NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 8, 2009 — Before the housing market crash, divorcing couples used to fight over who would get to keep the house. Now they fight over who will get stuck with the liability of a mortgage that costs more than the house is worth on today’s market. Many divorced couples find themselves stuck in the stressful position of sharing a home because neither can afford to move out and selling will cost them more money.
Attorney and divorce real estate expert Kelly Lise Murray says if you find yourself in this situation there are steps you can take to ensure you don’t lose all the equity in your home. She has solutions to these concerns from divorcing couples who owe more than their homes are worth:
- What are the 4 options you must consider?
- What are the 3 steps that can prevent foreclosure and bankruptcy?
- Which measures should you take to avoid ruining your finances if you plan to keep your home?
She has characters who are divorcing couples still living in the same house together.
Couple #1: War of the Roses with Happy Ending
Location: Nashville, TN
Upper-middle class, 20+ years married, couldn’t sell house during divorce. Acrimonious living conditions, followed Murray’s “Divorce This House” system and house finally sold.
Couple #2: Divorced Couple Stuck in Their Home
Location: Williamson County, TN
20+ year marriage, husband earns $100,000+, wife is homemaker. Both still in the house.
Couple #3: Wife in Debt Still in the House
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Client in process of listing house while living in it, he has moved out, she is in financial straits compounded by medical issues, business debt, etc.
Couple #4: “Deadbeat” Husband Staying in House
Location: Nashville, TN area
Wife is leaving house and letting husband stay in it. She knows he probably won’t pay and she’ll either ruin her credit or have to resume paying when he doesn’t.
Couple #5: House Payments Negotiated as Alimony
Location: Nashville, TN area
Wife is staying in house and wants part of house payment negotiated as alimony from husband so she can stay.
Characters #6: Multiple Home Owners Losing Houses in This Market
Location: Nashville, TN area
Clients who lost houses to foreclosure though they had decent jobs and houses weren’t too expensive. The addition of other bills and often a home equity loan got them into financial trouble.
CREDENTIALS: Murray is the author of Divorce This House – Not Just Your Spouse! She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University and cum laude from Harvard Law School. She has active law and real estate licenses, is a Vanderbilt legal writing professor, is a co-founder of DivorceThisHouse.com, and is the first activist reforming divorce real estate law with groundbreaking legislation. She has been featured in the LA Times and on Nashville’s ABC affiliate, WKRN News 2.
AVAILABILITY: Tennessee, Georgia, Illinois, Alabama, nationwide by arrangement, and via telephone
CONTACT: Kelly Lise Murray, (615) 823-0020 (TN); ; http://www.DivorceThisHouse.com
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