Working with a Certified Divorce Lending Professional (CDLP) in Florida

Even the most amicable divorce is difficult; there are assets to divide, custody agreements to negotiate and spousal support obligations to consider. What makes the process of getting divorced even more stressful is the difficulty of making decisions related to real estate and mortgage refinancing.

For most people, a primary residence is the most valuable asset they’ll ever own. If the marital home still has a mortgage, it can be difficult to decide who should be responsible for the payments or whether it would be best to sell the home, pay off the mortgage and split any proceeds from the sale. Alternatively, one spouse may want to keep the home (especially if there are children), buy-out the other spouse’s share of the equity in the home and refinance the mortgage into their own name. Working with a divorce real estate and mortgage specialist can help you answer some of these questions and make the divorce process a lot easier for all parties involved.

Divorce Real Estate Overview

At Next Act Properties, we help divorcing clients make important decisions regarding real estate and mortgages. If one person wants to keep and stay in the family home, we help that person determine if they can afford to buy-out their spouse’s share of the equity and refinance the existing mortgage. In some cases, divorcing clients have enough cash on hand to make this type of purchase outright. If you don’t have sufficient assets to purchase their equity share, we can help you determine if you qualify to refinance the mortgage in your own name with an equity-buyout or cash-out mortgage.

Refinancing during a divorce is more complicated than taking out a regular mortgage. When a couple takes out a loan, the lender typically considers both of their incomes and credit histories. As a result, you may have qualified for a much larger mortgage with your spouse’s income than you could qualify for on your own. It’s important to work with real estate and mortgage professionals who are trained and experienced in all the nuances of divorce to help you determine the best way to refinance your existing mortgage and how to qualify for that refinancing. It often surprises people that receiving alimony and/or child support may not count as qualified income by most lenders if it hasn’t been structured properly in the Divorce Settlement Agreement.

Our goal at Next Act Properties is to do everything we can to help you keep your home, if that’s what you want to do. That’s why our Company’s tagline is Move On, Not Out®.

Working With a Divorce Real Estate and Mortgage Expert

It’s important to work with experts in divorce real estate negotiations, as even a skilled mortgage professional may not have experience working with the divorce lending guidelines. Mistakes made during the divorce settlement negotiations might prevent you from keeping the home you (and your children) love, making the divorce process even more stressful.

Next Act Properties provides real estate and mortgage solutions for divorcing people. We’ll help you navigate the complexities of refinancing a marital home or selling it, if necessary. Unlike generalist real estate agents and mortgage brokers, our real estate and mortgage divorce specialists understand the unique factors that go into determining what to do with the marital home as a result of divorce.

Importance of Working with Knowledgeable Divorce Mortgage and Real Estate Professionals

Here are just a few of the factors that can affect divorce home sales or the ability to refinance a property during a divorce:

  • Date of purchase: When the home was purchased, when the divorcing clients got married, whose funds were used to make the purchase and if those funds were separate or marital property, what your state laws are, etc., are all factors that will help determine if the home is a marital/community asset or an asset belonging to only one of the spouses as their separate property.
  • Prenuptial agreements: Some divorcing clients have prenuptial or postnuptial agreements that spell out how real estate should be treated in the event of a divorce. The divorce professionals at Next Act Properties will work with your divorce attorney to determine how your prenuptial or postnuptial agreement might affect your settlement.
  • Mortgage status: Often the spouse who wants to keep the property will have to refinance the loan into their own name. Determining if that spouse has the necessary qualified income, credit scores and other requirements during the divorce settlement negotiations, instead of afterwards, will save everyone a lot of time, money and aggravation.

Divorce Real Estate Sales

Some divorcing couples have no interest in keeping the home they shared, making a divorce real estate sale an excellent option. If you want to sell real estate before, during or after your divorce, it’s important to work with a real estate divorce specialist. Selling a home or investment property during divorce can be difficult if the divorcing clients aren’t speaking to each other or can’t agree on what they want to do in terms of pricing and staging the property. Generalist real estate professionals don’t have the same level of expertise a real estate divorce specialist does, so they may not be able to navigate the complexities and the emotions of the situation.

Our sister company, Next Act Realty, LLC has a nationwide network of divorce real estate professionals who understand the many challenges of selling real estate as a result of divorce. 

Get Help With Your Real Estate and Mortgage Divorce Issues

Jeffrey Landers, CDLP, CDFA is a real estate professional with over 30 years of industry experience, including experience in helping women deal with financially complicated divorces. He has also authored six books on the financial aspects of divorce and provided insight for some of the most respected news organizations and financial publications in the country. If you need help making wise real estate, mortgage and other financial decisions before, during or after your divorce, contact Next Act Properties at (800) 795-2445.

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