How to Buy an Ex-Husband Out of a Home
Divorce brings many personal changes, including a change in living arrangements for at least one spouse. Although divorce laws vary by state, all states require divorcing spouses to divide their marital assets, including their marital homes. If you are going through a divorce, you will need to dispose of your marital property. You can sell your home and divide the assets, according to your state's divorce laws. Alternatively, you may offer to buy your ex-husband out of your marital home. If you choose to buy him out, you will need to contact your lender.
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Instructions
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Contact your lender by phone or mail. Tell your lender that you are going through a divorce.
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Determine your payoff amount. This is the amount remaining on your mortgage balance. You can find this information on your most recent mortgage statement. You can also call your lender and ask for the payoff balance.
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Request an official appraisal from your lender. You need to find out what your home is currently worth. Most likely, your ex-husband will want an independent assessment. Unless a court ordered you to pay for his appraisal report, you are not responsible for providing it. Your lender can arrange this on your behalf.
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Review your appraisal. Find what your home is currently worth. Your home's value depends on the real estate market conditions, the condition of your home, your home's amenities and the value of surrounding comparable or similarly situated homes.
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Subtract your payoff total from your appraisal total. The difference is the amount of potential equity in your home if you were to sell your home.
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Divide your equity figure in half. Depending on your state's divorce laws, you may have to split your equity with your ex-husband. As such, you will need to refinance your home for more than you owe in order to pay your ex-husband his share of marital equity. If you've lived in your home for many years or if your local real estate market is on an upswing, you will be able to refinance more easily.
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Contact your lender and complete a new residential uniform loan application to proceed with refinancing your home.
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Ask your attorney to propose the settlement offer to your ex-husband's attorney. If you do not have attorneys, you may want to retain one to help you draft a favorable settlement agreement. You can contact your state's bar association for a referral.
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Refinance your home by attending the closing where you will sign a new deed of trust, a new note and a new deed.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are going through a divorce, you will need to enter into a property settlement or divorce agreement before a court will issue a final divorce decree. If you cannot come to an agreement with your spouse on major issues, including the apportionment of marital property, you will have to attend a divorce hearing and litigate your differences. Most likely, you will have to refinance your home before you can obtain a final divorce decree.
Make sure you obtain a new deed removing your husband's ownership rights and transferring his share to you. Most likely, you were joint tenants with equal rights to ownership or owned your property as tenants by the entirety. You do not want your ex-husband to retain a right of survivorship if you predecease him.
