Solano Real Estate Scene: Jim Porter
Article By: Jim Porter – July 31, 2026
Gov. Ronald Reagan signed the Family Law Act of 1969, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 1970. This made California the first state to allow a divorce without needing to prove fault like cruelty or adultery.
One interesting fact, according to Google AI, first marriage divorce is down from 1976. However, in California, sadly, over 40% of all first marriages end in divorce.
I am so old that I remember when there were children involved, the divorce decree would call for the house to be sold after the youngest child turned 18. Over the past 40 years, I have been involved in an estimated 1,500 divorce cases and have actually helped couples and lawyers on at least 500 marital settlement agreements.
When there is only one house involved in a divorce case, there are usually three options: 1. Sell the house and split the proceeds 50-50; 2. One party buys out the other; or 3. The couple keeps the house and becomes unmarried partners.
One interesting thing that has popped up lately is that most of the divorce cases we see involve a house that has a 2.75% mortgage rate from the refinance mania that took place during the pandemic. If the couple sells and they walk away from a 2.75% mortgage, they will both be looking at doubling or tripling their house payments. If one of the two can afford to buy out the other and a lawyer is involved, the departing spouse’s lawyer will always advise their client to force the 2.75% mortgage to be paid off because although there is very little monetary risk, without a release of liability from the lender, the spouse that agrees to remain in the house and assume the responsibility of the mortgage can ruin the FICO score of the ex-spouse.
Once a person deeds the house over to the ex-spouse, they lose control of their credit rating. This is why I tell people to never cosign on a mortgage without being on title to the real estate.
Now, keep in mind, Fannie and Freddie will not count the monthly payment on the ex-spouse’s mortgage when qualifying to buy another house if the house is clearly awarded to the ex-spouse and the interspousal deed has been recorded. But if the mortgage becomes delinquent, FICO scores can drop from 800 to 600 in three months.
My mortgage and real estate advice to all couples is to stay together if at all possible because the grass is not always greener on the other side, especially if they have a 2.75% rate mortgage. If it’s over, my advice to people that have kids involved is to be as generous and amicable as humanly possible because fighting and spending $50,000 to $100,000 on lawyers usually hurts the kids.
If it is an amicable divorce, a lawyer may be able structure some type of written agreement allowing the spouse that is staying in the house to keep the 2.75% rate mortgage for five to 10 years or even longer. I have seen couples divorce and remain real estate partners until they die, and I have also seen couples live separately and remain married until they die, too, which sounds a little strange, but is more common than most people might realize.
One final thing about the buy-out that has always bugged me. The person that is being paid off usually gets more than they would if the house is sold because lawyers will often split the equity 50-50 and not deduct anything for the real estate commissions, closing costs or required home repairs. I have never thought this was fair, but a lawyer once told me that the person that is staying saves money and stress because they do not have to move out and possibly in some cases move into a van down by the river.
Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager and senior loan adviser of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.
Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.
