Stryker, I had a long response all penned out on my Ipad, but somehow, it magically disappeared before I had the chance to post it. The primary thing I wanted to mention and that I hadn't seen in other posts here is that WA is a community property state. Unless you signed a Pre-Nup (leaky and iffy at best anyway), she can't sell the house without your signature. She may think she's in the driver's seat, but in reality, you both have a hold of the wheel. That's the good news. I'm not entirely certain, but I think the bad news is that until the remaining assets (particularly the house/property) are split up and names removed from titles/deeds, the two of you remain tied at the hip financially/legally. ie; a kid comes onto your property, breaks his arm, his parents sue you and her. That's where you should seek the advice of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe.
My personal opinion ?......I would only do what is necessary to maintain the basic condition of the house. Anything you do above and beyond to try and increase the sale price is going to yield you personally, very little. She will be the beneficiary of half the increase in value and you will potentially give a big chunk of it to uncle IRS in the form of capital gains. I don't recall how much time until the agreement expires, but spend that time looking out for yourself and securing new digs. I know you won't, but don't trash anything. If she drags you into court because she thinks you're trashing the house out of spite, most Judges take a very dim view of that. Sean is absolutely right. Photograph/document everything. If she decides to be spiteful by accusing you of trashing it, you have a defense and the courts also take a dim view of that tactic, if she were to try it.
Because of condition, you probably won't get what it's worth, but you'll only get dinged with half the shortfall. She'll share in that as well. There are ways of writing allowances for cleanup, painting, etc. into purchase and sale agreements, so it's not really a big deal to go that route. It's very common on houses that need new roofs at the time of the sale, as an example. Also, be very skeptical of what Zillow says it's worth. Zillow has really fallen off the edge of the earth in terms of accuracy in the last couple of years, particularly in the greater Puget Sound area.
And, I'm just up the road a spell. Let me know and I'll be happy to help move some boxes.
