The decision to buy or sell a home during a divorce process is significant and can have implications on the process. Therefore, planning to keep the marital residence or to buy another residence should be discussed with your divorce attorney early on so that your divorce settlement can meet the goals you have set for yourself.
Deciding to sell your home is often an emotional decision because the marital residence can provide stability at a time when everything else is changing. Once the decision has been made: you should interview several real estate professionals to find the right fit for you, take your realtors advice and make any necessary repairs to the house, list the home at the appropriate time of year, and consider what will happen with the proceeds of the sale. If there is no agreement with regard to the proceeds, they will be placed into escrow and that could present a problem with finding a down payment for the purchase of a new home. VVF attorneys can help you negotiate a Stipulation which deals with the sale of your home and the proceeds.
If you decide to retain your home and refinance it, or purchase a new home you need to make sure that you have appropriate credit and that your income will meet the debt to income ratio required for the new loan. Alimony and child support can be considered in the debt to income ratio, but there are requirements as to the duration of the payments for them to be considered. The divorce attorneys at Vetrano|Vetrano & Feinman LLC are familiar with these requirements and can help you navigate this process.
