Selling Your Vail Valley Area home can be a very difficult decision. But this can be even more complicated if you are selling your home due to divorce. Divorce is rarely easy, and if the divorce is difficult, then dividing up assets can get unpleasant. There are usually two choices when it comes to your home during a divorce. One spouse gets to keep the Vail Valley home, or the home gets sold and then the profit gets divided. If you go with option one and one spouse retains the home there are aspects similar to a sale involved for the other spouse. You will need to prepare your home and strategize if the home is going to be sold. Here is what you should know about selling your home due to divorce. I hope this advice makes this difficult time in your life a little bit easier.
Calculating Value Of Your Vail Valley Home
If one spouse is going to get the Vail Valley home, then there needs to be an accurate fair market valuation of the home prepared. An appraiser who is certified to complete this job will need to get hired to figure out the home’s fair market value. In this situation, it might be best for both parties to hire their own appraiser so they can be compared to one another, and there’s no argument about who selected the appraiser. You may also decide whether you want to then reduce the value by 7% to cover the normal transaction fees that would normally have been paid to sell the property.
If one spouse is getting the home and plans to immediately sell it, then there are additional considerations. For example, is there equity in the home? What are the capital gains taxes on the sale of the property? Are there transfer taxes, out of state withholding taxes on the proceeds, or upcoming HOA assessments? Of course, you should take any debt on the property into account as well when splitting up everything on both sides of your balance sheet.
Transferring The Home
Transferring the home probably doesn’t feel like you are selling your Vail Valley Area home. But this process involves a lot of the same steps. This may seem like the easiest way for one spouse to not have to worry about the home. But this can often be far more complicated than expected.
It is easy to transfer the title of the property via a quitclaim deed, which is prepared by an attorney and recorded in the county records. Or if the property is set up in an entity, then you can transfer it from one party to another. What is not so easy is if the second home has a mortgage, second mortgage, home equity loan, or secured line of credit. This is where things can get tricky! The spouse that does not get the home will want their name as a borrower to take off any and all loan documents. Refinancing the property, and if possible paying off all subordinate debt, can take care of this! However, this assumes that the spouse getting the home can qualify for the new loan and afford to maintain it.
Strategies For Selling Your Vail Valley Home
Selling your Vail Valley home can already be very emotional. Let alone then selling your home due to divorce. This can be a very tough situation to go through, and divorcing couples may not be able to have open honest discussions with one another. But in the end, selling your Vail Valley home may be the best decision for you.
Remember, second homes are not liquid assets. Depending on the location, the property, and the asking price, it could take some time to sell. An agreed-upon strategy to sell should also be talked about and agreed upon. Such a strategy may be to set an initial asking price based on the appraisal and to then reduce the asking price by a negotiated percentage every agreed-upon number of days the home has not sold. It is wise to move this discussion to the top of the list early on. Hopefully, the home sells before the divorce is finalized so you can split up the proceeds beforehand.
How Can I Help?
I hope you see the amount of time and effort I put into this article Selling Because Of Divorce and it helps you during this difficult time. I want to provide my clients with interesting and up-to-date information so they can make informed decisions. If you think that my expertise and positive attitude might be of service to you don’t hesitate to reach out and contact me.
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Robert Schilling
Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Specialist
Coldwell Banker Distinctive Properties
(970) 390-0705
[email protected]