By Jeff Anderson
Divorces are difficult. With over 50% of American marriages ending in divorce, many Nashville, Tennessee residents are seeking real estate advice for the best options to sell a house during a divorce.
If you are going through a divorce right now, it’s important to be well informed before deciding what happens with one of your most valuable joint assets — your home.
Let’s look at the key decisions you’ll face as a joint homeowner during a divorce in Tennessee.
Should You Try to Keep The Property?
Divorcing spouses in Tennessee must divide their assets as part of their divorce settlement. How your home, or the profits of a home sale, get distributed depends on state laws and when you purchased the property.*
In short, one of you, or neither of you, will have ownership of the property when the divorce is final.
Seek A Buyout
A typical arrangement for a divorcing couple is the buyout. One spouse releases a claim to the house, so that the other pays cash for a negotiated amount. (Or, you can establish a promised future payment.) In most cases, buyouts happen when the primary caregiver for the children wants to stay in the home.
Split The Profits
If both parties want to keep the property, it’s common for the sale of the property to be required in the divorce settlement. Usually, the couple decides to list the property and split the proceeds, hoping for a top dollar sale to move on with their lives.
Should We Use A Real Estate Agent?
If you and your divorcing spouse agree on selling the house, you’ll want to jointly decide HOW to sell the property. (There are options…)
Selling the home through a qualified neutral real estate agent (read, not a friend) adds a layer of protection for each party. It’s also a great solution if you have the time and money to upgrade the home and prepare it sell in the highly competitive Nashville housing market, particularly in Wilson, Davidson, Knox or Williamson County.
As divorcing spouses, it’s important to be realistic and count the emotional and financial costs that selling your home with a realtor can create. It may make sense to not use a realtor if it will only add more tension to an already difficult situation. Here’s why.
- There will be a delay the timeline before you see any money in hand by weeks or even months, especially and the house needs repairs or upgrades.
- Plan for the 6% commission you’ll pay the real estate agents ($18,000 in commissions on a $300,000 home; $30,000 on a $500,000 property!) For some people going through a divorce, paying the steep realtor fees just isn’t an option.
- Consider if you both can navigate the additional decisions and stress that listing your home on the MLS will bring: staging the house… multiple showings… negotiations… waiting for loan qualification (knowing the buyer could back out)…
Sell Your Home As-Is For Cash
There is a direct home sale option is gaining popularity, especially for those facing divorce. Consider selling the house as-is for cash.
In a direct sale home purchase, a Professional Home Buying company evaluates your property and makes a fair market offer to purchase it for cash just as it is. You and your soon to be ex-spouse jointly decide whether to accept the cash offer, or not.
(Note, any offer to buy a home for cash “as-is” will not be top dollar. That’s because the home buyer assumes all the unknown risks of making any renovations and repairs required to turn around and sell or rent the property for a profit.)
For couples facing divorce, a direct home sale makes the property settlement process as stress free as possible. Because you will be paid in cash, closings can happen fast, sometimes within a week. Each spouse walks away with money in hand without the need of expensive repairs, showings, inspections and the other hassles that come with selling through a real estate agent.
Get A Fair Cash Offer Within 24 Hours
If you are going through a divorce in Tennessee, selling your home fast to Entrust Homebuyers may be the best option, especially if the home needs more than basic repairs or is distressed.
Entrust Homebuyers is a trusted Professional Home Buying company operating in Nashville, Tennessee since 2015. We buy homes as-is for cash from people in all kinds of situations, including divorce. We can close quickly and pay you in cash, often in as little as 7 days! You do not have to worry about repairs or even cleaning the house out. Simply pack the personal items and furniture you want, leave the rest and move forward with your life.
Give Entrust Homebuyers a call today at 615-338-5578. We can help create a win-win for everyone, even in difficult times.