Divorce decree should clarify home ownership

Q:

My husband and I are getting a divorce. I would like to keep the house and continue the payments myself, and he is agreeable to this. Should I refinance?

A:

You should refinance the house if you qualify to do so. If the house is owned jointly and you want to refinance in your name only, you may do so if you qualify on your income for the new loan.

If you do refinance, you should also have your ex-husband sign off at the closing and relinquish his interest in the property since he will have no obligation to pay the mortgage note under the new refinance.

In fact, the lender may even require that your ex sign off on the house.

Perhaps the divorce decree could indicate the fact that you intend to refinance the mortgage to the marital home and that you want him to sign his interest over to you.

In any event, you may refinance the mortgage if your income is sufficient to qualify. If it is, I urge you to do so as soon as possible. If not, both yours and your ex’s name would remain on the mortgage, making him responsible for payments if you should fall behind.

Even if you made all of the payments yourself, he would still retain his ownership interest in the house.

Both of these scenarios could present problems later on despite what your divorce decree might say. Refinancing should be done as soon as possible.

Q:

Are window treatments normally included in the sale of a house? My mother said curtains and drapes are usually included in a sale. Is this true? My house is under agreement, and I was planning on taking all of the curtains and drapes with me.

A:

When you sell your house, you are selling real estate, not furnishings. Unless they are specifically listed in the purchase-and-sales agreement as being included in the sale, window treatments and other furnishings are not considered part of the real estate that you are selling.