If you’re going through a divorce and you’re trying to sell your house you may need a contingency plan because it’s a real possibility that the house may sit longer than anyone planned. So many couples are at the mercy of the market, the houses condition, it’s location that it is a valid concern… and you might be wondering, “what if my house doesn’t sell during a divorce in Stockton?”
That’s a good question for sure so read this blog post and we’ll share our best answer with you…
There is no other way to say it. Divorce is complicated and costly. There is generally no way that one family with one or even two incomes can quickly recover from a divorce financially. It stands to reason, that if you divide the assets and the income, both parties are going to suffer a financial loss and a decrease in the standard of living that they had become accustomed too. Certainly there are those couples that have incredibly high paying jobs that are financially able to weather that kind of storm, but the rest of the world is generally not that fortunate.
All divorces have property challenges and assets that need division and unless one spouse has the ability to take on the mortgage and/or buy out the other, the house will need to be sold.
Agreeing on how to deal with the families main asset may end up as challenging as the relationship that preceded it and many couple are left rudderless unable to create a real plan. Every family has its own set of circumstances that make selling a house that much more complicated. As I said before, divorce is expensive, it’s time-consuming, and emotions are generally running high.
It is important to remember that at this time, there is hardly a battle that will be won so long as there is a stalemate. The best legal advice I ever received during my own divorce was to treat all decisions like I would for any business transaction. Lose the attachment and lose the emotion.
Everyone knows that divorce does not bring couples closer together and whatever differences existed during the marriage are going to be even more highlighted through the divorce. Your expectations should reflect that reality and the efforts should remain on amicably resolving the issues rather than trying to convince one or the other party to capitulate. At some point the need to sell your house outweighs the emotional turmoil and leads to a faster division of the equity that one or both of need to make the next move.
“What if my house doesn’t sell during a divorce in Stockton?“
What Are The Reasons Your House Doesn’t Sell?
Location, age, condition of the house and price are usually the biggest culprits. Unfortunately, there are many reasons or even combinations of reasons that your house might not sell. Some of the reasons may be related to the normal market conditions (and they might be present even if you weren’t going through a divorce). But there might be additional reasons that your house doesn’t sell — for example,
- Divorce sales are considered distressed sales
- Deferred Maintenance that cant pass inspections or appraisals
- Asking price is too high
- Difficulty negotiating or agreeing on offers
- Appraisals that are low
- Inspections that require repairs
- Closing time frames that are unrealistic
Keep in mind that every house and every neighborhood has a sweet spot for pricing. If your house is the prettiest on the block the price will reflect that and will tend to be on the higher side. Your pricing should reflect your desire to sell. If you have a lot of time and you have run the numbers and can wait 3 to 6 months for a sale… go for top of market. Unfortunately, most properties that are the subject of a divorce are not the prettiest houses and to exacerbate matters dont always sell the fastest because the pricing does not reflect the houses true condition.
There could be other reasons as well. Maybe you have a complicated divorce or there’s a lot of conflict between each party in the divorce and that makes it too difficult for the buyers agent to negotiate on the sale of the property.
Delays Add to Holding Cost and Your House
The truth is there is no magic formula when selling a house and there is nothing wrong with trying to recoup as much equity as the market will bear. Just be realistic about the time frames and understand that every additional month that you are holding the property will cost you in interest that can never be recouped. Even after accounting for principal payments to the balance, the best case scenario is that only half of that is yours.
Understand that If the house needs lots of repairs, everyone should be realistic about how much that will cost and factor the time and the cost of repairs into the sales price. If the house is not selling as quickly as you’d like, this just adds to the problem and it ultimately ends up costing you more — in bills and taxes and mortgage payments, as well as in possible additional attorneys fees.
Simply put, you may want to get a higher price for your house, but your divorce could actually be scaring people away and costing you more money in holding cost.
Fortunately you have another option…
Strategy For Divorce Houses: Sell To A Cash Home Buyer
— instead of listing the house with an agent, sell the house directly to a cash home buyer in Stockton. Cash home buyers, may not pay the top of market price for your house… but, many people realize that holding out for a higher price can actually be a costly strategy once you factor in the cost of repairs and updates for the house. Most people soon realize that there is no way to recapture those holding costs while you potentially wait months for an agent to find a buyer, and then add in the agent’s commission that the seller pays for.
With Cash Home Buyers in Stockton there are no commissions and well even pay the closing cost.
If you’re wondering, “what if my house doesn’t sell during a divorce in Stockton?” and if you want to sell your house fast, a cash home buyer may be the fastest and simplest choice to get the property out from the middle of your divorce, get you both the cash, and allow you to move on with your lives.
Call Peter Westbrook for an All Cash Offer (209)481-7780