Selling a House in a Divorce
A certified Divorce Real Estate Professional who has worked through some of the hardest divorces, including where the two parties are not speaking directly.
Two clients, one house, and an agent who works for both
In an ordinary sale the seller and the agent want the same thing. In a divorce sale there are two sellers, they may want different things, and they may not be speaking to each other.
That changes the job. Every piece of information has to reach both parties at the same time and in the same words. Every decision needs a record. Nothing gets agreed in a phone call with one person and reported to the other afterwards, because that is how an already difficult situation turns into an accusation.
I hold the Divorce Real Estate Professional designation and this is a regular part of my business, not something I take on occasionally.
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Working with your attorneys, not around them
A divorce sale usually sits inside a legal process with its own timeline, and sometimes inside a court order with specific requirements about price, timing or how proceeds are divided.
I am a certified Divorce Real Estate Professional and I have worked through some of the hardest divorces there are. Where a decree or a court order governs the sale, I follow what it says and provide the documentation the process needs. If there is a court order governing the sale, I want to see it before we price anything, because it may constrain decisions that would otherwise be ours to make.
I do not give legal advice and I will not guess at what your decree requires. Your attorney does that. My job is to run a sale that fits inside it and to protect the equity while that happens.
Where these sales actually go wrong
Deferred decisions. Repairs nobody authorizes and showings nobody agrees to, until the house has been on the market long enough that buyers start asking what is wrong with it.
Price used as a proxy. When one party wants out quickly and the other does not, the list price becomes an argument rather than a strategy. It usually ends with a house that sits, which serves neither person.
Occupancy. One party living in the house while it is being shown is workable, but only if the expectations are agreed in writing at the start rather than negotiated every weekend.
The inspection response. The point at which a tired seller agrees to a repair list nobody challenged. That is real money and it comes out of both shares.
What you can expect from me
Communication that goes to both parties together. A written record of decisions. A valuation supported by comparable sales that either side can take to their attorney. And a pace that fits your legal timeline rather than mine.
If you are early in the process and do not yet know whether the house is being sold, that is a fine time to call. Knowing what it is worth and what a sale would net is often the information that lets the rest of the decision get made.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you work with both of us if we are not speaking?
Yes. Communication goes to both parties simultaneously and in writing, and decisions are documented. That structure exists precisely for situations where direct conversation is not happening.
What if there is a court order about the sale?
Send it to me before we price the house. It may set requirements about list price, timing or proceeds that change what we can decide. I follow the order and your attorney interprets it.
Do we have to agree on a price before listing?
Yes, both parties on title have to agree to list and to the price. Where there is a disagreement, an independent valuation backed by comparable sales usually gives both sides something concrete to work from.
Is this confidential?
Your situation is not discussed with buyers, other agents or anyone else. A divorce is not a disclosure item, and a buyer learning that a seller is motivated by a divorce is information that costs you money in the negotiation.
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