Selling Your House During A Divorce In Texas

Selling a House During Divorce in Texas

Are you looking for a way to sell your house fast during a divorce so that you can pay your debts and purchase another house? The divorce process can be time-consuming, emotionally challenging, and costly. After all, you must search through all the divorce lawyers in your area, negotiate with your spouse, determine your shared property, and list your marital house for sale. Unfortunately, selling a house quickly so that you can fulfill the requirements of the divorce decree can often be fraught with fees, delays, and headaches. The good news is that choosing a cash buyer can remove the hassles, cut out the middlemen, and provide you with the cash you need to finalize the divorce papers, pay your debts, and stabilize your living situation. At our Sell My House Fast Houston, we buy all types of houses for cash all over TX. Let’s take a look at how you can sell your marital estate for cash while minimizing headaches and fees.

Table Of Contents

1. Selling a House During Divorce in Texas

2. How Does Selling Your House During a Divorce Work in Texas?

3. Which Spouse Receives the House in a Divorce in Texas?

4. Alternatives to Selling During Divorce in Texas

5. Divorce House Sale Texas Frequently Asked Questions

6. Determining the Fastest and Easiest Way to Sell a House During a Divorce in Texas

How Does Selling Your House During a Divorce Work in Texas?

If you acquired a house in TX during your marriage, you may wonder what the process is for selling the home. After all, you’ll need to choose a primary seller for the house, determine the property’s value, and split the proceeds with your ex-spouse to fulfill the terms of your divorce. The truth is that listing your home for sale while you’re getting divorced looks more complicated than it actually is. Let’s take a look at becoming the seller of a house during a divorce.

Step 1. Find a Divorce Attorney in Texas

If you want to be the primary seller of your marital house, you’ll need to locate a good divorce attorney. Your divorce lawyer will represent your interests during the divorce. He or she will help ensure that you get your fair share of the marital property and a fair custody agreement for any children.

Step 2: Determine the Owner of the Real Estate

The owner of the real estate is authorized to act as the seller of the property. The seller could be you, your ex-spouse, or both of you. To research the legal owner, you must look up the deed. You can search the records at the county clerk’s office. This will give you access to the deed, along with the date the property was sold, the purchase price, the mortgage records, the tax records, and the property dimensions.

Step 3: Determine the Way You Want to Sell Your Marital Property

If you and your spouse both own the property, you’ll need to determine who the primary seller will be and how you want to sell the property. Most potential sellers are familiar with hiring a real estate agent and having them list the house for sale on the MLS. However, there are other options that involve fewer fees and commissions. You could list the home for sale on an auction website, list the home yourself as for sale by owner, contact an iBuyer, or call a cash-for-houses business.

Step 4: Sell the House

As the owner and seller of your home, you have many options when it comes to finding a buyer. However, if you want to sell your marital house fast, the best way to do that is by finding a cash buyer. This is especially helpful if you’re trying to sell stick-built homes, condos, mobile homes, manufactured homes, and townhomes. Cash buyers are interested in all these types of properties, and they have the cash available to purchase your home right now. In fact, if you choose our Sell My House Fast Houston, we can buy your home in as little as a few days because we don’t need the approval of a lender.

Step 5: Split the Proceeds From the Property Sale With Your Ex-Spouse

Once you’ve completed your seller duties and accepted the offer from the cash buyer, you can cash the check at your local financial institution and divide the proceeds from the sale of your house. Then, you can use the money to pay your debts and move forward from your divorce.

Which Spouse Receives the House in a Divorce in Texas?

The divorce laws in Texas are not hard and fast when it comes to determining who gets the house during a divorce. The court will take several factors into consideration, including which spouse is better able to afford the mortgage payments and upkeep. That said, if the house was purchased before the marriage, it may go to the spouse who purchased it, and they can list it for sale if they wish. If it was acquired during the marriage and only contains one name on the deed, the house may be awarded to the spouse listed on the title. If the marital house was purchased by both spouses or during the marriage, the court may need to decide who owns the home or in what percentages the house must be split.

Should I Sell Before or After Divorce?

