Arizona couples who are going through a divorce may need to decide how they will divide their property. If their community property includes a home, they might want to sell it, or one person may want to keep it.
To determine the value of the home, they will need to hire an appraiser. The couple might agree on an appraiser, or they might each want to hire one separately. If the appraisers’ valuations vary substantially, a third party may be brought in. With the home valued, the couple can calculate how much equity each person has in the home based on that and the mortgage. The buyer may want to hire a home inspector as well to determine whether repairs need to be made since these may be the responsibility of both parties before the divorce is final. They will need to decide whether the cost of repairs will be removed from what the buyer pays or if they want to work out another way to pay for them.
The couple might agree to an arrangement in which instead of one buying the other out, one keeps the home and the other keeps an asset that has a similar value. The buyer may need to refinance the home. The other spouse should also be removed from the title.
Since Arizona is a community property state, marital assets are supposed to be divided equally. However, couples still have some latitude in how each piece of property is divided. They may want to negotiate a settlement that feels fair to them instead of going to litigation. It can be easy to become overwhelmed by emotions during this process, and this can lead to making poor decisions. Individuals may want to talk to an attorney about how to protect themselves financially during negotiations over property division.