What If My House doesn’t Sell During A Divorce in Stockton?

August 17, 2019

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

To learn more about our real estate buying program and how we might be able to help you out in this challenging situation, click here and fill out the short form or give our team a call at (209) 481-7780.

We Buy Houses Stockton, The Man Behind the Sign

I Buy Houses Stockton Introduction (209) 481-7780 We buy Houses Stockton

My name is Peter Westbrook and I am a local real estate investor and the owner of We Buy Houses Stockton and Westbrook Real Estate Investments in Stockton, California. I am NOT a Real Estate Agent or Broker and for good reason. I purchase real estate and I am NOT going to ask you to pay a commission or a fee.…I pay CASH and because I do, I can close on the day that I tell you.

For those of you that already know me or have already called me you can attest that I answer my own phone and I return all phone calls. When you call me at 209-481-7780 you are calling me on the same number that my mother and my closest friends call me at.

Get Your Fair Cash Offer: Start Below!

We WILL BUY YOUR HOUSE in ANY CONDITION! We pay CASH and you will NOT pay any commissions or fees. Fill in your information below and get an all CASH offer for your House Fast!

Property Address*
Name
First Last
Phone
Email*
Phone
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

What Customers Say

The City of Stockton was getting ready to tear down my old house. I was no longer able to maintain the Stockton House and after years of trying to keep up with code violations, needed repairs and vandalism, I finally called Peter

Westbrook. He came right out and told me what he could do. He contacted the city and county and even cleaned up the property before he bought it. He paid the back taxes for me and gave me an advance on the purchase of the house. Without his help I would have lost everything. I called real estate agents and other investors but no one wanted to help and no one offered to pay as much as Peter Westbrook. He completely remodeled the house and I smile every time I go by. Thank you Peter.

Leonard S

We inherited our parents house with one of our brothers living there . The property taxes had not been paid and it was in Tax default. We called Peter Westbrook and he found that the title was still in our parents name, so the Stockton House never went through probate. Peter also found that there was an old auto loan that had a lien on the

title and an old bankruptcy ruling to take care of that lien had never been filed with the courts. Peter handled everything including paying the back taxes, paying for the hiring a Probate Attorney and filing the probate and paying for and hiring a Bankruptcy Attorney to finalize the removal of the lien. He was patient, understanding and he took care of everything including evicting the tenants that were living in the house. We talked to real estate agents and other I buy house people. None of them had the answers for our situation. Without peter we would have lost everything. We got paid cash.

Steve H

We inherited my parents Stockton house with a mortgage. We decided to rent it out. The tenants destroyed the house. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t have the money to fix it and the city had already issued code violations.. I called an “I Buy Houses Stockton Sign” on a telephone pole and Peter Westbrook answered. In 4 days he paid the bank and bought my house. We would have lost everything if it weren’t for Peter Westbrook.

Mike B

I inherited my mothers house with a mortgage. When my husband and I lost our jobs, we got behind in payments. Then the Bank posted a default with a auction date we didn’t know what to do.

We didn’t have the $15,000.00 and we only had two weeks to do something. We called Peter Westbrook and form the beginning he was confident he could stop the bank. Within 4 days he bought the house with cash, paid off the bank and stopped the Foreclosure. Without Peter we would have lost everything.

Brenda T

I saw a sign on a telephone pole and against my better judgement I called. The last thing I expected was a person answering the phone. I was surprised, Peter Westbrook answered the phone. I had a lot of questions and Peter had the right answers. My mother needed to get as much as possible out of the house and we had talked to several real estate agents and they all wanted to sell it cheap and wanted a 6% commission. They all told us unless we put thousands of dollars into it could not be sold for what we wanted. Not Peter. He made a fair cash offer and since then we have sold him another house. Peter and the title company handled everything. I couldn’t be happier and I would recommend Peter Westbrook to anyone.

Cathy W

I needed to sell my Stockton House. I called a phone number I saw on a sign and talked to Peter Westbrook. The City of Stockton said that they were going to take away my vacant Stockton house, knock it down and send me the

bill to do it. I did everything that I could to try to make them happy. A neighbor offered to buy the house and then Peter offered me twice as much. He did everything he said he would do and I just had to go to the Title Company and sign the papers. He did all of the work and now the City of Stockton is his problem. Thank you Peter.

Ann C

I inherited my Fathers Stockton house. The front porch was falling in, the walls had holes from being vacant and vandalized. The City of Stockton fined us, red tagged the property and forced us to put on a new roof so we had to get loans and we still couldn’t rent it out.

I called one of those “I Buy Houses” signs and Peter Westbrook came out and made a cash offer. The House closed escrow and we got our money for a house we though was worthless. Thanks Peter!”

Broderick R.

“Our Grandfather passed away and my brother, sister and I inherited his Stockton house. He was a junkman and hoarder. He was also 90 years old and had not made a repair to the house in years. He had garage sales almost every day. The house and the yard were full of junk. We tried to get everything out so we could just see the house. We had family and friends come over on the weekends but the cost and effort was consuming all of our time.The house was a mess.

I called Peter Westbrook and he made us a cash offer for the house and he said he would take care of all of the clean up. Thank God I called. The City had issued code violations and fines on the property and even before we closed escrow Peter and his crew had the house and yard cleaned (4 large Dumpsters later) . I recommend Peter Westbrook to anyone that has a problem house. They were fast and professional”

Connie J.

“I had tried to sell my Mothers Stockton house for two years. Realtor’s told me to tear it down. I didn’t have the money for that and my Brother and his family were living there. Peter Westbrook made me a cash offer and closed escrow with my brother still in the house. Peter Westbrook is my savior. I don’t have to worry about the house any more. If you have a Stockton house that has become a burden and you don’t have the money to fix it to sell it, call Peter Westbrook.”

Rosemary R.