Do I Need to Have My Home Appraised During My Illinois Divorce?

 Posted on May 27, 2020 in Division of Assets

For many people, the largest asset they own is their home. Real estate can make for some tricky situations when it comes to the asset division process of divorce. Everything must be divided, including real estate, like your family home. While cutting your home down the middle will not help you out, there are three viable ways you can deal with your marital home during your divorce: keep the home under joint ownership, sell the home or have one spouse own the home in their name only.

To Appraise or Not to Appraise?

Getting an actual appraisal for your home is an important step in the process. You may think you are able to estimate how much your home is worth, but it is actually in your best interest to get a home appraisal so you have a legitimate figure of how much you are working with. There are many reasons why someone would want to have their home appraised, which include:

• Ensuring the estimated value of your home is accurate
• The divorce court requires a current official appraisal of your home
• The value of your home may have changed since you last had it appraised
• Having proof of a specific numeric valuation in the case their spouse disputes the value

Preparing for Your Appraisal

During a home appraisal, an inspector will come to your home and assess its value based on square footage, lot size, measurements, photos, the number of rooms in the home, and the condition of the property. The appraiser will also factor in things such as the neighborhood demographics, housing trends, available utilities, and other details about your home.

Though you only have control over some of these factors, there are things you can do to help spruce your home up so you get the best appraisal possible. Before the day of the appraisal, give your home a good cleaning inside and outside. You should also make sure your yard is in good condition and make any repairs to home fixtures before the appraisal.

Our Team of DuPage County Divorce Attorneys Is Here to Help

No matter what you decide to do with the home, you should most definitely have it appraised first so you know what kind of valuation you are looking at. At Weiss-Kunz & Oliver, LLC, we understand how important it is for you to have an accurate idea of how much your home is worth. Our Elmhurst, IL divorce lawyers will help you decide what the best course of action is for your home. Call our office today at 312-605-4041 to schedule a consultation.

Sources:

https://www.homelight.com/blog/divorce-home-appraisal/

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/mortgages/how-to-split-home-value-in-divorce/