Should I sell my house? Seperation

[RayMetz100]

My wife moved out a couple weeks ago. We're in marriage counseling and there is a 50% chance she'll come back, but likely not in the next couple months. I take home $5900/mo and the home mortgages are $2400 so that ratio is 40%. I have 20k in other debt, less than 1k savings and a new working budget. Everything is current and I'm not losing ground(financially), but I'm not able to save much either. If she came back with her 3k/mo income, our ratio would go back to 25%. She and the kids love the house. I like it too and would defiantly keep it if our relationship recovers.

If I knew we were for sure divorcing and I was going to be single for the next 5 years, then I think it's too much house for me. I guess I'd sell it, rent for 1-2 years, then buy smaller next time. I could also keep it as a single man, but then I'd be relying on annual bonuses for savings, vacations, or big repairs. Not a solid plan.

I'm thinking I should wait at least another month or two to see how the marriage thing goes. well, I don't want to see how it goes, I'm actively working on getting it back together as hard as I can, but I need time to see if she will come back.

What do you think?

Ray

[jIM_Ohio]

Even if you wanted to sell, the likelihood of you selling in 2 months is low.

Houses may or may not sell fast.

What I would do is this- contact a realtor about putting house up. The realtor might suggest what rooms need to be painted, cleaned and repaired. Once you get the list of things to do, do the list immediately.

Then put the house on the market- based on when I have sold the one house I sold... my realtor told me going in, that November-January is toughest time to sell a house, so be prepared to put house on market in September, then take it off before thanksgiving. If it does not sell, lower the asking price, then put it back on market in the spring.

[Broken Arrow]

Do you know what kind of living arrangement your children will have if the two of you should divorce? If not, is there any way to find out from your spouse? Depending on the answer, I would think it will help shape your ultimate decision regarding the house.

[RayMetz100]

The children living arrangement is 9 nights with her and 5 with me per each two week period.

Getting a list of things to fix up is a good idea, but my savings account doesn't have any room to do anything. I can't even replace the furnature and pictures my wife took. It's clean and picked up inside, but very little to no decorations.

[Slug]

You should probably keep it for now, but you need to have some frank discussions with your wife. Take the realtor list of all the things that will need to be done to the house and show her what will be shared costs when it comes to settlement time. Divorce has tremendous financial consequences. I am sorry for your position. My main takeaway is communicate openly and honestly with your wife.

[disneysteve]

I really don't think you can make a decision without knowing the status of the marriage. Plus, I wonder how you putting the house on the market in the midst of trying to work out your differences could be seen as a pretty definitive move on your part toward not wanting to reconcile.

Also, who owns the house? Is it in your name alone or do the two of you own it jointly? If joint, you can't just go and sell it. Also, if joint, why isn't she continuing to pay her share?

[Broken Arrow]

Also, who owns the house? Is it in your name alone or do the two of you own it jointly? If joint, you can't just go and sell it. Also, if joint, why isn't she continuing to pay her share?

I was just going to ask this. If the house is in both of your names, then you can't sell it without her written consent anyways.

In any case, I too agree to keep the house until the end of the year. That will give you two time to see how the marriage pans out, as well as giving you a better season to sell the house (if it comes to that).

[thekid]

Even if not joined, you may still not be able to sell without her consent depending on your matrimonial regime and laws applicable in your jurisdction.

[97guns]

sorry to hear this, my brother just finalized on his divorce last month. she ended up buying him out for his share of the house, he is able to pick up 2 houses 7 miles away and pay cash for them. he plans to live in one and rent the other out. hpe everything works out for you.

[jIM_Ohio]

The children living arrangement is 9 nights with her and 5 with me per each two week period.

Getting a list of things to fix up is a good idea, but my savings account doesn't have any room to do anything. I can't even replace the furnature and pictures my wife took. It's clean and picked up inside, but very little to no decorations.

The list might have more cleaning than repairs.
You need to find out if you can list the house- and if not find out the costs to do so.

You commit to NOTHING by contacting a realtor.