Neither of you wants to keep paying for a house you both moved out of, and neither of you trusts the other to manage a six month listing.
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The marital home is usually the largest asset in an Orange County divorce and the hardest one to divide. You cannot cut it in half, one of you may still be living in it, both of your names are on the mortgage, and every month the case drags on the joint expense continues. Divorce sales are rarely about maximizing a price. They are about reaching a clean, verifiable division of proceeds without another six months of negotiation.
Florida is an equitable distribution state, which means the court divides marital assets fairly rather than automatically down the middle. In Orange County your case sits in the family division of the Ninth Judicial Circuit and is filed through the Orange County Clerk of Courts. Whether the house gets sold, awarded to one spouse, or held until a child finishes school is a decision that either the two of you make or the judge makes for you. This page explains the mechanics that actually matter, the mortgage trap that catches most couples, and how to sell the house in a way that both attorneys are comfortable signing off on.
Nothing here is legal advice, and we are not attorneys. Divorce property division in Florida depends on the specific facts of your marriage, your agreement, and your judge. Every seller in a divorce situation should have their own attorney. What we can do is describe how the real estate mechanics work and make our part of the process simple and neutral.
Florida is not a community property state. Under Florida law, marital assets and liabilities are divided equitably, which starts from a presumption of an equal split but allows the court to adjust based on statutory factors. Property acquired during the marriage is generally marital regardless of whose name is on the deed. Property owned before the marriage is generally non-marital, but appreciation from marital funds or marital effort can convert part of it. If one spouse owned the Orlando house before the marriage and the couple paid the mortgage from joint income for years, there is very likely a marital component. That is a question for your attorney and sometimes for a forensic accountant.
This is the single most important thing on this page. A divorce decree does not remove anyone from a mortgage. The final judgment is between you and your spouse. The mortgage is a contract between both of you and the lender, and the lender was not a party to your divorce. If the court awards the house to your spouse and orders them to pay the loan, and they stop paying, the lender still reports the delinquency on your credit and can still foreclose. You are still liable.
There are only a few real fixes:
A quitclaim deed transferring title to one spouse does nothing about the mortgage. It transfers ownership while leaving the other spouse fully liable for the debt, which is the worst of both worlds. Never sign a quitclaim deed on a jointly financed Orlando house without a written plan for the loan.
Usually yes, if both spouses agree. A jointly owned property can be sold by joint agreement at any time, and the proceeds can be held in escrow by the title company or a trust account until the division is settled. That is a common and practical solution when the house is bleeding money but the overall settlement is not finished. If you cannot agree, the court can order a sale as part of equitable distribution. Also be aware that Florida courts frequently enter standing orders in family cases restricting the transfer or encumbrance of marital assets while the case is pending. Check with your attorney whether such an order applies before you list or contract.
One more Florida specific point. If the property is homestead, both spouses generally must sign the deed to convey it, even if only one spouse is on title. Title companies will insist on it.
Best when one person genuinely wants to stay, has the income to qualify alone, and there is enough equity to fund a buyout. Get an appraisal both sides accept before negotiating the buyout number. The tradeoff is qualification risk. Many buyout agreements collapse months later when the refinance is declined, and then you are back where you started with more legal fees spent.
If the house shows well, both spouses can cooperate, and neither of you is in financial distress, listing usually produces the highest gross price. Be realistic about what it requires. Two people who are divorcing must agree on an agent, a list price, showing access, repair credits after inspection, and every counteroffer, for two to four months. Where cooperation exists, this is the right choice and it nets more money.
The right choice when cooperation is limited, when neither spouse can afford the carrying costs, when the house needs work neither of you will fund, or when a hard deadline exists. One decision, one price, one closing date, no showings, no repair negotiation, and no ongoing coordination between two people who would rather not talk. You accept a price below retail for that certainty and speed.
Courts sometimes award exclusive use and possession of the marital home to the parent with majority timesharing so children can finish school, with a sale ordered later. This preserves stability for the kids. The cost is that both parties remain financially entangled, usually including the joint mortgage, for years.
The title company can wire each spouse a separate amount at closing based on a written agreement or a court order. That is the cleanest arrangement, because neither party ever handles the other's money. If the division is not yet resolved, proceeds can be held in escrow pending the final judgment. Tell the title company early which arrangement you want. Sorting this out on the day of closing is how a signed deal turns into a delayed one.
One point of contact, identical information to each side, and no side deals. Everything material goes in writing to both spouses and both attorneys so nobody is guessing what was agreed.
We can close in about a week or wait months for a hearing or a school year to end. The date is written into the contract and we hold it without renegotiating the price.
Proceeds are split according to your written agreement or the court order, or held in escrow if the division is not final. Neither spouse ever has to hand the other a check.
This guide is written for Orlando, but the same process applies everywhere we buy. Start with your county.
Drag to roughly what your house is worth. These are the costs that come out of a seller's proceeds on an ordinary listing, before anyone talks about repairs. You pay none of them with us.
