Divorce and New Home

[Vassago]

What is the name of your state? FL

I am in a bit of a situation. Last July, my soon to be ex-wife and I bought a new home for 218,000 on a mortgage. In December, she decided to fall for another guy and wanted a divorce. She wants to just take off and leave everything behind and let the house go into foreclosure. I do not want the credit I have built for the past 5 years damaged by her deciding to leave. The problem is, I can't afford the house on my own. The current market has dropped drastically in my community and new homes are selling for less than what I paid for mine just 7 months ago. The current balance on the mortgage is 217,000ish, way too high to sell for. This is the only thing we have not come to an agreement on. I don't know what to do. I don't really want to keep the house, but I don't want my credit damaged. Refinancing is not an option either because I don't want to solely be legally responsible for it.

I have thought about looking for roommates to help me pay for the house until such a time that I can sell it and break even at least. I'm worried that if I agree to keep the house on the simplified divorce documents in the divorce, and I cannot find roommates, she will try and sue me when the house falls behind. I work for a mortgage servicer, so I know that she is equally responsible for the mortgage, since both of our names are on it, but with the divorce decree, would she have a right to sue me if the house falls behind and affects her credit? What if I don't agree to keep it and she doesn't want it either? What will the courts do in that situation? I'm nervous about taking on the full debt of the house, but I don't know what else to do.

I am so lost on all this...

Vassago

 

[Ohiogal]

If you are awarded the home in the divorce you would be held solely responsible for it financially and she could sue you for contempt if you fall behidn and ruin her credit. Give it up. Put the house on the market now and sell it. Both of you take part of the loss if necessary. Because based on what you have said, you are going to be set up to fail.

 

[LdiJ]

If you are awarded the home in the divorce you would be held solely responsible for it financially and she could sue you for contempt if you fall behidn and ruin her credit. Give it up. Put the house on the market now and sell it. Both of you take part of the loss if necessary. Because based on what you have said, you are going to be set up to fail.

If he gets roommates its doable and worth a shot at saving both of their credits. Right now their only other choices are foreclosure or a short sale. If they don't have the cash to make up a short sale, that does almost as much damage to their credit as a foreclosure.

One other option just occurred to me however. They could explore the option of renting the house out, if the rental market could bear a price that covers the mortgage.

 

[Vassago]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Short sale is not much of an option. We cannot afford to pay the difference, so our credit would still be hit. The rental market is also not doing well here as there are houses renting for far less than our payment amount.

What happens if neither one of us agree to take the house? Will the judge choose one of us to take care of it and force us to even though neither of us can afford the house on our own? Will they force us to sell it in a short sale (can they do that if it'll negatively impact us)?

One more question, is there a legal way to have her sign a document that she agrees not to sue in the event we have no choice but to let the house go into foreclosure or do a short sale if the roommate plan falls through?

 

[LdiJ]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Short sale is not much of an option. We cannot afford to pay the difference, so our credit would still be hit. The rental market is also not doing well here as there are houses renting for far less than our payment amount.

What happens if neither one of us agree to take the house? Will the judge choose one of us to take care of it and force us to even though neither of us can afford the house on our own? Will they force us to sell it in a short sale (can they do that if it'll negatively impact us)?

One more question, is there a legal way to have her sign a document that she agrees not to sue in the event we have no choice but to let the house go into foreclosure or do a short sale if the roommate plan falls through?

The judge won't order either of you to keep the house. If neither one of you want it the judge might very well order it sold, short sale or not.

You and she could sign a contract regarding the house, and it could be included in the contract that she will not sue you if the house ends up in foreclosure. However, an attorney probably would try to talk her out of signing such a contract.

It would seem to me that the best way to make a roommate plan work, would be to take on more roommates than are needed to pay the difference between what you can afford to pay towards the mortgage, and the actual mortgage.

 

[Vassago]

The judge won't order either of you to keep the house. If neither one of you want it the judge might very well order it sold, short sale or not.

