P h i l li p H. L a n de
4S A LE
AB R , AS P , C D P E , C R S
BY
March 2017 Issue
The Marital Home
This Month in History 1st: Formal ratification of the Articles of Confederation. (1791) 1st: Lindbergh kidnapping. (1932) 4th: King Charles II of England granted land in the New World to William Penn. The area later became Pennsylvania. (1681) 4th: The first meeting of the new Congress of the U.S. Constitution took place in New York City. (1789) 10th: The first issue of U.S. government paper money occurred as $5, $10 and $20 bills began circulation. (1862) 22nd: The Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. Senate but failed to be ratified. (1972) 30th: President Ronald Reagan was shot. (1981)
D IVO RCE
“To Sell or Not To Sell” - That is the Question When there is a marital home (or even other real estate) involved in a divorce situation, the same question almost always arises: “What should we do with the marital home?” Typically, many reasons to keep the home and many reasons to sell the home are present and as the advisor, a neutral approach is needed to separate the emotion from the economics.
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Do we keep the home until the children are out of school?
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Do we sell the home, divide the proceeds and go our separate ways?
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Do we have any equity in the home or are we underwater?
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Do we refinance the home in one of the spouse’s name only?
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Do we sell the home and each rent until ready to purchase gain?
Each question is a valid question; yet each question may also have its own set of consequences that need to be addressed. While the housing market continues to recover making it somewhat easier to answer questions where equity is a concern, many divorcing clients may still need guidance for their post-divorce housing.
Selling or Retaining the Marital Home When the decision has been made to sell or to retain the marital home, a new set of questions is derived and the question of current value is always at the top of the list. When selling the home, working with a professional real estate agent can help determine the value or best selling price. When the decision is made to retain the marital home and refinancing the mortgage into one spouse’s name, an appraisal from the lender’s appraiser is required. Obtaining an independent appraisal PRIOR to refinancing will only incur additional costs for the divorcing clients as the lender will always require their own appraisal.
Phillip H. Lande RE/MAX Legends Group/ Atlas Group Direct: 317.863.2356 plande@atlasrealty.com www.remax-atlasgroup.com
With 10% of all homes with a mortgage still underwater (CoreLogic), having an understanding of where values are headed can be helpful as well. The chart on the following page shows the average appreciation rate per state for the most recent quarter as compared to the previous quarter.