Selling during a divorce
Sell the house during a South Carolina divorce.
Both of you read the same written cash offer, there are no showings to arrange, and you pick the closing date together. We buy houses in divorce across South Carolina in whatever condition they are in.
When this fits
For spouses who have decided to sell.
Once the house is sold for cash, the money can be divided the way your settlement or the family court directs. There are no listing photos, open houses or repair arguments to get through first.
You both want it sold
The two of you agree it is time to sell, and neither one wants to keep the house ready for showings month after month.
Someone is still living in the house
Keeping a lived-in house ready for strangers to tour is tough during a divorce. We come by once, and the move-out date can follow whatever the two of you agreed to.
Repairs nobody wants to pay for
Few couples want to share the cost of fixing a house that neither person is keeping. Like any house with major repairs, we buy it without asking you to fix anything.
The mortgage is slipping
Paying for two places to live strains the budget. If payments have been missed, our page on stopping foreclosure is worth reading too.
The steps
How we buy a house in a South Carolina divorce.
Our offer is written down, which means each spouse and each lawyer sees an identical figure.
It makes no difference to us whether one of you has moved out or you both still live there, and we buy these houses all over South Carolina. For more detail, see our how we buy houses page.
- One call from either of you starts it.
We will want the address, the names on the title, and whether lawyers or a judge's order are already in the picture.
- We see the house once.
The visit is scheduled around whoever is living there, and nothing has to be cleaned or repaired beforehand.
- Both of you receive the same offer.
Accepting it is optional. Talk it over with your lawyers and decide jointly.
- Close on a date you both accept.
A South Carolina attorney supervises the closing, pays off the mortgage and liens from the sale money and pays out the rest as the settlement statement shows. With a clear title, that can happen in about seven days.
Dividing the work
Our role, and the role of your attorneys and the court.
Our part is limited to the purchase, meaning the price we offer and the date we can close. Everything about the divorce itself, from dividing property to deciding who signs, is for your lawyers and the South Carolina family court.
Your attorneys and the family court
The legal questions
- Who has to sign to sell the house
- Whether the court should order a sale
- How the sale money is divided as marital property
- Orders about who stays in the house
- Questions about taxes, support and other property
Barrington Home Buyers
The house and the sale
- A written cash offer on the house in its current condition
- A single visit, scheduled around whoever lives there
- Cleanout and repairs after closing
- Coordinating title and the payoff with the closing attorney
- A closing date that fits your settlement
Questions from divorcing owners
What couples want to know before selling.
Can we sell before the South Carolina divorce is final?
It may be possible, and it hinges on the names on the deed, whether the two of you agree and any temporary orders the court has entered. A no-fault divorce in South Carolina requires living separate and apart for one year without living together, so the house may need a decision well before the case is over. This is general information, so confirm the details with a South Carolina family law attorney, and we can see the house and make an offer in the meantime.
Does each spouse need to sign the contract?
If you both own the house, you both sign to sell it. A deed in one name may leave the question open, because the family court can treat the house as marital property, so talk to your divorce lawyer before anyone signs. The family court can also order the house sold.
Who pays out the sale proceeds?
The purchase money goes through the closing attorney. That attorney clears the mortgage and any liens first, then pays out what is left following the settlement statement. The split between the two of you comes from your agreement or from the family court's equitable apportionment of marital property.
Can one of us keep living in the house until closing?
Yes. We need to see the house once, and whoever stays can move out on the schedule your agreement or a court order sets.
What if we disagree about repairs?
Then you can skip that argument, since we buy the house as it is and no repair budget is needed. Each spouse takes their own belongings, and we clear out anything left behind after closing.
The agents were very polite and courteous and explained everything in terms I could understand they didn’t push me to sign every piece of paper until I read everything on if I had a question they explained it in detail they were within the time frame for signing and closing and I appreciated that immensely ty
Start with the property address.
Either of you can reach out first. We will call back to talk about the house and everyone who has to sign off on the sale.
Divorce and the house
A single written offer you can both take to your attorneys.
There are no showings and no repairs, and the closing date is one you set together.