Divorce is never easy. It generally involves decisions that will certainly affect the rest of your life. For instance, one of the major assets you will probably have to deal with is your family home in Westerville. If you make the wrong decision regarding your home, it could end up costing you in the long run.
Like with the division process for your other high-value assets, it is important that you research all of your options and look at your choices from every angle so that you can make the decision that will optimally benefit you. Here are some options that might be available when it comes time to decide what you should do with your house.
Sell it
Probably the easiest thing you can do with your house is to sell it and split the proceeds. If you cannot easily pay for the mortgage or upkeep on your home by yourself, this is probably your best option. In addition, moving into a new residence might be just what you need to truly get a fresh start.
Keep the house and refinance
If you plan to keep the house, you may want to refinance it under your name alone. In order to do this, you must meet certain conditions. First, you cannot be behind on the current mortgage. Second, you need to have enough credit and income in order to qualify for refinancing. Third, your future ex-husband has to agree to this. If you are on the fence about it, ask yourself if you would buy the house if you were single.
Assume the loan
If you are firmly set on keeping the house but you do not want to bother with the refinancing process, you might be able to fully assume the current loan. This will largely depend on your lender. Like with the refinancing process, you will have to prove that you have enough income to handle the mortgage on your own.
Leave the mortgage as is
If the housing market in your area isn’t what it used to be and you can’t sell the home and refinancing or assuming the loan is not an option, you and your ex might have to come to an agreement on how to manage the mortgage. Unfortunately, in this kind of situation, you will have to depend on your ex to uphold his or her end of the deal and pay the respective share of the mortgage. If he or she defaults, it could seriously damage your credit since the lender will still consider you both equally responsible for the entire loan regardless of the specifications in your divorce decree.
If you are considering divorce, it is important you take the time to consider all of your options when it comes to dividing high-value marital assets. Even a slight misstep can seriously cost you.
