Tips for Amicably Selling Your House During a Separation

If you and your spouse have separated—or intend to—this is likely a time of high tension, deep sadness, and extreme uncertainty for the entire family. As a result, just thinking about how to best divvy up the assets may be a task you’d rather put off or leave to the lawyers—especially those “big ticket” items like your home.

You already know from experience, however, that the longer you wait to deal with things, the worse it will probably get. If children are also involved, dragging some decisions out, like where they’re going to live, is the last thing you want to do. Truth be told, you’re not crazy about going through this any longer than necessary, either.

So, selling your house during separation is a topic you and your spouse have started to deal with. It won’t solve all of the issues that are bound to arise during the impending divorce, however, it could take one of the bigger stressors off of both of your plates.

There are other benefits and tips for taking this path, too. We’re going to review those here as well as offer our top tip for amicably selling the home so that you and your spouse can get that much closer to just moving on.

Selling a House During a Separation

Though there are a number of assets that may have to be divided between you and your spouse once you separate, few things are as difficult to deal with as the family home. It’s where both good and bad memories have been made. It houses hundreds of shared items, like the custom-made dining room set or family entertainment center that represent many shared decisions.

The home itself symbolizes an important purchase that you were each, at one time, proud to have been able to make. It may also symbolize burdensome debt that you both wish you’d never taken on.

As difficult as it is to deal with, however, the benefits of selling the house during your separation may outweigh the drawbacks—and help to lessen your stress.

Benefits of Selling

Keeping these benefits in mind, in fact, is your first set of tips for keeping the sale amicable:

• Settling the decision and moving on.

If you and your spouse cannot agree on who will live in the house, either during the separation or after the divorce, the decision to sell and split the proceeds will settle it. That doesn’t mean giving up the home altogether won’t be painful in the short term. But, it does mean you’ll both likely experience less turmoil over the long run.

• Minimizing involvement in your personal business.

Selling your house during the separation not only minimizes the number of people involved in your divorce-related decisions, it potentially reduces the number of people who get wind of your personal business. Unfortunately, once divorce proceedings begin, it’s difficult to keep the drama (and the opinions of others) reined in.

• Reducing lawyer fees.

Some lawyers seize the opportunity to deliberately draw out conflict over assets and extend the life of a divorce case. That’s not to say your lawyer won’t have your best interests at heart; but, they’re also in the business of making money. So, the longer you and your spouse fight about the house, the more money each of your divorce attorneys stand to make. Sell it now, and you’ll be able to personally save and keep more cash.

• Freeing up the financial burden.

If the house has been a source of financial burden, selling it will free up your cash. Perhaps the mortgage, property taxes, and home insurance stretched your bank accounts, and your patience, thin. Maybe the home has knob and tube wiring or other outdated features that couldn’t be fixed with two incomes, let alone one. If paying for the house in the past was hard, it will become harder in the future—no matter who gets it. Letting it go may just be easier.

• Relieving yourself from stress.

Waiting to sell the house, in most cases, simply prolongs the pain. It also unnecessarily extends the timeline for making other, equally important decisions—like who gets the custom-made dining room set—which can draw out the pain even longer. Neither you, your spouse, nor your children need that kind of stress. Separation is stressful enough.

Additionally, by the time you move through divorce proceedings, a judge may order the sale of your house anyway. If the divorce is particularly contentious, or you live in a state where assets between spouses are split 50/50, you can almost count on it. Unfortunately, allowing things to progress to this point will likely only compound your frustration. It will certainly decrease your chances of handling anything else with your spouse amicably, quickly, or even privately.

House Selling Options

A traditional sale—court-ordered or not—may not work in your favor, either. With your home on the open market, there’s no way to predict how quickly the sale of your house can go through. The longer it lingers, the more likely it’s going to remain a part of the ongoing argument with your spouse, too. 

As the weeks or months go by and offer with different numbers start rolling in, you could find yourself on fertile ground for the growth of more disagreements—about the house, its contents or any other issue you thought had been buried long ago.

Your best option, which is our next tip for amicably selling your home while separated, is to sell directly to an all-cash buyer.

These buyers, who are often investors, can usually close quickly. 

If they’re also home buying specialists who don’t need to schedule viewings or perform any inspections, you could sell your house faster than you ever thought possible—in as few as seven days. This has the potential to reduce the stress between you and your spouse as well as help you both quickly move on from your old house. 

Reduce Your Stress by Selling Fast for Cash

If you decide that your best bet for reducing some of your stress during your separation is to sell your home fast and for cash, consider choosing to Sell Your House Direct. Not only are we cash buyers who can close on your home in seven days or less, but we are also home buying specialists who will treat your situation with care and respect. We know what you’re going through isn’t easy, which is why we’ll do our part to make the purchase of your home as seamless as it can be. 

There will be no judgment or assumptions made on our end, and no obligation to work with us on your end. We’ll simply make you and your spouse an offer, which you can take or leave. We’ll even help you explore other options for selling your house during the separation if what we have to offer doesn’t feel right to either you or your spouse.

We don’t charge anything for this service, either—zero fees and zero commissions.

Sell Your House Direct will help you find the easiest solution and relieve your stress when it comes to selling your home during a separation.