What if I regret selling the house once the divorce is final?
Answered by Chris Deutsch, Founder & Editor
Licensed Minnesota Realtor #20382264 ·
The short answer
Regret happens, and it's worth saying plainly: the people who feel it usually aren't mourning the house. They're mourning the life the house stood for, and that loss was coming either way.
On stage The 60-second answer
Captions on · Transcript below
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Chris's video answer is on its way. Until then, the short answer above says the same thing.
The transcript posts with the video.
The longer answer
Before you sell, pressure-test keeping it with real numbers. Look at the mortgage you'd carry alone, the refinance rate you'd actually qualify for, and the maintenance one income has to cover. If the numbers say the house was already leaving, you'll know the sale was the decision, not the divorce talking. That's what keeps the 2 a.m. second-guessing short. (Most regret grows in the gap between a rushed decision and an informed one.)
One more true thing: no house is the last house. The equity that leaves this one funds the place your next chapter actually fits. When you want to run those numbers quietly, that's exactly what I do.
The next department over
What people in this spot usually ask next.
- Divorce & separationCan I buy a new place before the divorce is final?Read the answer
- Divorce & separationI'm losing my marriage and my house at the same time. Does this ever feel less impossible?Read the answer
- Divorce & separationDo we have to sell the house in a divorce in Minnesota?Read the answer
- Divorce & separationCan I actually afford to keep the house after the divorce?Read the answer
- Senior transitionsMom's deed has a life estate on it. Can she still sell the house?Read the answer
- Inheritance & probateWhat does a personal representative actually do when there's a house to sell?Read the answer
From the editor's desk
“As Founder and Editor, I review, correct, and stand behind every answer.”
Is your situation more specific than the market? That's the one worth talking through.