Estimates, not a quote. Florida seller-side costs run roughly 6.25 to 9 percent of the sale price all in, and these use the conservative middle of that range. Repairs a buyer's inspection turns up are not counted above, and they are usually the bigger number. Our cash offer is below full retail price, which is how we cover the repairs and the resale. If your house is in good shape and you can wait sixty to ninety days, listing with a good agent will usually net you more, and we will tell you so.
Four questions, about thirty seconds. You get an offer range and, more useful than that, what you would walk away with either way. No email required to see it.
The street address is enough. We use it to pull the county record.
Add the address and we can keep going.
Pick the closest one. Be honest, it only changes the repair number, and a rougher house is not a problem for us.
Heated living area. A rough number is fine, and your county property appraiser lists it for free.
Your best guess. Think about what renovated houses on your street sold for, not what yours would fetch today.
How the offer is built. We start from the after-repair value, which is what your Orlando house would sell for once it is fully repaired and updated. We take 68 percent of that, then subtract what the repairs will actually cost. The remaining 32 percent covers our purchase costs, the holding costs while the house is being renovated, the resale costs on the back end, and our margin.
Your offer = (after-repair value × 68%) − repair costs
The repair figures we use. These are per square foot of heated living area, and they are the same numbers we use internally on Orange County houses before we ever see the property:
| Move-in ready | $6 per square foot |
| Light cosmetics | $18 per square foot |
| Needs real repairs | $38 per square foot |
| Major work needed | $65 per square foot |
What listing costs a seller in Florida. Seller-side costs here run about 6.25 to 9 percent of the sale price all in. The comparison on this page uses the conservative middle of that: 5.5 percent agent commission, about 2 percent in documentary stamps, owner's title policy, settlement and lien search fees, and 3 months of taxes, insurance, utilities and upkeep at 0.25 percent of value per month while the house sits on the market. That is roughly 8.25 percent of the sale price, and it comes out of the seller's proceeds. On top of that, a seller listing a house that needs work usually has to spend the repair money first, because an appraiser flags the roof and the air conditioning and an inspection report prices the rest.
What we take on instead.
The honest caveat. If your home is in good condition, you have equity, and you can wait sixty to ninety days, listing with a good agent will usually net you more money than we will. We say that here and on every page of this site because it is true. Our offer is built for sellers who would rather have a closing date they can count on, no repair spending, and no cost of their own, than squeeze out the last few percent.
This is an estimate, not an offer. It is built entirely from numbers you typed in. A real offer comes after we pull the county record and the recent comparable sales near your property, and it can land higher or lower than this.
We check your numbers against the county record and recent sales nearby, then send a written offer, usually within 24 hours. No obligation, and we do not sell your information to anyone.
Not necessarily. Florida courts divide marital property equitably, and there are several ways to handle a house. One spouse can buy the other out and refinance, the parties can agree to hold the home until children finish school, or the property can be sold and the proceeds divided. Courts can order a sale when the parties cannot agree or when neither can afford to keep it. What the court decides depends on income, equity, and the needs of any children.
Usually yes, if both spouses agree and no court order prevents it. Many Orange County couples sell while the case is pending and have the title company hold the net proceeds in escrow until the division is settled. Be careful about standing orders that many family courts enter restricting transfer of marital assets during a pending case. Ask your attorney to confirm before you sign a contract, and get the escrow instructions in writing.
Because a divorce decree binds you and your spouse, not the lender. The bank was not a party to your case, so the note remains a joint obligation regardless of what the judgment says. If your ex stops paying, it hits your credit and the lender can foreclose. The only reliable fixes are a refinance into their name alone, a formal assumption with a written release of liability, or selling the house and paying the loan off at closing.
You have a few paths. Your attorney can ask the court to order a sale as part of equitable distribution, which family courts in the Ninth Judicial Circuit do regularly when neither party can afford to keep the home. Mediation often resolves it faster and cheaper than a contested hearing. Where the two of you still jointly own the property after the divorce is final, a partition action is another route. All of these are slower than agreeing, so agreement is usually worth some compromise.
If the property is homestead, generally yes. Florida homestead protections require the signature of both spouses to convey or encumber homestead property, even when only one spouse holds title. Title companies enforce this strictly and will not close without it. If you are separated and one spouse is uncooperative, raise it with your attorney early, because discovering the requirement a week before closing is how divorce sales fall apart.
Frequently yes. Cash purchases in Orange County typically close in about seven to fourteen days once title is clear, because there is no lender, appraisal, or underwriting. The limits are title issues, payoff turnaround, and getting both signatures. If a foreclosure sale date is already on the Orange County Clerk docket, tell us the date up front and we will give you a straight answer about whether we can realistically close before it.
We would rather you check our numbers than take our word for it. These are the official records for your property.
Look up your property's assessed value, ownership history, and exemptions. Use this to sanity-check any offer you receive, including ours.
Search foreclosure filings, lis pendens records, and civil case history tied to a property.
The probate court for Orange and Osceola counties. Start here if you inherited a home and need to understand the estate process.
Official record of deeds, mortgages, liens, and judgments recorded against a property.
Check open code violations and accrued daily fines before you sell. Unresolved violations follow the property, not the owner.
Verify whether past work, such as a garage conversion or an addition, was permitted and closed out.
Check delinquent property taxes, tax certificates, and pending tax deed applications.
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