How do you sell your Texas house during a divorce?
When it comes to divorce, Texas is a “community property” state. This means most property acquired by a married couple is legally considered owned by both partners equally. Therefore, in a divorce, community property must be divided between both spouses.
In most marriages, the largest single community property item will be a house. This is where divorce agreements can get tricky: deciding who gets the house, or if it must be sold and the proceeds split.
Separate Property vs. Community Property in Texas
Typically, any real estate owned by either spouse before the marriage would be considered “separate property” by the divorce court, and the court would not award any of that property to the other spouse.
However, there are some circumstances that can change things. For example, if only one spouse owned the house before the marriage, but both spouses signed on a refinancing agreement, the court could decide that the original owner had “gifted” partial ownership to the other spouse.
In any case, if you are preparing for divorce, you will want to consult a divorce attorney to fully understand your legal rights to property ownership.
Selling a Texas House During a Divorce
If a Texas divorce is contested, lawyers for both sides will most likely be involved, and it will ultimately be up to the courts to decide what happens with jointly-owned property, like a house.
On the other hand, no-fault and uncontested divorces in Texas may not involve attorneys at all. Both spouses can mutually choose to agree on how to divide their property, and apply it to the final divorce decree.
In either case, both spouses might decide it’s best to sell the house and split the proceedings. But that takes time. The process of hiring an agent, appraising, listing, showing, waiting for buyer financing, and closing can draw out the sale – and the divorce. That makes an already unpleasant process take even longer.
If you’re looking for a faster and easier alternative, selling to a cash buyer can make a big difference.
We Buy Houses During Divorce
Our experienced team has purchased houses from divorcing couples, and we know how to make the process as smooth as possible.
Here’s how it works:
- You contact us online or call us for a free, no-obligation consultation.
- We arrange for a brief visit to the property at a convenient time.
- Within 24 hours of our visit, we make a zero-obligation cash offer, in writing.
- If you and your spouse accept our offer, we work with a title company to close in as few as 7 days.
That means you could be free of the house and mortgage by this time next week, and closer to moving on with your life.
No one likes to think about selling a house because of divorce, but if it happens, we are here to help. Please call us today or contact us online for your free, no-hassle and no-obligation consultation.