On This Page
- 1 Before arguing about equity, figure out what the house is worth
- 2 The value of the house is not the same as the amount of money available
- 3 What if one spouse wants to keep the home?
- 4 What if neither person wants the house?
- 5 Don't use the house as a weapon
- 6 You can talk to Lisa before you decide to sell
- 7 Related Resources
Current Nevada Law: Subject to Verification
How a Nevada divorce ultimately resolves property between the parties depends on the circumstances, the parties' agreements, and current Nevada law, and it should be discussed with a qualified Nevada divorce attorney. Lisa C Hamilton is a Nevada REALTOR®, not a divorce attorney, and does not decide how property should legally be divided.
For many couples going through a divorce, the house is where the emotional part of the divorce and the financial part of the divorce collide.
It may be the largest asset the couple owns. It may also be where the children grew up, where holidays happened, where someone still lives, and where both people expected to stay for years. One spouse may desperately want to keep it. The other may want it sold immediately. Sometimes neither person really wants the house, but both are afraid of making the wrong financial decision.
That is why one of the worst ways to approach the house during a divorce is to begin with, “Who gets it?”
What do we actually own, what is it worth, what do we owe on it, and what are the realistic options?
Depending on the circumstances and the legal resolution of the divorce, a Las Vegas-area home might eventually be sold, retained by one spouse, transferred as part of an agreed buyout, or dealt with in another way established by the parties and their attorneys or the court.
Important
Lisa C Hamilton does not decide how property should legally be divided. She is a Nevada REALTOR®, not a divorce attorney. What she can do is provide something extremely important to the people making those decisions: accurate real-estate information about the house itself.
Before arguing about equity, figure out what the house is worth
Suppose a couple bought a Henderson home years ago and one spouse believes it is now worth $800,000.
The other thinks $725,000 is more realistic.
An online home-value website shows $774,000.
Which number should they use?
None of those numbers should automatically become the basis of a major financial decision.
Lisa can evaluate the property against current comparable sales, current competing listings and the characteristics buyers are actually considering in today's Las Vegas Valley market. Condition matters. Lot location matters. Upgrades matter. A pool may matter. The age of expensive systems can matter. Even two houses with nearly identical floor plans in the same community can sell differently.
A current comparative market analysis gives divorcing homeowners a much better starting point than arguing over estimates pulled from different websites.
There may also be circumstances in which the parties, attorneys, lender or court need a formal appraisal. An appraisal and a REALTOR® comparative market analysis are not the same thing, and Lisa will never pretend that they are.
But if the real question is, “What would this house likely compete for if we put it on the Las Vegas market?”, Lisa can help answer that.
The value of the house is not the same as the amount of money available
This is another place where homeowners can become confused.
Imagine the house could reasonably sell for $750,000.
That does not mean there is $750,000 to divide.
Perhaps the mortgage payoff is $430,000. There may also be a HELOC. Maybe the solar system is financed. There could be HOA balances, liens or other property-related obligations that need to be addressed. If the house is sold, the transaction itself may also involve selling expenses.
This is why Lisa can prepare an estimated seller net scenario.
Instead of talking about a $750,000 house in the abstract, the owners can begin looking at what a potential sale might actually mean financially.
That number still does not determine what either spouse is legally entitled to receive. That belongs with the attorneys and applicable legal process.
It simply means everyone is finally discussing the same house and the same approximate real-estate numbers.
What if one spouse wants to keep the home?
This is often the most emotional decision.
Keeping the house may make perfect sense. Children may be established there. The payment may be affordable. The home may work beautifully for the person staying.
But wanting the house and being financially positioned to keep the house are two different questions.
If both spouses are currently borrowers on the mortgage, the person keeping the home may need to determine with the lender what would be required to address the existing financing. A divorce agreement does not automatically rewrite a mortgage contract.
And even if financing can be worked out, the future homeowner needs to think beyond the mortgage.
What does the house cost every month after HOA dues, insurance, utilities, pool maintenance, landscaping and repairs?
How old are the air-conditioning systems?
What condition is the roof?
Is the pool equipment approaching replacement?
A house that was comfortable on two incomes can become stressful on one.
Lisa would rather help someone recognize that before they spend months fighting to keep it.
What if neither person wants the house?
Then selling may turn a complicated shared asset into something much easier to understand.
A market sale establishes an actual sale price. The closing process can address property-related payoffs and transaction expenses, and the remaining proceeds can be handled according to the parties' legal agreements and instructions.
It also allows two people who are trying to separate their financial lives to eliminate one major ongoing connection.
But even when both people agree to sell, the transaction needs structure.
- Who approves the asking price?
- Who handles showing access?
- What happens if Lisa recommends a price reduction?
- What if the inspection identifies an expensive HVAC problem?
- What happens if the buyer wants a closing date that is inconvenient for the spouse still living in the home?
These are normal real-estate decisions. Divorce simply makes them more complicated.
Lisa's role is to keep those decisions focused on the property and the market rather than the relationship.
Don't use the house as a weapon
This sounds obvious until emotions are running high.
If one spouse refuses reasonable showings to punish the other, the person being punished is not necessarily the ex. The property may simply sit longer.
If someone refuses a sensible repair because the other spouse suggested it, buyers do not know or care who won that argument.
If the house is deliberately overpriced because one person refuses to “give in,” buyers will simply purchase another house.
Whatever happened in the marriage, both owners generally have an interest in preserving the property's value while the legal process determines what happens to it.
The house does not know you're getting divorced.
The Las Vegas housing market doesn't know either.
You can talk to Lisa before you decide to sell
This is important.
Calling Lisa does not mean you have agreed to list the property.
- Maybe your attorney told you to find out what the house could sell for.
- Maybe your spouse wants to buy you out and you have no idea whether the proposed value makes sense.
- Maybe you desperately want to keep the house and need to compare that option with selling.
- Maybe you do not even know what you want yet.
That's okay.
Start with the address. Lisa can help you understand the real estate before you make the real-estate decision.
Call or text Lisa C Hamilton at 702-743-4608 for a confidential conversation about the property.
