Divorce is a seven letter word for division. A division of assets as well as family; a division of lives and hopes and dreams. Divorce usually leads to one partner or both losing their home, the biggest real estate most of us ever own. Divorce is one of the leading causes of homes being sold or lost through foreclosure.

Divorce greatly affects real estate property that couples own. Many times both the husband and wife are working to pay the mortgage and other bills that come along with home ownership. You know the ones, fire insurance, flood insurance, liability insurance, utilities, upkeep, and maintenance. So, when suddenly the husband is no longer living there, or the wife, as sometimes is the case, the income is drastically reduced. True, the court may order a husband or wife to pay the mortgage, or provide spousal and child support. But in truth, these payments seldom measure up to what was being provided when the couple were living in the same house. Think about it, most courts order a spouse to pay a percentage of their income as child support. That percentage alone is seldom what the house payment is, let alone all the bills that go along with owning a home. Not to mention little things like food, clothing, cars and their expenses such as maintenance and insurance, tax, and license. Hopefully and usually, one parent continues to carry health insurance on the children, but there may still be co-pays and such. I'm sure you get the picture. So, many times, even if one spouse is allowed to remain in the home, especially if there are children, that spouse may still not be able to pay all the bills associated with home ownership.

In some cases, the courts will order the sale of real estate to satisfy debts and divide any left over monies between the two parties. Or the parties may agree to sell the property and divide the money left over. Either way, it is almost a given that there will be drastic changes. Even when one person does manage to hang on to a house, often they will be unable to keep the house up. It may fall into neglect which in turn pulls its value down. This could lead to the house not being worth as much if it should go to a sale or foreclosure. And even if you are losing your home, you still want it to bring as much as possible. Because, rest assured, the banks will hold you accountable for the unpaid amount of any mortgage you have on the property.

So, no matter how you look at it, divorce almost always has a very negative affect on real estate, at least from the people involved in the divorce.

Learn more about this author, Shelia West.
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