Divorce & Home Appraisals: Why They Go Hand In Hand

Newlyweds often view life through rose-coloured lenses. They go into the marriage never expecting to break up down the line. It’s common for married people to purchase residential property together, putting both their names on the property title. Sadly, almost one in two marriages end in divorce—an ordeal that is further complicated by disagreements regarding the division of their assets.

To ensure a more amicable separation, consider having a matrimonial appraisal conducted in your prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, or in your divorce settlement. This can make dissolving the property assets in your marriage much simpler.

Hiring a certified appraiser from an appraisal company in Toronto can be helpful in every situation involving your home during the divorce, especially when the result is a buyout. A buyout is when one spouse “buys out” the other from the property. It can only happen when both you and your spouse agree on your property’s fair market value, and the spouse who will become the full owner of that property is willing to pay out half of the value agreed upon to the spouse who is being bought out. The buyout can be made as a one-time payment or subject to a payment plan that is legally agreed upon by both parties. If your spouse buys out the property from you, arrangements can be made to remove you from your mortgage obligations.

The absence of a certified appraisal can result in the spouses disagreeing on the value of the residential property. This is why a reliable appraiser from an appraisals firm in Toronto is needed from the start, especially when you are going through a sensitive process and you do not want to get involved in drawn-out litigations over matters like the market value of your matrimonial home. An appraiser will prepare a detailed appraisal report to provide you and your spouse a value, which you can agree with together, while making sure that both your requirements for discretion and accuracy are fulfilled. Be sure to hire certified appraisers from a credible Toronto company. You can be confident their work is acceptable to the courts and useful in your divorce proceedings.