Regarding my home, I would like to be able to stay and refinance my home using the financial support I am receiving right now until I find ful-time employment. I am currently studying. We have temporary orders for 50/50 custody.
The issue with the home is that it needs main repairs and ex was fully aware of this. If we sell it we will definitely need to repair it or sell it "as is".
I am not against him getting his 50% equity, my concern is that nobody really hears me when I say we should have the house inspected so we can split the repair costs.
I am not sure if the repairs should or should not be contemplated because every time I mention it about it, my lawyer skips the conversation. I have shared with her a spreadsheet with estimates and links to pictures of some of the major repairs the house needed before he left. I am talking about windows, driveway, mold issues, rotten wood deck, termites, carpenter ants, etc. Moreover,I had a waterproofing company inspecting the house and there are foundation/structure issues, fungus/mold growing, and high CO2 levels causing low air quality issues, etc. All these will definitely affect the value of the house even if we sell it "as is". Because buyers will still try to lower the price + we will have to pay all related costs for selling the home... When I tell my lawyer the house needs a home inspection so I can make sure it is in good habitable conditions (I live in it with my children) she never answers that question straight... It is a beautiful home but it has some foundations issues that nobody sees 😀 Her last response was "As it pertains to equity, should this matter go to court, and the appraisal is “as is,” then X will not be liable for any additional repairs since the FMV would already have taken those issues into consideration. If you choose to sell the house instead, an appraisal will not be necessary and we can either include a clause or ask the court to make ex responsible for at least 50% of all necessary repairs prior to sale"
OK here but what about if I refinance it, would he be liable for his half of the necessary repairs?
Because if he won't and I refinance it, I will have to pay his half of the equity of a value that doesn't represent the current state of the home and I could be liable for all the issues the house has that should have been repaired while he was living here. Again, he was well aware of all these issues.
It doesn't sound a fair deal if they use the current market value to calculate equity then make me assume responsibility for the repairs using my share of the equity to pay for the things he was aware that needed to be fixed but didn't. When you buy a home through a bank you assume the responsibility of keeping the home in good conditions, he was not on top of that. I actually did all the handy work I could to keep it in good condition. Others like driveway, gutters, etc. I mentioned above were out of my scope...
I will really appreciate your advice. Thanks!
I don’t think it’s a good time to refinance the home-you would be incurring a debt against it that he has not consented to. It sounds more like it will need to be sold ‘as-is.’ You may have to sell it and you move out and purchase or rent a different home for yourself and any children you have. Any repairs that you instruct to get done, would only delay a sale of the property while they were carried out -something that he and his lawyer may not agree to. You’d probably have to move out anyway if significant repairs like foundation repairs and mould removal took place as it wouldn’t necessarily be safe to stay in (may not be allowed either).
Move on hun. Sell, release the holding pattern you’re in over the property, and start your new life afresh.