How to Use Divorce Buyout and Home Value Calculators
Deciding what to do with your home during a divorce can feel overwhelming. You’re not just dividing property; you’re also untangling memories and financial commitments. Two tools that can provide first-step insights are a divorce buyout calculator and a home value estimator.
This guide will explain how to use these calculators to make informed decisions about your shared home. We’ll also provide a list of these and other free online tools that can help you plan your next move.
Editor’s note: This blog post is meant for educational purposes, not legal advice. If you need assistance navigating a home buyout in a divorce, HomeLight encourages you to contact your own advisor.
What are my options with a house in a divorce?
When you’re dealing with a house during a divorce, you generally have three options:
1. Sell the house and split the proceeds: This is often the simplest solution, ensuring both parties walk away with their share of the equity.
2. Buy out your spouse’s equity: This option allows one partner to keep the home by paying the other their share of the home’s value.
3. Keep the house and sell at a later time: Sometimes, couples choose to keep the home temporarily, often for the stability of children or to await better market conditions.
For the purposes of this post, we’ll focus on online tools that can provide helpful information in the early stages of decision-making. We’ll start by explaining how a divorce buyout calculator can assist with planning.
What is a divorce buyout calculator?
A divorce buyout calculator is an online tool designed to help divorcing couples determine how much one spouse would need to pay to buy out the other’s share of their joint home. This tool takes into account various financial factors to provide a preliminary estimate for planning purposes.
How does a divorce buyout calculator work?
Using a divorce buyout calculator involves inputting several key pieces of information:
1. Home value: The current market value of your home.
2. Outstanding mortgage: How much is still owed on the mortgage.
3. Equity: The amount of equity that has been built up in the home.
The calculator then uses these figures to compute an estimated buyout amount, roughly how much one spouse would need to pay the other to take over full ownership of the house. This simplifies what can be a complex financial assessment, giving you a clearer path forward as you decide the best course of action for your family’s future.
Example buyout calculator scenario
Here is an example of how a buyout calculator might estimate the amount one spouse would need to pay to buy out the other’s equity.
Value of property
$500,000
Mortgage balance
$250,000
Net value of property
$250,000
Relinquishing spouse’s percentage
50%
Relinquishing spouse’s share
$125,000
If closing costs are not being considered, the buyout estimate remains at $125,000.
If closing costs are being considered, then most buyout calculators will provide additional input fields similar to the following table.
Closing cost percentage
9% (typical average, including Realtor fees)
Closing costs
$45,000
Relinquishing spouse’s percentage
50%
Relinquishing spouse’s share of closing costs
$22,500
Relinquishing spouse’s share after costs
$102,500
