When you and your spouse purchase a home in Virginia together and then decide to divorce, you must figure out how to handle the joint investment. Your options as far as how to proceed may vary based on certain factors, such as whether one or both of you wants to keep the home. However, many people in your shoes end up dividing up their home equity in one of several relatively simple ways.
Per NerdWallet, if you are looking to split up the equity you accrued in your home during your marriage, consider doing one of the following.
Sell the home and divide the profits
If neither of you has strong feelings about staying in the home you once shared, you may want to list it, sell it and then split the money you make on the sale between you. That way, if you need to put down a security deposit or a down payment on a new home of your own, you have something to use to do so. You also get to make a clean break from your former partner when you sell your marital home.
Have one party refinance your mortgage
If you or your ex wants to stay in the former family home and finances allow for this, that party should consider refinancing the mortgage, buying out the other party and then getting the mortgage in one name.
Sometimes, market conditions or other factors make neither of these options particularly attractive. In this case, you may want to think about “nesting” or other temporary arrangements that might work while you wait for the housing market to improve.
