Getting divorced in Florida comes with all sorts of complexities, especially when it comes to the division of high-value assets, such as your home.
You and your spouse can choose to sell your home and divide the profits. Or one of you could choose to keep the home and refinance it. Either way, one of the first things you will need to do is obtain an accurate valuation of your home.
There are a variety of ways to value your home. Two ways to do this is through a professional appraisal or online valuations.
Professional appraisals
Professional appraisals are a popular way to determine your home’s value.
Professional appraisers will examine the market where your home is located, improvements made to your property and, most importantly, comparable properties.
Comparable properties are homes that are similar to yours in the same market. Professional appraisers will examine what these homes recently sold for to determine what your house should sell for.
Generally, your home will be compared with three or more similar properties. The value of your home might vary slightly from comparable properties, for example, if it has more square footage or is outdated compared with comparable properties.
Online valuations
There are various websites that can assess your home’s value. They do so by utilizing automated valuation models.
Like professional appraisers, automated valuation models generally rely on an analysis of comparable properties to assess your home’s value. Automated value models look at recent sales in your area to determine your home’s value.
Note that automated value models are not always as accurate as other valuation methods. This can be due to the sheer number of comparable properties in your area or, conversely, the lack of comparable properties that limit what data the programs have to work with.
Your home is a valuable asset
Your home is likely one of your most valuable assets. You may even own more than one home.
These homes must be valued as part of the property division process. This way, you can ensure a fair distribution of assets.
