Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts
Divorce and real estate
My brother and sister in-law own property in Massachusetts. It was court ordered that the property be put on the market during their divorce hearing. She maintains the property and he is at present homeless (he's an alcoholic and she has a restraining order against him). The realtor and my brother in-law want the price of the house lowered to be made more marketable, but she does not want to lower it at this time. Can a judge make her lower it? Isn't this her property and essentially her potential loss of profit if the price is lowered?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Divorce and real estate
Under certain conditions, the answer is yes. The property seems to be joint from what you said.
Re: Divorce and real estate
The copurt can order the sale of the property at a lower price than originally contemplated if the market does not bear out the originally anticipated sales price. No person can be forced to co-own property with another person and the risk of loss was assumed by both parties at the time they jointly acquired the residence. If one party is concerned about the sales price, they can always purchase it themself and "buy out" the other party... realistically, a home based on a nuclear family generally cannot be afforded by a divorced family since they must now afford two homes instead of one. While both parties stand to suffer a potential "loss of profit if the price is lowered" the court really has no choice but to order the price lowered to reflect the reality of the market since the court cannot force one person to leave their equity and credit (ie. mortgage) tied up in a property that they no longer have use of.
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