“If you’re nonetheless linked by way of the house, then you are not genuinely divorced,” says Kelly Lise Murray, a Harvard-trained lawyer and Nashville actual estate agent.

Folks tend to underestimate the true price of homeownership, drastically overstating the remaining spouse’s capacity to afford the location, Murray says.

Even in a friendly divorce, particular important costs are overlooked. Lawn care, homeowners association fees, even the basic costs of maintenance are amongst the expenses that are rarely considered, either by the courts or the splitting spouses.

And then there’s the even larger problem of hidden debt. Ideally, there will have been no secrets among the husband and wife. But funds is a main trigger of divorce, and in several situations, 1 spouse has no clue that the other has run up big bills that have grow to be undisclosed liens against the property.

“I see it a lot,” says Murray, whose objective is to reform divorce law as it pertains to genuine estate, one state at a time. “It is frequent. And what you don’t know for the duration of your divorce can hurt you long after the marriage is over.”

Luckily, a key actual estate mistake is preventable — but only throughout your divorce, not afterward. So Murray recommends performing due diligence and gathering details from much more financial and real estate specialists early in the divorce method. That way, you can make a more informed choice about no matter whether you truly want to keep the location or not.

In most divorces, the spouses determine what the house is worth, and the one who gives up the spot is generally given a credit of some sort for his or her half of the equity the couple have in the location. Generally, the parties split the equity based on an appraisal. So if an appraiser says the house is worth, say, ,000 and they owe ,000, the “out spouse” provides up his or her claim to a ,000 equity stake for, possibly, ,000 in stocks and bonds.

But along with that appraisal, Murray says, the “home spouse” really should obtain an independent, third-party inspection of the property to decide regardless of whether there are any latent defects that could alter its value.

“You wouldn’t get a house without an inspection, so why would you accept 1 in a divorce with out an inspection?” Murray asks. “What if something’s wrong or about to go wrong? You can use the inspector’s report as a punch list and either use the marital assets to make the essential repairs or minimize the value of the property accordingly.”

Make confident to ask your inspector to estimate the remaining life of the property’s major appliances and systems. If something is on its last legs, you will want to know in advance so you can adjust for that as well. And even though you’re at it, order a termite inspection — the harm those little bugs trigger is often important.

The genuine estate divorce specialist, whose self-published book “Divorce This Home: When Keeping Your Residence Equals Losing Your Divorce” will be out this month, wants spouses to have two title searches, 1 as soon as feasible following the divorce procedure begins and the other shortly before the divorce is finalized.

The first will uncover any unknown liens, encumbrances or clouds on the title that might have been placed by one spouse without having the other’s expertise. The second will uncover anything placed on the title for the duration of the proceedings, such as a lien filed by the out spouse’s attorney to cover his fees.

The more individuals follow these guidelines, divorce realty specialist Murray believes, the much more most likely they will end up selling the home and moving on. Disposing of the residence in the course of the divorce is far much less risky than afterward, she says, and helps safeguard each spouse from the other’s financial problems.

“It’s the only way to be truly divorced,” she says. “Your spouse’s post-divorce debts grow to be your debts if his name is nonetheless on the title. If the creditor files a lien, you will be unable to sell or refinance until the debt is paid.”

Don’t be fooled, either, into thinking that signing a quitclaim deed will get you out of harm’s way. A quitclaim will get your spouse off the title but not off the mortgage.

To really divorce your home, Murray says there are only two methods to go: Sell the place or refinance it.