You and she could sign a contract regarding the house, and it could be included in the contract that she will not sue you if the house ends up in foreclosure. However, an attorney probably would try to talk her out of signing such a contract.

It would seem to me that the best way to make a roommate plan work, would be to take on more roommates than are needed to pay the difference between what you can afford to pay towards the mortgage, and the actual mortgage.

Thanks for the reply. Okay, so I can create a contract that will be legally binding in regards to how the house is handled? Do you know how I might obtain such a document? She has no attorney, as she can't afford one either. We have no money. I would gladly agree to take the house in the divorce and try the roommates if she can not sue me later if the plan fails. I was just worried about my liability if the house payments are not made or a short sale must be done to avoid foreclosure to her credit. Will a judge go for that kind of agreement since the only other alternative is short sale or foreclosure?

 

[Ohiogal]

Thanks for the reply. Okay, so I can create a contract that will be legally binding in regards to how the house is handled? Do you know how I might obtain such a document? She has no attorney, as she can't afford one either. We have no money. I would gladly agree to take the house in the divorce and try the roommates if she can not sue me later if the plan fails. I was just worried about my liability if the house payments are not made or a short sale must be done to avoid foreclosure to her credit. Will a judge go for that kind of agreement since the only other alternative is short sale or foreclosure?

A judge will not make that an order. It is marital property/debt and MUST be handled in the divorce.

 

[LdiJ]

A judge will not make that an order. It is marital property/debt and MUST be handled in the divorce.

I am not sure I agree. I have seen many judges sign off on "creative" property settlements. Particularly settlements that are creative about the disposition of the house.

 

[Vassago]

I am not sure I agree. I have seen many judges sign off on "creative" property settlements. Particularly settlements that are creative about the disposition of the house.

I was thinking that too. I mean, given the options, I don't see why the judge wouldn't agree to it. I am just not sure about the language to use an such an agreement now. Is there anywhere I can turn to for a quick contract to be drawn up cheap?

 

[LdiJ]

I was thinking that too. I mean, given the options, I don't see why the judge wouldn't agree to it. I am just not sure about the language to use an such an agreement now. Is there anywhere I can turn to for a quick contract to be drawn up cheap?

No..you won't find any standard verbiage contract to accomplish what you want to accomplish. You need to have a marital settlement agreement drawn up by an attorney.

 

[Vassago]

No..you won't find any standard verbiage contract to accomplish what you want to accomplish. You need to have a marital settlement agreement drawn up by an attorney.

That's what I was afraid of. How would we go about doing that? We both can't afford personal attorneys, will a mediator be able to help us with this? If we talk to the same lawyer about drawing this up, will it be a conflict of interest if he's not actually representing either of us in the divorce, just drawing up the paperwork for us?

Thank you so much for the help.

 

[LdiJ]

That's what I was afraid of. How would we go about doing that? We both can't afford personal attorneys, will a mediator be able to help us with this? If we talk to the same lawyer about drawing this up, will it be a conflict of interest if he's not actually representing either of us in the divorce, just drawing up the paperwork for us?

Thank you so much for the help.

An attorney really needs to draw it up. The other party can have it reviewed by another attorney without necessarily retaining on.

 

[Vassago]

An attorney really needs to draw it up. The other party can have it reviewed by another attorney without necessarily retaining on.

Do you recommend having the entire agreement of everything we are doing with our assets and debts included with that agreement? This whole process is very confusing to us.

 

[LdiJ]

Do you recommend having the entire agreement of everything we are doing with our assets and debts included with that agreement? This whole process is very confusing to us.

Yes, you need one marital settlement agreement that covers everything. The reason why you need an attorney to draft it is because the language of the agreement will be very important. If the language is wrong, or vague, or unclear, it defeats your entire purpose.

 

[Vassago]

Yes, you need one marital settlement agreement that covers everything. The reason why you need an attorney to draft it is because the language of the agreement will be very important. If the language is wrong, or vague, or unclear, it defeats your entire purpose.

Thank you very much for all your help with this. I'll speak with a lawyer asap before we file the paperwork to see what needs to be done.