Should I Keep the House After Divorce or Sell It?

Keeping the house after divorce can feel like winning.

Lisa would encourage you to remove the idea of “winning” from the decision entirely.

A house is not a divorce trophy.

It is an asset.

It is a monthly obligation.

It is a place to live.

And it should fit the life you're actually going to have.

Excellent reasons to keep a home after divorce

There are excellent reasons to keep a home after divorce.

• Children may have stability there.
• The location may be ideal.
• You may love the home.
• The current housing market may make replacing it difficult.
• You may be financially comfortable carrying it.

If those things are true, keeping the property may make perfect sense.

But sometimes the desire to keep the house is really the desire not to lose one more thing.

That's understandable.

It is also worth examining.

Start with the real future payment

Start with the real future payment.

If keeping the house requires new financing, don't use the old mortgage payment in your mental budget.

Get actual information from a lender.

Then add everything else the house costs.

• HOA.
• Insurance.
• Utilities.
• Pool maintenance.
• Landscaping.
• Routine repairs.
• And eventually, major repairs.

Lisa pays attention to the expensive systems

Lisa pays attention to those expensive systems when evaluating homes because she knows how quickly they change the economics.

If the air-conditioning system is approaching the end of its useful life, that's relevant.

If the roof needs substantial work, that's relevant.

If the pool equipment is failing, that's relevant.

Now consider the equity

Now consider the equity.

Maybe selling the house would give you enough available proceeds to purchase a smaller property with a much lower payment.

Maybe you could move closer to work.

Maybe you could buy something with less maintenance.

Maybe you would rather have cash reserves than all of your wealth tied up in the old family home.

Or keeping may genuinely be the best place

Or maybe, after comparing all of that, you realize:

“No. This house is absolutely the best place for me.”

Excellent.

Now you're keeping it because it makes sense, not because you're afraid to let it go.

Lisa can help you compare both possibilities.

• What could the current home sell for?
• What might you net?
• What kinds of replacement homes are available in Las Vegas, Henderson or North Las Vegas?

Sometimes seeing the next option makes the current decision much clearer.