If you have an uncontested divorce and you and your spouse can find alternative housing and agree on a sale price and method, it is possible to sell the house and split the proceeds before the divorce is finalized. Many former couples may opt to become home sellers and sell the house because neither of them can afford the mortgage, property taxes, and upkeep by themselves. However, if you’re dealing with a contested divorce where one spouse wants to reside in the home or you can’t agree to the division of assets, you may have to wait to find a buyer until after the divorce paperwork has been finalized. However, there is good news if you must wait until after your divorce to sell the house. That’s because you won’t have to wait months after the divorce paperwork is finalized to sell your home if you choose a cash buyer. Cash buyers can often close on a house in just a matter of a few days, and once you have the check, you can cash it immediately and use your percentage of the funds to help you move on once your divorce has been finalized.

Alternatives to Selling During Divorce in Texas

If you don’t want to become the seller and sell the marital house during or after your divorce, you do have other options. You and your ex-spouse could choose to co-own the property. One spouse could opt to buy the other spouse’s share of the home or the marital assets may be divided in such a way as to allow one spouse to maintain ownership of the home once the divorce decree has been finalized.

Co-Own the Property

If both of you can’t decide on who the seller should be or how or when to sell the house, you could choose to co-own it. Some spouses choose this option when the house is underwater or if the housing market doesn’t benefit sellers. If you decide on co-ownership, you and your ex-spouse will each own an interest in the property. Ex-spouses may choose to do this via community property, joint ownership, or tenancy by the entirety. The co-ownership method that’s right for you and your ex-partner will depend on your specific agreement.

Buy Out the Other Spouse

If one of you is determined to keep the house, that spouse can opt to take out a loan or refinance the house to buy out the other spouse. Let’s say that your home is worth 1 million dollars, and the judge in your divorce case decided that you get 25 percent of the house while your spouse gets 75 percent. This means that if your spouse wants to buy out your remaining 25 percent interest, they must pay you $250,000.

Divide the Marital Assets

Lastly, you can skip listing the home for sale and divide the marital assets so that one spouse receives the house as part of their assets. This works best if you and your ex-spouse have many properties or investments that you can swap to cover the cost of the house.

Divorce House Sale Texas Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re the seller of a marital home during a divorce, you may have a few more questions about selling your property.

Is it possible to list the marital home for sale before the divorce is finalized?

If you’re the owner and one of the sellers of the marital real estate, you may be able to sell the house before the finalization of your divorce. However, for you to sell the home, you and your ex-spouse must agree on the market price of the house, how to sell it, and how to divide the money you get from the home. If you can’t agree, you may have to go before the divorce court judge to determine if and when you can sell the home.

Will I have to pay capital gains tax on selling the marital home?

If you are the seller of a house as part of a divorce settlement, you may have to pay capital gains tax. Paying capital gains tax is not definite because, depending on the circumstances of the sale, you may not have to pay the tax on the first $250,000 or $500,000 of the profit from the sale of your marital real estate. Additionally, if the home is sold or as part of a buyout by one spouse as part of the divorce decree, you may not owe any capital gains. However, it’s best to talk with your attorney and an accountant to determine if capital gains taxes apply to your situation.

If I want to sell the house after the divorce, can I force my ex to sell it?

If both spouses own the house, they are joint sellers, and they must agree to put the home up for sale. However, if you’re determined to sell the home, you can return to divorce court to state your case to the judge. After hearing your side of the story and your reasons for wanting to sell the house, the judge may decide to issue a court order that allows you to list the house for sale.

How do I sell my house if one partner refuses to put the house up for sale?

To convince a judge to give you a court order to act as the seller of the marital home, you’ll need to provide good reasons. Your divorce lawyer will be able to explain the process and go over your situation with you to determine if you have a compelling reason to list your home for sale in Texas.

Determining the Fastest and Easiest Way to Sell a House During a Divorce in Texas

If you’re the legal seller of a marital home, and you want to sell that home before, during, or after your divorce, we can help. We can help you avoid listing your home for sale on the market because we buy all types of houses, including those that are part of a divorce or entering foreclosure. We’ll even buy your house if it’s dirty or needs repairs, and you won’t pay any fees or commissions when you sell your home to us.

If you have questions or want more information about the cash house-buying process, our professional representatives at Sell My House Fast Houston can answer them and tell you how to get started. Just call us today to learn more about our fast, hassle-free cash-buying process.

If you’re ready to make an all-cash deal happen for your marital home, we’re ready to buy it. We buy homes in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and El Paso.