Ex in contempt and wont sell house

[shoreline]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

My ex was awarded use of the house but the order also stated that the house is to be sold immediately. First she put a for sale sign in the yard and would ask well over market value so no one would make an offer. Then she removed the sign after a few months. I let it slide for one year to wait for the kids (high school, college) to move out and in with me. Now she is alone in the house and says she plans on renting out rooms. She refuses to discuss selling and wont cooperate in selling (she cant afford it anyway alone and can't refinance to get my name off mortgage). I am going to file a contempt of court motion and ask the court to force her to cooperate in selling the house. My question is: how can the judge force her to sell the house short of locking her up for contempt? Can the court assign someone to oversee? i.e. ensure she asks reasonable market value; keep the house clean; cooperate in showing the house; agreeing on a reasonable offer?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

My ex was awarded use of the house but the order also stated that the house is to be sold immediately. First she put a for sale sign in the yard and would ask well over market value so no one would make an offer. Then she removed the sign after a few months. I let it slide for one year to wait for the kids (high school, college) to move out and in with me. Now she is alone in the house and says she plans on renting out rooms. She refuses to discuss selling and wont cooperate in selling (she cant afford it anyway alone and can't refinance to get my name off mortgage). I am going to file a contempt of court motion and ask the court to force her to cooperate in selling the house. My question is: how can the judge force her to sell the house short of locking her up for contempt? Can the court assign someone to oversee? i.e. ensure she asks reasonable market value; keep the house clean; cooperate in showing the house; agreeing on a reasonable offer?

The judge can give you sole authority over selling the house, accepting offers etc....but unfortunately the judge cannot force her to keep the house clean or cooperate in showing the house as long as she has "possession". What you could ask the judge to do is order that you have possession of the house, to force her to move out, but that would also likely make you soley responsible for the mortgage payment until the house is sold.

 

[mistoffolees]

The judge can give you sole authority over selling the house, accepting offers etc....but unfortunately the judge cannot force her to keep the house clean or cooperate in showing the house as long as she has "possession". What you could ask the judge to do is order that you have possession of the house, to force her to move out, but that would also likely make you soley responsible for the mortgage payment until the house is sold.

Technically, the judge CAN order her to keep the house in presentable condition, but there are no objective standards, so it would be a useless order. Your suggestion is probably the best option.

If he doesn't want to take on responsibility for the mortgage payment, the other option is to have a real estate auction or some other 'quick' sale to just get it sold quickly, although the selling price would be lower if they did that. It might be worth it to not have to deal with all the hassles of keeping the house up.