Very few married couples ever enter into a property purchase thinking they’ll need to separate and divide assets. However, divorce is more common than you think, so it can be a reality for many people. If you’re currently working through a separation and a subsequent house sale, there can be a lot to organize. Before phoning your local realtor, you’ll want to think about the following things.
Selling Quickly vs. Selling for More Money
While not all relationships end badly, many do. The last thing many couples want in such a situation is to be stuck living in a marital home with their ex-spouse while they wait several weeks for their house to sell.
Sometimes, it can be worth discussing with your spouse whether they’d prefer to sell quickly or wait for a buyer with the best offer to come along. When you sell to professional buyers, you can receive a fast, fair offer that generally allows you to part ways with cash in hand in a matter of days rather than weeks or months.
Capital Gains Tax
Capital gains tax describes tax on profits earned from the sale of an asset, such as your family home. If you purchased your property at the lower end of the market and decided to sell at its peak, you might be able to make a tidy profit to share between both spouses.
However, if that profit exceeds $500,000, you might be required to pay federal capital gains taxes, which can be up to 20%, depending on your tax bracket.
How You’ll Sell
There are at least three standard property sales methods you might like to consider when the time comes to sell your house during your divorce proceedings. You might wish to sell through a realtor, which can take several weeks and cost several thousand dollars in commission.
Alternatively, you might like to sell the house privately by advertising it yourself. This option allows you to keep the money you might have parted with as commission, but it can be time-consuming. When you’re already working through divorce paperwork, your time is likely already somewhat limited.
Another option is selling to a professional buyer. Professional property purchasers can take care of the entire sales process for you, which means all you and your ex-spouse need to concern yourselves with is dividing furniture and moving out.
What You’ll Do Next
A divorce can change your entire way of life. In a matter of days, you can go from living in a comfortable marital home to needing to find somewhere to live by yourself. It doesn’t hurt to think about what you’ll do next as you start the house-selling process.
Some people take their half of the house sale and use it as a deposit on another home, while others choose to rent until they find a new sense of normalcy. There’s no right or wrong answer, but it can be a worthwhile consideration before that ‘for sale’ sign goes up. Going through a divorce can be a challenging and stressful life event, particularly when you have to sell your family home. Let AK Street Properties make the process easier by offering a fast, straightforward, and private sales process. Contact us today to receive your fair cash offer.