How To Sell A House During Divorce in Portland

Divorce. Although it’s tragically a typical reality, when we first fall in love, we struggle to comprehend a marriage ending in divorce. According to the American Psychological Association, the divorce rate for Americans in first marriages is between 40 and 50 percent. But what happens to marital assets like real estate when it dissolves? Do you have to divide all your Portland Oregon assets equally during a divorce?

Can You Divorce Without Selling the PDX House?

You have options when it comes to keeping a Portland Oregon house during the divorce or selling it to split 50/50. The first step is letting your lawyers and the Court know the date you acquired the house. This important piece of information can help decide whether the house will need to be sold and the assets divided equitably, or if the house is not considered a marital property. 

If the Court decides the Oregon property is a “separate property” – i.e. purchased before the marriage, gifted or inherited to you as an individual, or purchased with separate assets by you at any time – in both community and equitable distribution states, the spouse has no rights to this property. There may be some exceptions to this, such as in a case where the property was updated in a way that added to the overall value of the house. A Portland divorce lawyer will be able to help you decide whether a property is considered separate or a marital asset.

A court will look at several factors to decide who gets the Portland OR house, including:

• The value of the PDX property.
• The financial circumstances of each partner.
• The employability of each partner.
• Both physical and monetary contributions to the marital home.
• The age and physical and mental health of each partner.
• The amount of time each partner will have custody of the children.

Who Gets The House in a Divorce?

When a couple decides to get a divorce in Portland, the Oregon state legislation in effect at the time will determine how their assets will be divided. These regulations have a significant impact on the manner in which your marital assets are distributed. The law of equitable distribution is followed by the majority of governments. In situations like these, throughout the divorce process, an Oregon judge will split your property in a manner that is considered fair by the Portland court. This does not always imply evenly or equally, but rather might be dependent on a number of criteria, including individual contributions to the family (such as child raising), among other things.

There are nine states with community property laws. They are: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Alaska has community property laws as well, but only if you opt in to this method. In community property states, all assets obtained during the marriage (i.e. marital property) are divided 50/50 during a divorce with only a few exceptions.

There are a few options both you and your partner and/or the Courts might choose when it comes to selling (or not selling) your marital home in Portland. These include:

One of the spouses buys out the other legal interest and keeps the Portland home

For married homeowners who live in a community property state, you and your spouse will split all assets in half. Does this mean that you’ll need to sell your house? Not necessarily! You can negotiate with your spouse in Portland Oregon Divorce Court to pay off their legal interest in the house so that you can keep it. To do this, you would also need to be able to be the sole person on the title in a timeframe required by the Court after the divorce decree is agreed on.

One spouse keeps use and occupancy of the PDX home for a specified period; typically when the youngest child turns eighteen, then the house can be sold.

In many places, a parent who has custody of minor children may continue to use the family home until the kid reaches the age of eighteen even if the youngster no longer lives there. Until all of the children reach the age of eighteen, whichever spouse is granted occupancy of the PDX Oregon home may or may not be responsible for financial obligations such as the mortgage, bills, and insurance premiums. However, they would continue to own the home until such time as all of the children reached the age of majority. Only beyond that point would it be necessary to sell the house and split the assets between the spouses.

Co-own the Oregon home

Divorce doesn’t have to be an emotional and monetary war. The ability to co-own an Oregon property might be the best situation for the family’s welfare, whether together or separate. If you have children and want to keep them in the same house, you could both stay on the mortgage to create as little disruption as possible. An example of this would be a wife and husband who have three children. The husband works outside of the home and is the sole provider of money for the couple, but the wife is the main care provider for their children. With her status as homemaker, she may not have the funds, job history, or ability to buy out her husband’s percentage in the property. 

There are some benefits of this situation, including stability for the family, but it would require trust by the departing spouse that their previous partner will be able to make their payments on time. Otherwise, both partners would take a ding on their credit record.

The Portland house is sold immediately and any equity is split up

Selling the home might be the easiest and least complicated answer to the problem, depending on how you look at it. The house is listed for sale at a price that has been agreed upon, and once it has been sold, the assets are divided either equally or in a manner that has been determined by the court. This may be a pretty quick solution (or it could be a very sluggish solution), depending on the market in your region. If the property market in your region is slow, the house is in bad shape, or there are liens against the title, a traditional sale of your home might not be the best option for you given the circumstances. In situations like these, selling the Portland Oregon property directly to an investor or direct local Oregon homebuyer could be the quickest and easiest option to have the property sold so that you can get on with the rest of your life.

