Divorce is a very difficult situation to face now matter what. You’re losing something that you’ve once valued and cherished. There are so many financial and legal considerations to deal with…and possibly children to think about. A large concern is your future after your divorce.
When you are facing divorce you must think about the mortgage. If you don’t think that you will be able to pay your mortgage on the home, then you should not try to keep the house. If you try to get out of the mortgage you may have some trouble.
Lenders aren’t going to be happy having to rewrite the mortgage on your home, however, even if you are in the middle of the divorce, the mortgage still has to be paid. In fact, it’s up to the creditor to allow you to be taken off of the loan or keep you on. If your spouse is unable to qualify for the loan by themselves, then you’re more than likely going to have to make sure the mortgage is paid whether you live there or not. Late payments can really mess up someone’s credit.
There are a few things that you might want to think about. You are going to have to either ask your spouse to buy you out, or you have to ask them to sell the house. Remember, to keep your credit in good standing, you will have to continue making payments until the property sells.
If you’re worried about your credit rating you should do some work before you enter the divorce process. You need to know what credit cards that you both have and the outstanding balances on each one. Not only do you have to worry about the liabilities that you both have accumulated during marriage, you have to think about the money that you have saved in an account. You may end up having to repay your spouse from the account and pay for your credit debt.
Once you file for your divorce, you will want to close any joint accounts and make sure that everyone knows that it was by request, not because of other circumstances. You will want them to note that so that it shows up on your credit report and doesn’t have a negative impact on your credit when you apply for credt in the future.
If there is any possible way to maintain a civil communcation line with your ex-partner, you will both bnefit from working together to protect each other’s credit after the divorce so you can move forward with your lives. It makes it so much easier to move forward in a positive situation with a clean credit report.
Vickie Steele – Certified Distressed Property Expert
