Divorce and Real Estate

Absolute Discretion

We approach each spouse with absolute courtesy, non-partiality, and with total discretion. No one needs to know your business, SREA’s goal is to protect your privacy, your finances, and intellectual property during the divorce.

Initial Consultation

Emotions can run high in any real estate transaction, add the element of a divorce and it can add a whole new level of stress. The initial consultations to develop a plan may be a series of:

• One on one meetings with each individual spouse
• Meetings with a spouse and their Attorney
• Meetings with individual Attorneys
• Conference Room meetings with all parties involved.

Value of Your Home/Investment Real Estate

Knowing the value of your home and other real estate assets is paramount during a divorce as it pertains to the division of assets. SREA can provide Broker Price Opinions across a wide range of real estate asset classes from residential to commercial properties that can be used in divorce court proceedings and during negotiations between parties.

Release of Mortgage Obligations Refi, Buy Out & Keep, or Sell

The only way to release one spouse from the mortgage obligations is to refinance the mortgage into the retaining spouse name as the sole borrower. Refinancing to remove one spouse from the existing loan, or to buy out the other spouses’ equity may be problematic for the primary home. Many homes are purchased with both spouses’ incomes and credit scores. Without the dual incomes, qualification for a refinance or for a new mortgage for the purchase of a new home maybe more difficult.

These challenges are not only present on the primary residence, but on investment and commercial properties as well, however; investment properties tend to rely more on the property cash flow so personal income may not be as big of factor in the underwriting process of these assets.

If there is insufficient income to qualify or insufficient equity to refinance a property, then selling the property may be the best solution. SREA can prepare estimated market valuations, pre-underwrite investment property cashflows, evaluate income for pre-approval purposes to help our clients establish a reasonable purchase price range budget, optimize leverage and look at alternative strategies like the use of non- occupant co-borrowers or co-signor to assist in qualify for a new mortgage and refinancing the current mortgage so they can make better informed buying and budget decisions with their real estate assets.

Condition of the Property – Max Value Sales Price

Unfortunately, many properties that are sold due to divorce don’t show as well. Sometimes the pride of ownership may be gone, some spouses do not want to invest any additional effort or money into the home only to end up splitting any extra proceeds anyway.

Not preparing your home correctly can cost you thousands of dollars. Our Max Sales Price program will help you maximize your listing price and not leave any money on the table.

Grey/Silver Divorce

Grey/Silver Divorce Presents Unique Financial Challenges

Grey/Silver Divorce is the term referring to the rising rate in older adults, typically from long-lasting marriages, getting divorced. The term was coined as research showed the phenomenon of the overall divorce rate going down while the “grey-haired” demographic’s rate of late-in-life divorce was on the rise. The 50+ crowd divorce rate has nearly tripled since 1990 and currently makes up a quarter of all divorces, the 65 plus age group makes up roughly 1 in 10 of all divorces.

While some of the reasons for a divorce may differ at various stages of life, a Grey/Silver Divorce is not the same as a typical divorce. Most Grey/Silver Divorce clients:

• are already retired
• near retirement
• have reasons why they aren’t yet retired.
• have grown children and even grandchildren – legacy issues
• Will have more a complicated division of assets due to the length of the marriage
• May have a more stereotypical generational roles of the husband as provider and the wife as homemaker.

When divorce becomes an option for older couples, dividing a lifetime of assets including the family home, vacation properties, investment properties and retirement accounts can present a unique set of challenges. When divorce becomes part of the financial equation, retirement plans and other goals currently in place may no longer apply and these divided assets may no longer provide adequate retirement funds for them individually, making retirement more difficult.

To see how a reverse mortgage strategy may assist you, please visit our case studies

One Spouse stays in the home

Both Spouses leave the home