No where is it written what a divorcing couple must do with the marital residence. But very often one party presumes he or she MUST stay in the house.

That conclusion as to who gets the house could be ill-founded and unsupported by reason. The facts may absolutely elude the spouse fighting tooth and nail just to keep “the place where memories were made” or “the only place the kids have known as home.”

This can make the marital residence award a burden rather than a good decision. Here’s what realtor and Certified Real Estate Divorce Specialist Jolie Williams* says about this:

“Handling the division of the marital home as a purchase ensures the party staying in the house is making a good decision when buying out their spouse’s interest in the property. When purchasing a home, any responsible buyer would evaluate their financial ability to purchase the property; would look at comparable properties to evaluate value; would have a home inspection to evaluate the condition of the property; would obtain a title insurance policy, and would obtain a copy of the deed recorded with the County. Anyone purchasing their spouse’s interest in the marital home should follow the same guidelines.”

Jolie, who is an award-winning realtor with Coldwell Banker Apex in McKinney, Texas, further states that:

“Evaluating the division of the marital home and any other community real property as a real estate transaction provides both parties with the security of making educated decisions and not having to work together post-divorce to resolve issues such as foreclosure (divorce is the #2 cause of foreclosure with 27% of foreclosures caused by divorce) or selling the property (working towards an agreement when there are not court orders to force an agreement). ”

So whoever gets the house in a divorce should be smart about the purchase, just as if he or she was buying a different house from a different seller.

*Jolie Williams can be reached at Jolie@Diva-Homes.com