Selling Home Owned By Exes

Added February 25, 2009 by Ilyce R. Glink

Print Articles

Summary: An ex-husband and ex-wife are selling a home they own together, but the ex-husband will not make the house presentable for sale.The ex-wife has a right to make sure the home is presentable for sale. But the ex-husband may try to make it difficult for her and the real estate agent to view the home since it needs many home repairs. A real estate attorney may be able to help solve the dispute.

Q: My ex-spouse and I own a house. He's living in the house and I live elsewhere.

We've just received a court order that states the house is be placed for sale. My ex has been ordered to cooperate with the sale and help make the house presentable for sale.

But to date, the house has not yet been listed because he says he is not ready for the agent to view the home. Apparently, the house is in total disrepair.

Considering that I'm the co-owner, should I be able to view the home to help determine what we might do to prepare it for sale?

A: As a co-owner, you should be able to view the property. But that doesn't mean your ex-spouse isn't going to make it difficult for you to do so.

Try talking to your ex-spouse to find a time when he can be there to walk around the property with you. Ask if he would be willing to move out of the home before it is sold, so you can at least have it cleaned professionally and perhaps get more money for the property.

If he is unwilling to work with you, you may have to go back to court. Consult with your attorney for more details.

Jan. 19, 2009.

See more articles on this topic by clicking on the "RELATED ARTICLES" above and to the right.

We have over 5000 articles on Real Estate Advice, Personal Finance Advice and Consumer Advice on our site. We encourage you to look at these articles. As always, if you have a comment on our articles, don't forget to post your comment below. We thank you for coming to ThinkGlink.com.

© Ilyce R. Glink. All rights reserved. This content may not be used, distributed, syndicated, compiled or excerpted in any medium or form without written authorization from Think Glink, Inc. For information on syndicating ThinkGlink.com please contact us.

Previous article Next article