Your journey is unique. Your mortgage plan should be, too.
No two divorces look exactly alike and neither do the decisions surrounding your home and mortgage.
Your income, assets, debts, home, mortgage, divorce agreement and future goals all play a role in determining what options may be available to you.
There isn't a one-size-fits-all MDMP process.
CONTEMPLATING DIVORCE
You may be wondering:
- Can I afford to keep the house?
- What would happen to the mortgage?
- What should I be thinking about before making decisions?
- What professionals should I have on my team?
- Where do I even start?
At this stage, you may not need a mortgage plan yet. Karla can help you understand what questions you should be asking and point you toward the resources or professionals that may be appropriate for your situation.
NAVIGATING DIVORCE
This is when Divorce Mortgage Planning can be especially valuable. Before you agree to what happens to the home, Karla can help you:
- Understand your current mortgage and equity
- Explore whether keeping, selling, refinancing or assuming the mortgage may be possible
- Understand how income, debt and support may affect future mortgage qualification
- Identify potential lending obstacles
- Give your divorce team mortgage information to consider as you negotiate your agreement
The goal is to understand what's possible before the decisions are finalized.
FINALIZING OR RECENTLY DIVORCED
If your divorce is already finalized and you have a clear plan for the home, Karla's role may shift from Divorce Mortgage Planner to Mortgage Lender with Sunflower Bank. At this stage, you may be ready to:
- Refinance
- Purchase a new home
- Execute a buyout
- Apply for financing
- Move forward with the mortgage outlined in your agreement
If your divorce is already finalized, contact Karla through Sunflower Bank as your lender rather than through MDMP as a Divorce Mortgage Planner.
You don't have to wait until your divorce is finalized. In many cases, the most valuable time to have the mortgage conversation is before the agreement is finalized, when there is still an opportunity to understand your options and address potential mortgage issues before they become problems.
When should you reach out to MDMP
*IMPORTANT NOTE: Every divorce is unique, and so is the MDMP process. We tailor our approach to each client’s specific needs and circumstances. The timeline above is a general guide, not a fixed process.
What happens during a consultation
Let’s talk about those mortgage and homeownership questions that have been keeping you up at night.
This is your opportunity to get clarity on the questions and concerns surrounding your divorce and future homeownership.
Karla will ask a few questions to better understand your situation, identify potential challenges and determine whether My Divorce Mortgage Planning services could make a meaningful difference in your outcome.
Or, if you prefer, we can simply spend the time answering the questions you’ve been struggling to get answers to.
The goal is simple: You’ll leave our conversation with more clarity, greater confidence, and a better understanding of your next steps.
How should I prepare for my initial consultation?
There's no need to gather documents or prepare detailed financial information before our call.
If you currently own a home, it's helpful to have a general idea of your home's approximate value, mortgage balance and monthly mortgage payment.
Ballpark numbers are perfectly fine!
Our initial 20-minute conversation is designed to help me understand your goals, ask a few important questions and determine whether there's a potential path forward. Any additional information needed will be discussed after our call.
How much does MDMP cost?
FOR INITIAL 20 MINUTE CONSULTATION: $125
Your initial consultation is designed to help you understand your situation, identify your questions and determine whether additional mortgage planning is appropriate.
Your consultation may include:
Review of your situation
Initial mortgage analysis
Discussion of potential options
Identification of questions/next steps
Guidance on what information may be needed
Why do I charge for my consultation?
Traditional mortgage lenders are compensated when a loan closes. The fee-based consulting model allows Karla to focus on your entire financial picture, not just your next mortgage.
Whether you're keeping your home or planning to sell and purchase another, decisions involving support income, debt allocation, and division of assets can significantly impact your ability to qualify for financing.
Our role is to help you navigate those decisions before your divorce is final, when costly mistakes can still be avoided.
You're paying for specialized divorce mortgage planning expertise, not simply a mortgage qualification.
*IMPORTANT NOTE: A consultation is not a commitment to hire MDMP for your specific situation.
If you choose to hire MDMP and depending on your situation, you will most likely require a 2-3 hour meeting with Karla. The rates for meeting are $375 per hour.
Planning vs Lending
My Divorce Mortgage Planning and mortgage lending are two different parts of the process. What makes MDMP and Karla stand out is she has lots of experience with both planning and lending and is able to help you through the entire process.
During divorce: You need My Divorce Mortgage Planning
Karla helps you understand your mortgage options and how they may interact with your divorce decisions.
When you're ready to finance: You need Karla as a mortgage lender
If you're ready to apply for a mortgage, Karla can work with you in her role as a nationwide mortgage lender.
In simple terms:
MDMP helps you understand the plan.
Mortgage lending helps you execute the mortgage.
What we do
Explain the mortgage side of your divorce
Explore potential financing scenarios
Identify lending considerations early
Help you understand your options
Help identify potential mortgage obstacles
Work alongside your professional team
What we don’t
Give legal advice
Decide how assets should be divided
Replace your attorney
Replace your financial advisor
Replace your tax professional
Tell you what decision to make
FAQs
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A mortgage lender's role is to help determine whether you qualify for a particular mortgage and, when you're ready, guide you through the lending process.
MDMP focuses on the planning that happens before and during divorce decisions—helping you understand how different housing and mortgage scenarios may affect your options before you're ready to apply for a loan.
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Your Realtor is an important part of your team and can provide guidance about the real estate side of buying or selling a home.
MDMP focuses on the mortgage and lending side of those decisions, including how income, debt, support, equity, credit and lending guidelines may affect your potential options.
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Your attorney helps you understand the legal aspects of your divorce and how your agreement addresses your property and finances.
MDMP focuses specifically on the mortgage implications of those decisions.
The two roles can work together. MDMP can identify mortgage considerations that may be important for your attorney and the rest of your divorce team to understand before an agreement is finalized.
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You can—and many people try.
The challenge is that a decision that looks workable from a legal, financial or personal perspective may not necessarily work from a mortgage qualification perspective.
MDMP helps you identify the mortgage questions and potential lending considerations before you make decisions that may be difficult to change later.
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No. Mortgage planning and mortgage lending are two different parts of the process.
The purpose of MDMP is to help you understand your mortgage-related options and identify potential considerations during the divorce process.
Your consultation is not a commitment to apply for a mortgage.
If you later decide that you are ready to pursue financing, Karla can work with you in her separate role as a mortgage lender with Sunflower Bank.
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No.
You don't need to know whether you want to keep, sell, refinance, assume or buy out the home before your consultation.
Part of the purpose of mortgage planning is to help you understand what questions need to be answered and what options may be worth exploring.
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No.
In many situations, mortgage planning can be most useful before your divorce agreement is finalized, while there is still an opportunity to understand the potential mortgage implications of different decisions.
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No.
The purpose of the consultation is to help you understand your mortgage situation and potential options. It is not a commitment to apply for a mortgage or use Karla as your lender.
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No.
MDMP provides mortgage-focused education and analysis so you can better understand your options.
Your attorney, financial professional, tax professional, realtor and other advisors may each provide guidance within their respective areas of expertise. Your decisions remain yours to make.
Feeling overwhelmed? That’s okay!
You don't need to know whether you should refinance.
You don't need to know if you qualify.
You don't need to understand mortgage terminology.
You don't need to have your entire divorce figured out.
You just need to start with a conversation.
The one thing we hear most often? “I wish I’d called sooner.”