This is general information, not legal advice. Talk with your attorney.
Divorce and the House
A short guide for both spouses
Three choices for the house
1. Sell it
The sale pays off the loan. The equity is divided as your agreement or court order says.
2. One spouse buys out the other
This is usually a new loan in one name. First check whether that spouse can qualify alone.
3. Keep it for now
Both stay on title and the loan for a set time, with a written plan for payments and a later sale.
Good to know
- Once a case is filed, a sale needs both spouses' written consent or a court order.
- Both spouses (and both attorneys if asked) get one pricing report from recent closed sales at the same time.
- In a buyout, the lender's own appraisal controls how large the new loan can be.
- A quitclaim deed or divorce decree does not remove anyone from the mortgage. A refinance into one name or a sale does.
- Timing depends on agreement, the home's condition, the market, escrow terms and, in a buyout, the refinance.
The house and the loan in one place
Maggie B. Hopkins is the broker-owner of Surroundings. She is a real estate broker and a mortgage broker, not an attorney, and she does not take a side. She can check whether the spouse keeping the house can qualify alone, shop the buyout loan, and explain how to get a spouse off the loan. She has guided more than 10 clients through selling or keeping a home during a divorce.
One next step
Text or call Maggie B. Hopkins: (916) 549-3131
loveyoursurroundings.co/divorce
Licensed in real estate since 2006, owner of Surroundings since 2023. CA DRE Broker Lic #01750680 · NMLS #349517. Surroundings · DRE #02220140 · NMLS #2528307. All loans are subject to credit approval and underwriting. Not a commitment to lend.
This is general information, not legal advice. Talk with your attorney.