When you're both buying again

Sequence before shopping

It's tempting to start looking at listings the week you decide to sell. I'd hold off on making offers until you know three things in writing: the date this house closes, how the proceeds are split, and what each of you qualifies for on your own. Until then, you're shopping on a guess. Check each one off as it arrives in writing.

Looking is free. Committing isn't.

A purchase contract you sign before your own sale closes, before your share is settled and before a lender has looked at you alone, is a promise you may not be able to keep, and backing out of it can cost you.

The old loan is still there

While this house is listed, the existing mortgage is still yours, both of you, if you both signed it. The loan is a contract with the lender, and moving out or signing a quitclaim deed doesn't change that. It ends at closing when the sale pays it off, or earlier only through a refinance or the lender's release.

Ask your own loan officer how that existing loan affects what you can borrow for the next place, and whether a signed sale agreement changes the picture. Bring your most recent mortgage statement to that conversation, since it shows the balance, the payment and whose names are on the loan. Rates change weekly. Check the current Freddie Mac survey rather than relying on a number a friend mentioned.

Your proceeds, separately

You'll each want to know your number. The court divides property under ORS 107.105 as may be just and proper, starting from a presumption that both spouses contributed equally to property acquired during the marriage, and your agreement or judgment sets the actual split. Run it in the equity split calculator with today's estimate, then rerun it when an offer comes in.

Taxes are personal now too. IRS Publication 523 lets a single filer exclude up to $250,000 of gain on a main home if the ownership and use tests are met. Each of you should ask your own CPA how that applies. Your attorneys can tell you when the split is final.

Don't spend it before it's yours. A number in a calculator is an estimate, and the real figure is the one on the final closing statement after payoffs, costs and any adjustments your agreement calls for.

Where I fit, and where I don’t

I work for the sale of this house, for both of you equally. If one of you asks me to help with a purchase afterward, I'll tell both of you, in writing, before I agree. Oregon's ORS 696.805 requires a seller's agent to disclose conflicts of interest in a timely way, and this is exactly the kind of thing I'd disclose. Nothing you've told me in confidence about the sale leaves with me, either.

Some couples prefer separate agents for their next homes. That's a reasonable choice.

If you'd rather I stay out of your next purchases entirely, just say so. It keeps things simple.

Two moves, one house

Two people moving out of one house can be hard on the house and on you. Agree on who leaves first, who takes what and when the house will be empty for the buyer's final walkthrough, and put it on a calendar you both can see. Write it down. If one of you is staying until closing, agree on how the house will be left for the buyer.

The guide to dividing the contents helps with the sorting, and the checklist keeps the closing paperwork straight for both of you.

A timeline you can share

If one of you needs to move first, say so early and we'll plan for it. The area pages have recent market numbers for each town I serve.

Plans change. If the closing date moves, I'll tell both of you within the same hour, and I'll let each of your loan officers know if you've asked me to, so neither purchase is caught off guard by a date nobody mentioned. Every offer goes to both of you.

1. Each of you gets a preapproval from your own lender, without the other on the application.
2. You agree in writing, through your attorneys, on how the proceeds will be split.
3. We list, and I send both of you the same updates and every offer at once.
4. Once you're under contract, you each start making offers with a realistic closing date in mind.
5. At closing, the title company pays off the old loan and disburses according to your signed instructions.