Selling the marital home

[nalnk]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ

Husband and wife own the home jointly...

Husband says he wants a divorce and wants to sell the house even in the current market. Like most of us, we paid more than the house is currently worth and we have about 90% equity in the house.

Depending on the husbands state of mind, he sometimes says we'll wait it out and put the house up for sale when the market improves. yesterday, his state of mind was not there and he said that he will let the house go for next to nothing. He said that the judge will make that order to put the house up for sale at a rocket bottom price just so that he can dump it. I told him that that is not up to the judge to decide what price we, the owners, should set the price at. Who is correct in this?

 

[BobFlannagan]

Well I know the judge will not tell you what to list your house for, that's for sure.

 

[Ohiogal]

the judge can order that the home be placed for sale at a price arrived at and considered fair market value. Said price could be determined by getting professional appraisals. Judges have done that. You may consider that a rock bottom price but it is very possible that it can happen. Can either one of you refinance the house alone and take full responsibility for it?

 

[nalnk]

Thank you for your responses.... Getting fair market value is what i would expect to hear from a judge. I told the husband that yesterday.... and that he was way off in thinking that the judge would go along with him if he (husband) said he wanted to sell it at a price that was ridiculously below it's value just to get out...

 

[mistoffolees]

Thank you for your responses.... Getting fair market value is what i would expect to hear from a judge. I told the husband that yesterday.... and that he was way off in thinking that the judge would go along with him if he (husband) said he wanted to sell it at a price that was ridiculously below it's value just to get out...

I think you need professional advice.

First, you claim you paid more than the house is currently worth - yet you claim to have 90% equity in the home.

Then, you argue that the house shouldn't be sold at all in today's climate, yet you agree that it should be sold for fair market value.

Even in today's market, houses are bought and sold every day. A house is worth what the market says it's worth. That number might be higher in 2 years, or it might be lower. You should sell a house when the house no longer meets your needs.

There would be no reason to let the house go 'for next to nothing'. That would be foolish. If you really want to sell the house and have the equity that you claim, even a slight reduction over market price (a few percent) may easily be enough to get the house sold since there are plenty of bargain hunters out there. Or use that money to offer extras (carpeting allowance, painting allowance, bonus to selling realtor, etc).

I would get a professional realtor involved and ask them for instructions on pricing and marketing the house for quick sale. It does not require a huge cut in price.

 

[Kiawah]

If your husband is willing to let the house go for a ridiculously low price, offer to buy him out at that price. You pay him half of that ridiculously low price, and he signs the property over to you.

 

[nalnk]

Kiawah... i like your idea..

 

[LdiJ]

I think you need professional advice.

First, you claim you paid more than the house is currently worth - yet you claim to have 90% equity in the home.

Then, you argue that the house shouldn't be sold at all in today's climate, yet you agree that it should be sold for fair market value.

Even in today's market, houses are bought and sold every day. A house is worth what the market says it's worth. That number might be higher in 2 years, or it might be lower. You should sell a house when the house no longer meets your needs.

There would be no reason to let the house go 'for next to nothing'. That would be foolish. If you really want to sell the house and have the equity that you claim, even a slight reduction over market price (a few percent) may easily be enough to get the house sold since there are plenty of bargain hunters out there. Or use that money to offer extras (carpeting allowance, painting allowance, bonus to selling realtor, etc).

I would get a professional realtor involved and ask them for instructions on pricing and marketing the house for quick sale. It does not require a huge cut in price.

I don't see anything odd about someone having 90% equity but the house being worth less than they paid for it. There are all kinds of scenarios where that is possible. My house is worth less than I paid for it right now but I still have a large amount of equity because my mortgage is seriously paid down.

I also like the idea of offerring to buy it for the bargain basement price he wants to list it for.

 

[nalnk]

Mistoffolees

The $ amounts have been changed but here is what happened.

We both came to the table with $287,000 which is a $574,000 cash down payment on the house. We purchased the house for $635,000 so we took out a $61,000 mortgage.

In today’s market, the house is only worth $560,000. If I sell the house for $560,000, I have lost $14,000 in cash (from our cash downpayment) plus the mortgage payments I have already made on it and all of the
costly upgrades that have been done. We redid the master bathroom, added a 25’ by 25’ paver patio, pool, new landscaping, new HVAC system. To add this up, we spent about an additional $30,000 in upgrades and renovations which we paid with cash.

I have a whole lot to loose here!

 

[mistoffolees]

I don't see anything odd about someone having 90% equity but the house being worth less than they paid for it. There are all kinds of scenarios where that is possible. My house is worth less than I paid for it right now but I still have a large amount of equity because my mortgage is seriously paid down.

If the house has been owned long enough for the mortgage to have been paid down that much, it has probably been owned for quite a few years. Even in the most depressed areas, few homes are worth less than they were 7 or 8 years ago. So they would have had to have paid enough on the mortgage to have almost paid it off in 7 or 8 years - or less.

In any event, if there's 90% equity, only a fool would dump the house for next to nothing. Either he's yanking her chain or he's planning to sell it to a friend as a scam - which could seriously come back to bite him.

 

[nalnk]

mistoffolees... The house was purchased in summer of 2007 so we have only paid off a few thousand $'s.

He has anger management issues and hence the possibility of a divorce. In the midst of an argument yesterday, he threatened that he would let the house go for $200,000 just to dump it... I told him that no judge could ever dictate an amount that we had to sell the house at but rather to get it appraised at what the fair market value is which we all agree on this thread.

I live in a sub-division in NJ and the homes are sitting for a while (like everywhere else). The homes are all the same (six or so different styles) and i know that my style home has been selling for considerably less than what we paid for it. Either way, I take a bath but i hurts more when you have actually laid out cold hard cash.

RE: your comment on yanking my chain, he becomes so irate that he actually does forget what he says...

He isn't that clever to have a friend by it at a lower price.. i guess to buy it back at a lower price... Interesting twist.

 

[mistoffolees]

Mistoffolees

The $ amounts have been changed but here is what happened.

We both came to the table with $287,000 which is a $574,000 cash down payment on the house. We purchased the house for $635,000 so we took out a $61,000 mortgage.

In today’s market, the house is only worth $560,000. If I sell the house for $560,000, I have lost $14,000 in cash (from our cash downpayment) plus the mortgage payments I have already made on it and all of the
costly upgrades that have been done. We redid the master bathroom, added a 25’ by 25’ paver patio, pool, new landscaping, new HVAC system. To add this up, we spent about an additional $30,000 in upgrades and renovations which we paid with cash.

I have a whole lot to loose here!

Then do what was suggested. Offer to buy it from him at the bargain basement price - or get the court to order it sold at market price.