How we can help with the house

How we can help

Understand the house first. Then talk to someone who gets it.

The house is usually the largest decision in a divorce, and the one people are least ready for. Here is what we do, in the order that makes sense.

1. Start with the facts, free

22 states have automatic orders that freeze both spouses the moment a divorce is filed, barring either one from selling or borrowing against the property. Is yours one of them?

• See if your state is one of the 22

Plain-English guides on what can happen to the house, what an automatic order stops you doing, and how the tax rules decide what a sale is worth. No account and nothing to buy.

• The four things that can happen to the house
• Selling the house: who signs, and the tax rules
• Keeping the house: the buyout and the carrying cost

2. Know when not to call an agent

Often the right answer is to wait, or to talk to your lawyer or an accountant first. We say so plainly. An agent is the wrong first call if nothing is filed, or if an order restricts what either of you can do with the property.

• When an agent is the wrong first call, and the questions to ask one

3. Talk to someone who gets it

When you do need an agent, we introduce you to a local agent who has completed our divorce real estate training and passed its 20-question exam. Before any introduction we check the license with the state regulator (any unresolved disciplinary action is a no), the agent’s closed sales, and a review rating of 4.7 or better. The introduction is free, and you are free to say no.

How we are paid

You pay us nothing. Agents are not charged for the training, the exam or the free resources. If an introduction leads to a closed sale, the agent’s brokerage pays a referral fee out of its own commission, not out of your proceeds. A place on the panel cannot be bought.

• How we are paid, in plain words
• The standards agents must meet, published in full

General information, not legal or tax advice. The Cusp is not a law firm.