Steps to Sell a Home During Divorce

1. Hire A Divorce Specialist Oregon Real Estate Agent

Your first order of business must be to determine, either with the assistance of Oregon attorneys or the assistance of the court, who will receive what portion of the proceeds from the sale of the residence. When two people decide to divorce, it may be a very difficult and emotional moment for both of them. You should enlist the assistance of qualified professionals who have been through the process of selling real estate after a divorce.

2. Agree On Home Sale Specifics

You and your partner will need to decide how you would like to sell the house. Would you prefer a fast sale so that you can split the assets and move on with your life, or is it worth it to you to spend a few more months fixing up the property to make it “market ready” so that it can sell for the most money possible in the current housing market? If you can’t come to a decision through your lawyers, the Oregon Divorce Court may need to become involved.

If you decide to spend the money on any necessary repairs and upgrades, you’ll want to come to an agreement on how to split those expenses, as well as how that investment may impact the final split of the profits. Before you spend one more dime, make sure to finalize these agreements with a lawyer so that you’re not left high and dry at close. 

But expenses and profits are just the tip of the iceberg. How will the house be dealt with during a listing? Whose PDX agent will you use? What price point should it be set at? Will it be empty or will you or your spouse live in it until the Portland Oregon property is sold? Who is responsible for the mortgage and bills and, if no one is living in the house, who is the one who will make sure that it’s ready to be shown during open houses and daily showings? If possible, let your lawyers hash this out before taking it to court. This can save you a lot of time and help keep any profits from the home sale being eaten up by the price of paying a lawyer to represent you in court.

3. Know What to Expect in Order to Close the Sale

There is one more phase in which you and your ex-partner will need to keep your emotions in check in order to work together in order to earn a profit for both of you, and that step is examining the offers that potential purchasers have made. If there are only one or two offers received, then this may be a simple option; however, in areas where the property market is competitive and you receive numerous different offers, there may be a lot of back and forth utilizing your attorneys and Oregon real estate agent about which offer is the best one for your case.

If there are only one or two offers received, then this may be an easy decision. Before advertising the Portland home for sale, it is important to make every effort to reach a consensus on the best approach to take. You and the buyer need to come to an agreement before you can sell the house. That choice must either be that you will accept the very first offer that comes in without any conditions or that you would choose to select the offer that will net you both the maximum profit after the deal is closed.

4. Divide the Proceeds

It’s the last stage, and hopefully the one with the least amount of hassle! Regardless of whether the courts or your Oregon attorneys assisted you in reaching a settlement for your divorce, you should already be aware of how the earnings from the sale of the property would be split. The escrow business will pay off any liens or liabilities that are attached to the home before releasing the money to you. This will allow you to move on with the rest of your life.

OR

5. Sell Your House AS-IS to a Oregon Cash Buyer

Are you stuck in a situation where you and your ex-partner can’t (or don’t want to) speak? Are you ready to be out of the marriage and on to the next phase of your life? Is the stress from the divorce eating away at you, and a fast and straightforward sale of your shared marital property seems like the best option for everyone? Selling your property to a direct cash home buyer or investor might be the right option for you!

Investors and direct home buyers pay cash for Portland Oregon properties, no matter what the condition or the owners’ financial (and marital) situation. They specialize in fast closings so that property owners can get out from under a property faster than with a traditional home sale.

They also purchase Portland houses and properties as-is, meaning that even if the house needs upgrades or major repairs, they still are willing to pay cash for it and close as quickly as possible. For two spouses stuck in a painful and expensive divorce, this might be the best option for the family. Not only are they able to sell the house for a fair cash amount, but they’re able to close quickly and without having to negotiate terms through lawyers and a shared real estate agent.

Selling Your House During A Divorce? Contact Us For Your Cash Offer Today!

Bridgetown Home Buyers is a local Oregon house buying company that’s built their business by buying houses for cash, no matter what the condition or the homeowners’ financial situation. We promise competitive cash offers without the hassle of dealing with real estate agents, lawyers, and more. If a direct home sale sounds like the best option for you, let’s chat! Call us day or night at 503-765-9326. We have a reputation for buying houses with less stress and less fees. 

If you own a property that you need to sell fast due to divorce, we have a solution. Contact us today and get a competitive cash offer for that Oregon house or rental property. We buy homes, no matter what your individual financial situation or the property’s condition. Even if the house has been neglected for years or suffered damage in the last storm, once you accept our fair cash offer our team of experts will handle all of those expensive repairs and upgrades so you don’t have to! We make selling a house during a divorce as hassle-free as possible.