The house question
Do you have to sell the house in a Colorado divorce?
No. Colorado divides the marital equity, not the house itself. One spouse can keep the home by paying the other their share and refinancing the loan into one name. The decree can also defer the sale. Selling is simply the most common outcome, because it is the only option that does not require one spouse to qualify for the whole mortgage alone.
Next free Zoom: second Saturday, 9:00 AM Mountain · in a few days · Divorce and the House: sell it, keep it or buy out?
Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree.
Buy out your spouse, refinance
Pay the other spouse their share of the equity and get the loan into your name by the deadline in the decree.
Sell on a date certain
Keep the house for the kids or the market, with every term written into the decree, then sell.
Split the proceeds
The cleanest option when neither spouse can carry the house alone. Proceeds held at title and split as ordered.
When the court decides
If you cannot agree and neither can buy the other out, a judge can order the sale and set the terms.
You and your spouse, if you can agree, in a separation agreement the court approves. If you cannot agree, the judge decides under Colorado's equitable-distribution rule, and a judge will not leave two divorced people as co-owners of one house indefinitely. That is when a sale gets ordered.
The three questions that decide it
Can one of you qualify for the mortgage alone?
The lender, not the decree, decides this. On one income, with support counted only if it has a history and a future, many people cannot carry the payment on a house bought on two incomes. If neither spouse qualifies, the house sells. What lenders count after a divorce
Can the staying spouse pay the buyout?
The buyout is the other spouse's share of today's equity: value, minus the loan, minus selling costs, split equitably. It gets paid by cash-out refinance, a HELOC, an assumption, or by trading other assets. A buyout priced on a Zestimate is the most common expensive mistake. The buyout math
Is there a reason to wait?
Children in a school year, a market that is wrong this month, or a spouse who needs time to qualify. A deferred sale is legal and common, but every term (who pays, who gets repaid, the sale date) has to be in the decree. Keeping the house for the kids
What we do when the answer is sell
One written market analysis to both spouses at the same time, listing terms written for the stipulation, a log of every showing and offer to both of you and both attorneys, separate signings if you want them, and the net proceeds held at the title company and split exactly as the decree says. Damon L. Chavez, Certified Real Estate Divorce Specialist, backs the number. How we sell a divorce home.
Divorce and the House: Sell It, Keep It or Buy Out Your Spouse?
Second Saturday of every month, 9:00 to 10:00 AM Mountain
Next: ·
A real estate professional, a mortgage professional and a title professional, focused on what to do with the house: what it is worth, the equity, the buyout, selling before or after the decree, and your questions, sent ahead and answered live. Every session is recorded for the workshop library. Free, no pitch.
Second Saturday, Littleton
Second Saturday of the month, 9 to 11 AM
The in-person Second Saturday Divorce Workshop at St. Philip Lutheran Church in Littleton, where Damon L. Chavez holds the real estate seat. Free. For attorneys, financial analysts, mediators and counselors, we refer you to professionals we know.
Where to go next
- Register for the free monthly Zoom: Divorce and the House
- Book a confidential Divorce Home Strategy Session
- How we sell a divorce home
- Should we keep or sell the house?
- What is the house really worth?
- Taxes when you sell
- Home equity and spousal buyouts
- Buying after divorce
- The free selling guide (PDF)
- Call or text 303-955-4220: a live person answers
- Get the free divorce-home guide (PDF)
- Six free guides: women, men, selling, keeping, after 50
For the numbers behind the decision, start with a free Colorado home valuation.
Call your Colorado divorce agent
Questions about the house, the deed or the decree?
Call us today to talk through your situation and how we can help. A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree.
Free and confidential
Find out whether you can keep it
Tell us the address, the loan and who wants to stay. We run the numbers both ways, keep and sell, for free and in writing. You do not need to be ready to sell, and there is no pressure to list your home.
303-955-4220A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree. Prefer email? homes@kennarealestate.com
Divorce Decisions™: Colorado divorce workshops and education. Real estate services provided by The Kenna Real Estate Group at Keller Williams DTC. Not legal, tax, lending or financial advice.
Ready to sell or buy? Kenna Real Estate Group handles the house.
- Real estate and divorce in Colorado: divorce realtors in every Front Range city and county
- Divorce and real estate articles on kennarealestate.com
Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers.