Divorce can bring major financial decisions, and for homeowners, one of the biggest questions is often: What happens to the house and the mortgage?

When one spouse plans to remain in the home, dividing the property is not always as simple as deciding who gets the keys. There may be equity to divide, an existing mortgage to address, closing costs to consider, and a need to remove one spouse from the home loan.

Ben Lucero and the team at Indigo Mortgage help New Mexico homeowners understand their mortgage options during divorce and work through the numbers involved in refinancing a jointly owned home.

What Happens to a Mortgage During a Divorce?

A divorce agreement may determine who keeps the home, but the mortgage itself still needs to be addressed.

In many divorces, one spouse chooses to retain the property. That can create two common mortgage-related needs: paying the departing spouse their share of the home’s equity and refinancing the mortgage to remove that person from the loan.

Ben Lucero at Indigo Mortgage emphasizes the importance of understanding the actual numbers involved before making decisions about the property.

That means looking at the home’s value, the current mortgage balance, available equity, the amount that may need to be paid to the departing spouse, and the closing costs associated with refinancing.

Attorneys may determine how assets should be divided, but Ben Lucero and Indigo Mortgage can help homeowners understand how those decisions translate into the actual mortgage numbers.

Buying Out Your Ex-Spouse’s Share of the Home

One of the most common situations occurs when one spouse wants to keep the home.

For example, the divorcing couple may have accumulated equity during their marriage. If one person retains the property, the other spouse may be entitled to a portion of that equity.

Determining the amount isn’t simply a matter of looking at what the home originally cost.

The current value of the property and the amount still owed on the mortgage need to be considered. There may also be closing costs associated with the new loan that need to be factored into the overall calculation.

Ben Lucero can work with borrowers to review these numbers and determine what refinancing the property could look like.

Having these figures available can also help borrowers better understand whether keeping the home makes financial sense.

Refinancing to Remove an Ex-Spouse From the Mortgage

Another major issue is removing a former spouse from the existing home loan.

A divorce decree and a mortgage are separate matters. If the situation requires one borrower to be removed from the mortgage, refinancing may be necessary.

The spouse keeping the home may need to qualify for a new mortgage based on their individual financial circumstances.

This is where working directly with an experienced mortgage professional becomes particularly valuable.

Ben Lucero at Indigo Mortgage can walk borrowers through the refinancing process, explain the numbers and help them understand what will be required from application through funding.

Instead of trying to navigate the situation alone, homeowners can sit down with Ben Lucero and discuss the mortgage specifically in the context of their divorce.

Know the Value and Equity in Your Home

Before determining how a home may be handled, homeowners need a clear understanding of the property’s financial picture.

Important numbers can include the current property value, outstanding mortgage balance, available equity, potential equity payout and applicable closing costs.

These figures can significantly affect the final outcome.

As the original Indigo Mortgage discussion explains, attorneys can work out the percentages involved in a divorce settlement, while the lender works with the actual mortgage numbers.

Ben Lucero’s role is to help borrowers understand those real numbers and how they relate to a potential refinance.

That can be especially important when a homeowner is trying to determine whether they can realistically keep the property after the divorce.

Why a Local Mortgage Lender Can Matter During Divorce

A divorce-related refinance can involve more communication and coordination than a straightforward mortgage transaction.

This is one reason Ben Lucero and Indigo Mortgage believe working with a trusted local mortgage company can make a meaningful difference.

When you’re dealing with a divorce, you may have questions throughout the entire process. You don’t want to repeatedly explain your situation to a new person every time you call.

Borrowers may need to communicate with their loan officer or processor from the initial application through the final funding of the loan.

With Ben Lucero and Indigo Mortgage, borrowers have a local mortgage resource who understands the transaction and can help them navigate the details.

That personal communication can be particularly valuable during a time when there are already plenty of other decisions demanding your attention.

Divorce, Refinancing and Your Next Chapter

Keeping the marital home isn’t necessarily the right choice for every person going through a divorce. The important thing is understanding the numbers before making the decision.

How much equity is in the home? How much may need to be paid to your former spouse? What would the new mortgage look like? What closing costs need to be considered? And what will it take to refinance the property into one person’s name?

Those are questions worth discussing with an experienced local mortgage professional.

Ben Lucero and Indigo Mortgage can help New Mexico homeowners evaluate the mortgage side of the equation so they have clearer information as they make decisions about their property and their future.

Whether you’re in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe or elsewhere in New Mexico, working with a local lender gives you the opportunity to have a real conversation about your specific circumstances instead of being treated like another loan number.

Talk to Ben Lucero at Indigo Mortgage

If you’re going through a divorce and have questions about your mortgage, refinancing or buying out an ex-spouse’s share of your home’s equity, talk to Ben Lucero at Indigo Mortgage.

Ben can help you review the property’s value, existing mortgage, equity and potential refinance so you can better understand the numbers involved.

Divorce is complicated enough. Your mortgage doesn’t have to be something you figure out alone.

Contact Ben Lucero and Indigo Mortgage today to discuss your mortgage options and determine the next steps for your home.