Buy before or after the marital home sells in Colorado

The order sets your monthly cash, your down payment source and the number of times you move. This page compares both orders with example numbers, then covers the decree, the tax angle and the Colorado contract. For the full sequence, start at the buying after divorce hub.

What does the decree say about the sale?

The decree is the schedule. It names who lists, at what price, by what date, and who pays the mortgage until closing. A sale date inside 90 days points to buying after. A date six months out gives you room to buy first.

Read selling before or after divorce and selling the house to set the dates. The Colorado divorce process page shows when the decree lands, and who gets the house shows what happens when one spouse keeps it instead.

Can I buy before the marital home sells?

Yes, with three conditions:

• Qualifying: the lender adds the old mortgage to your ratio unless the decree assigns it to your ex and the lender verifies it. See mortgage qualification after divorce.
• Cash: no sale proceeds exist yet, so the down payment comes from savings. FHA takes 3.5 percent down and conventional takes 3 percent for first-time buyers.
• Consent: the automatic temporary injunction bars you from encumbering marital property without your ex's consent or a court order, so a HELOC or a bridge loan on the marital home needs one of the two.

A bridge loan is a short loan against the old home's equity that pays your down payment until the sale closes. Confirm with a Colorado divorce attorney before you sign one. The buying during divorce page covers what a pending case allows.

Does the Colorado contract have a home-sale contingency?

Yes. The Colorado contract to buy and sell has a contingency for the sale and closing of the buyer's other property, with a deadline. If you cannot remove it by the deadline, the seller of the new home ends the contract. Your broker confirms the wording of the current form.

A seller weighs your contingent offer against offers without one, so it works best on a home that has sat on the market. Search Colorado homes for sale and check how long each listing has sat.

Can I buy after the marital home sells?

Yes, and the proceeds fund the purchase. You need a place to live between the two closings. Three tools cover the gap:

• Rent-back: you stay in the marital home after closing for a set number of days at a daily rate written into the contract.
• Short-term rental: a furnished lease of one to three months.
• Storage: a unit or a container for the furniture during the gap.

See divorce home equity and spousal buyouts for how the proceeds split, and two homes after divorce if you also share parenting time.

How do the two orders compare in cash?

The example below uses four months. The old home costs $2,400 a month in mortgage and utilities, the new payment is $2,700, and a rental with storage is $2,400. Buying first pays both housing costs for three months and totals $18,000. Selling first totals $9,900. Add a second move at $1,200 and selling first is $11,100, still $6,900 less.

What is the tax angle on the old house?

A single owner excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a home sale, and a married couple filing jointly excludes up to $500,000. You need to have owned and lived in the home for 2 of the 5 years before the sale, so sell within 3 years after you move out. Your marital status on December 31 sets your filing status for that year.

The tax page on selling before or after divorce and taxes when you sell work through the cases. Confirm your numbers with a CPA. Price the home first: our Smart Pricing Report gives you the value in writing, and what is the house worth explains how we set it.

How do you pick the order?

1. Read the sale date in the decree.
2. Ask the lender to run your ratio with the old payment in and out.
3. Ask your attorney whether any loan on the marital home needs your ex's consent.
4. Price the marital home in writing.
5. Compare the two cash timelines with your own numbers, using the buyout calculator example.

If the numbers still tie, sell first. A rental gives you time to choose, and rent or buy after divorce shows what waiting costs. Our how we sell a divorce home page shows how the sale itself runs.

Who runs the two-loan math?

Mike Oswald, VP of Mortgage Lending at Rate, NMLS 261003, Equal Housing Lender, runs your ratio both ways in one call. You are free to use any lender. Start with his lender page and a mortgage pre-approval.

Where to go next

• The free buying after divorce guide
• Refinance after divorce in Colorado: the deadline and qualifying alone
• Downsizing after divorce
• Meet The Kenna Group divorce realtors
• Book a discovery call
• Buying a home with Kenna

Talk to us before you sign anything

The Kenna Group prices the marital home in a written Smart Pricing Report if it is still unsold, runs a payment check with the lender for both orders and sets up a search on kennarealestate.com so your next home is ready when the sale closes. Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree. Free and confidential. You do not need to be ready to buy.

Quick answers

Plain-language education from a Colorado real estate group, not legal, tax or financial advice. Numbers are as of September 2026. Disclaimer.