Hey everyone!
Happy to have found this forum because there seems to be lots of useful advice, and I don't feel like I'm the only one going through this situation.
My ex and I are working on coming up with settlement proposals. One of the main issues are the value of the matrimonial home.
1) The home as of Feb 2020 was worth $650K. The ex was able to get a real estate agent to value the home. I suspected this valuation to be on the low side (because I knew the ex wanted to purchase the home) but had no way to prove otherwise. I was okay to accept this because it meant we can settle all the other outstanding matters.
2) The home as of today is worth $750K. A neighbour contacted me privately and said he is interested in buying the home for $750K. He was able to confirm this in writing as well. He is willing to get financing and a pre-approval if the ex and I agree to sell it to him. Note: this neighbour is a neutral third-party, not related to either the ex nor I.
I advised the ex about this offer (and invited her to compete with this bid) and, to my surprise, she was extremely angry that I would solicit buyers outside of the agreed-upon value of $650K. First, I did not solicit this buyer, they contacted me. Second, the $650K valuation was as of Feb 2020, and the offer to purchase the home is in June 2020 - there's clearly some notable increase in value between February and June. Additionally, she was not able to obtain financing for the home between February and June for $650K.
So the next best option would be to sell to the neighbour via private sale, right? Well, the ex approached the neighbour directly and told him to withdraw his offer and not to bid on this house. The neighbour called me to tell me of this - I am working on getting an affidavit from him to this effect. The ex is looking to purchase this house for $650K (which was out of reach for her in the first place) and the offer of $750K will only worsen it.
The ex is clearly trying to devalue the home by approaching the neighbour in bad faith so she can purchase it for less-than-market value. I'm pretty sure this works everything the judicial system aims to solve (maximize the value of the matrimonial home to benefit both parties). The courts typically don't care who buys the home - they just care that the home sells for as much as it can.
The ex prefers to have the home listed on the market, leaving it open for bids. The problem we face here is the house will need to close for $787,500 for us to see $750K ($750K + $37.5K in realtor commissions). There is a risk the house may sell for less than $787,500 which will leave us both in a shortfall (compared to selling it to the neighbour via private sale).
I've spoken to my lawyer to put an equalization contingency (50% of the difference of the closing costs and $750K, which will effectively give me the same amount should the house close for less than $787,500) but I think the ex will need to agree to this contingency - I cannot force this upon her.
Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?
Cheers,
PotatoLogic
Happy to have found this forum because there seems to be lots of useful advice, and I don't feel like I'm the only one going through this situation.
My ex and I are working on coming up with settlement proposals. One of the main issues are the value of the matrimonial home.
1) The home as of Feb 2020 was worth $650K. The ex was able to get a real estate agent to value the home. I suspected this valuation to be on the low side (because I knew the ex wanted to purchase the home) but had no way to prove otherwise. I was okay to accept this because it meant we can settle all the other outstanding matters.
2) The home as of today is worth $750K. A neighbour contacted me privately and said he is interested in buying the home for $750K. He was able to confirm this in writing as well. He is willing to get financing and a pre-approval if the ex and I agree to sell it to him. Note: this neighbour is a neutral third-party, not related to either the ex nor I.
I advised the ex about this offer (and invited her to compete with this bid) and, to my surprise, she was extremely angry that I would solicit buyers outside of the agreed-upon value of $650K. First, I did not solicit this buyer, they contacted me. Second, the $650K valuation was as of Feb 2020, and the offer to purchase the home is in June 2020 - there's clearly some notable increase in value between February and June. Additionally, she was not able to obtain financing for the home between February and June for $650K.
So the next best option would be to sell to the neighbour via private sale, right? Well, the ex approached the neighbour directly and told him to withdraw his offer and not to bid on this house. The neighbour called me to tell me of this - I am working on getting an affidavit from him to this effect. The ex is looking to purchase this house for $650K (which was out of reach for her in the first place) and the offer of $750K will only worsen it.
The ex is clearly trying to devalue the home by approaching the neighbour in bad faith so she can purchase it for less-than-market value. I'm pretty sure this works everything the judicial system aims to solve (maximize the value of the matrimonial home to benefit both parties). The courts typically don't care who buys the home - they just care that the home sells for as much as it can.
The ex prefers to have the home listed on the market, leaving it open for bids. The problem we face here is the house will need to close for $787,500 for us to see $750K ($750K + $37.5K in realtor commissions). There is a risk the house may sell for less than $787,500 which will leave us both in a shortfall (compared to selling it to the neighbour via private sale).
I've spoken to my lawyer to put an equalization contingency (50% of the difference of the closing costs and $750K, which will effectively give me the same amount should the house close for less than $787,500) but I think the ex will need to agree to this contingency - I cannot force this upon her.
Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?
Cheers,
PotatoLogic
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