, does it make sense to stay in your four or five-bedroom home? Or, should you sell the house, split the proceeds and move into a smaller, more affordable home instead?
Discussing the What-Ifs With Your Lawyer
When deciding what to do with the marital home, the best solution is to discuss all of the what-ifs with a divorce attorney. With your lawyer’s knowledgeable input and advice, you can come up with the best plan of action. As long as you address the worst-case scenarios, you will not make an uneducated decision, and that can give you the peace of mind you need.
Need a Katy divorce attorney? ContactHunt Law Firm, PLLC to schedule a consultation.