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what do I do with my house??

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  • what do I do with my house??

    Hi, I need some advice. I'm not sure there is a black-and-white answer, but maybe you can share with me how you handled these issues, and I can get some insight that way...

    My spouse is in the process of engineering a legal separation. My spouse has moved out, and I am presently living in our house. Our children are swapped back and forth 50/50.

    Our house is paid for, it was purchased during our marriage but it was paid for by my own income and investments. It's a modest house. But right now the houses in our district are selling for large amounts, and selling quickly.

    My spouse has expressed an intention to get their share of the house. It's my understanding this is permitted under law

    Is this correct? Is there any way I can keep this from happening?

    If not, what do I do?

    I suppose that if I'm compelled to, I could get a mortgage for half the value of the house, and give my spouse a cheque. I know generally how much this is going to be, in terms of the estimate of how much our house is worth.

    But I'm unsure if I can afford a mortgage for that much, while paying support too and the regular bills.

    I suppose I could get a really long mortgage (30 years?) for a low monthly payment. But then I'll be in debt for a long time, and pay a pile of money on interest. And all those thousands of dollars going to the bank, I'd prefer to spend on my children - like saving up for them in an RESP, or taking them to Florida, or what have you.

    I could sell the house. But then what? I could buy a cheaper house. But with the housing market right now, even less-desireable houses (in age, location or what have you) are still not much less than the house I'd be selling. And then I uproot the children, and uproot them from the "good" neighborhood they're in, at least when they're with me.

    (I mean, I grew up in a "bad" neighborhood myself. I really don't want my children to have that experience).

    Group homes (condo/semi/townhouse) are cheaper. But I really would prefer not living in group homes. I've lived in apartments and I could give you a list of bad experiences I had. When I had these experiences the only thing I really could do, was move.

    I'm interested to know how others handled this situation.

    Thanks

  • #2
    She is entitled to half the value of the home, there is no way around it. Will either of you owe spousal support? If she owes you maybe you can offset the spousal with her taking a lesser share of the house. do a rough division of assets and debts and see if there is something you can give her to reduce the payout you will have to give her.

    I agree that it is best to stay in the home. However, if you can't afford it, you can't afford it. I had to sell my house as well, neither of us could afford to stay on our own. I am living with my mom and he is living with family as well until we can both save up enough to get a nice apartment. It isn't the worst thing in the world.

    Just remember that there is a cost to sell the home and if you offer to buy her out it will actually save you the real estate costs and any penalties for breaking your mortgage. If my ex had bought me out like he wanted to then we wouldn't have had real estate and penalties of $10,000. Would have been nice to have that money in the bank. I'm sure she would think do too.

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    • #3
      sorry, forgot that you said there was no mortgage.

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      • #4
        Thanks for the comments. Right now I'm expected to pay spousal support+child support too (and yes the house is paid for). Right now I'm paying support on an interim basis (and I suspect it'll be finalized soon).

        That's the real trap here, it's not just a mortgage or support, but both together. Ouch.

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        • #5
          You're not paying the full table amount of child support are you? Since you are 50/50, the amount you pay should be reduced by the table amount based on her income (i.e. you only pay the difference between the 2 table amounts).

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          • #6
            the 50/50 was taken into account, I believe, by the lawyers. Either way all of the numbers are about to be reviewed again.

            Comment

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