“So many couples have been living together and biding their time,” says Leigh Sigman, an Orlando lawyer. “I know many people who have coasted for years and touched base with me periodically — until they got equity in their homes.”
During the housing market crash, home prices fell dramatically in some areas, causing the home in a marriage to become one asset that no one wanted in a divorce because of the large amount of mortgage debt it carried, says Sigman.
But some metros are seeing that as home values rise, divorce rates are too.
“I have seen many of the deals we’re doing have involved a divorce — selling a house because of it or buying because of it,” says Robert Tenaglia, a real estate professional in Orlando. “When people don’t have equity and don’t have money, it dissuades them from going through the final step.”
Many couples may need the equity from the house sale to cover the costs of starting a new life and for a down payment on a new home or an apartment deposit, Tenaglia says.
Source: “Divorce and Home Values: Till Equity Do Us Part,” RISMedia (Sept. 6, 2013)
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