First of all, there are a ton of expenses involved in a divorce. If it’s a contentious one, double or triple those expenses. The more you fight, the more the lawyers grab all those assets you and your soon to be ex-spouse worked so hard to accumulate.

Did you ever consider selling your house in divorce and pocketing the money to help pay your attorney bills and court costs – and to help you get off to a new start? After all, even if you sell your house, there’s a chance that one of you can buy it back after all the dust settles, if one of you has an emotional attachment to it.

The spouse that wants to keep the house would need to make payments by himself or herself until the divorce becomes final. However, if the mortgage is held jointly, the spouse that doesn’t want the house still is responsible for payments until the day the marriage officially ends in divorce.

If the spouse that wants to keep the house defaults on their payments during that time, the bank will still hold the other party responsible. Not only can that throw a wrench in the works in an otherwise smooth legal proceeding, but it can also wreck the credit of the person that didn’t even want the house.

Usually, selling the house is the most beneficial strategy when you get a divorce. Not only does it get rid of all the emotional baggage associated with the marital home, but it also makes dividing debt and assets much easier. This can be accomplished one of two ways, with a real estate agent or selling to an investor.

Although this option is usually the first option divorcing spouses think of, it pays to look at all the implications of listing your house. First, you and your spouse (or ex-spouse) will need to sign an agreement with the real estate broker to give them exclusive rights to sell the property.

The process can last anywhere from a month to over a year, depending on the market and the condition of your house. Listing requires you to open up your already-chaotic home situation to prospective buyers, property stagers (who rearrange your furniture to better appeal to buyers), appraisers, inspectors, and others. It can be a challenge – even overwhelming – for a family already in emotional turmoil. Buyers show up at the most inconvenient times, usually, when you’re in the middle of a shouting match with your soon-to-be ex. It’s a bit of a turnoff to buyers, to say the least. Not to mention, an embarrassment to you, just when you need privacy the most.

Given the Buyer’s request for financing contingencies and repair/upgrades sometimes its best to sell to your home to an investor during a divorce just to move on with your life.