The Risks of Co-Owning a Vacation Home With Your Ex

A vacation home is a wonderful place for your family, and you have likely built many happy memories there. Your vacation home is probably in a beautiful area, and you may not want to part with the property, even after a divorce. While some couples may try to own the vacation home together after a divorce, this can be a tricky and risky thing to do. There are some risks of co-owning a vacation home with your ex after your divorce. An Illinois divorce attorney will help you resolve issues of property distribution. 

Scheduling Can Be Tricky

While you were a family, you may have spent many weekends, vacations, and holidays at your vacation home. Now, you may both want to spend time there separately. This could create a difficult way to maneuver through the scheduling of your time at the home. Both of you will want to spend important dates there, and neither one of you may end up getting as much time there as you would prefer. You might be creating a situation that will cause even more strife and discord than you would like. You may also be unwittingly causing problems with the family relationship dynamics when grown children want to visit the vacation home. 

You Could Damage Your Credit Score

When you still own property with your former spouse, you are both relying on each other to make mortgage payments on time. If one of you defaults, it could cause you both to take a hit on your credit scores. Not only that, but if one of you is not able to make payments, the other may have to step up and pay more to keep the property out of foreclosure. Also, keep in mind that if you still have a mortgage on the property, it could prevent you from buying new property if you have a debt-to-income ratio that is close to the limit. These factors should make you very wary of co-owning a vacation home with your ex.

You Could Get Stuck With the Property

While you and your spouse may initially agree to co-own the home, you may not always feel that way. Things change, and you may find that you no longer want to spend time at the vacation home. You may prefer to spend your time elsewhere, or you might want to invest in a different property. You might even plan to move out of state. Unfortunately, you could get forced into keeping the property if your ex does not want to sell when you do. On the other hand, your ex may want to sell, and you want to keep the property. You may not have the funds to buy out the other, and you will end up owning a home that you just no longer want. 

There are many things to consider when you are dividing property in a divorce. While you cannot predict the future, you can make things easier and less stressful in the long run. One way to do that is to agree at the time of the divorce to selling the home or for one person to buy out the other’s interest. Too many things can go wrong if you try to co-own a vacation home after a divorce. If you are seeking a divorce, it is helpful to get legal guidance as soon as possible. Contact us at Women’s Divorce and Family Law Group online or call us today at (312) 445-8830. We provide legal representation in the areas of divorce and family law in Illinois.