It happens, and it’s usually not fun, to say the least. If you’re getting divorced in Hawaii, you certainly don’t want to add unnecessary headaches, especially when it comes to splitting up your assets. Finding someone that is willing and able to buy your house on Maui during a divorce can be one of these headaches.
You have multiple options if you need to sell your house quickly in Hawaii during a divorce. But most people find it’s easier when they can sell their house fast for cash. Then they can focus more on the divorce process itself, rather than the headaches of a lengthy real estate transaction. That can also help to expedite the whole unpleasant process and provide some cash to have on hand to help clear debt and pay attorney’s fees. But before making a decision it’s important to consider all options.
How to Sell Your House Quickly in a Divorce in Maui
Hire a Realtor
You could always take the traditional route and hire a Realtor to list your house on the Hawaii MLS (Multiple Listing Service). With this method you won’t have to worry about doing showings and open houses, or writing up contracts and the plethora of other details because the agent will take care of all this for you. This is definitely a viable option, but there are some significant drawbacks.
First, you’ll have to get an appraisal, which can often cost between $1,200-2,000 for a residential home on Maui. You will still need to have many showings and open houses, which you’ll need to keep your house in tip top condition for. This includes cleaning, keeping up with repairs, and often Realtors will even strongly suggest that you remove all pictures and personal items so that buyers can picture it being their home rather than someone else’s. Once you find a buyer, you’ll have to wait for them to get financing. It’s not uncommon for a buyer to fail to get financing, in which case they have the option to cancel the sale; this can often happen after weeks or even months of being under contract and going through all of the other due diligence steps. Also, when you accept a buyers offer, the closing date is typically 45 to 60 days later. The average time for this whole process is typically at least 3 months, but often closer to 6 months and with the recent shift in the real estate market many homes and condos on Maui are taking even longer to sell. If you look around on Zillow you won’t have much trouble finding houses in Kihei, for example, that have been sitting on the market for nearly a year, or more!
Short Sales in Hawaii
Another option is a short sale, which means someone is buying a house for less than the mortgage. A short sale is when your mortgage company agrees to allow the sale of the house for less than is owed on it. This route can sometimes be faster than going through an agent, but it, too, has drawbacks. Typically sellers want to avoid doing a short sale unless it’s their only option.
For one thing, it usually hurts your credit score. To protect your credit, the best you can do in a short sale is to get a “Not Paid as Agreed” notation on your credit report. Which isn’t ideal, but it’s much better than having your credit reflect a foreclosure, which can ruin your credit for seven years. It’s not uncommon for couples getting divorced to end up being foreclosed upon, particularly in expensive markets like Maui and Hawaii in general. But if you don’t have much equity and your bank will agree to a short-sale agreement, this can be a great way to unload a property quickly.
Consider a Professional Maui Cash Home Buyer
The last option we’ll cover, and maybe the best one if you need to sell your house quickly during a divorce – is to try a Maui cash home buyer. If you do this, you can expedite the whole process, get a fair price for your house, and save yourselves a ton of headaches.
The whole process of selling your home to a company like Maui Home Buyers can take as little as 10 days; 1-2 weeks rather than many months. The professional home buyer buying a house in Maui pays cash, which means you don’t have to sit around waiting for a retail buyer to get a loan. Also, you won’t have to worry about strenuous home inspections and having to pay for any repairs to your house before you can sell it. Maui Home Buyers will make and pay for all needed repairs after closing the sale. In addition, we can including paying all closing costs as part of the offer to make things simpler for you. That way you know that the offer we make is the actual amount you will receive in net proceeds on the closing date (minus any loans you owe on the property, of course).
If you need to sell your house quickly in a divorce on Maui reach out to Maui Home Buyers for a quick cash offer. It’s easy, It’s fast. You’ll get a fair cash offer.