For Sale By Divorce

In the euphoric moment of writing wedding vows, I am sure no one has ever written, “For better, for worse, or until the house sells for a profit.” But as life would have it, if you have married, are now getting a divorce and own marital property, this is exactly what all parties want.
 
The fact is; decisions regarding property liquidation have serious financial, emotional and long-term implications for all parties involved.
 
It goes without saying that if you’ve been married for any length of time and have children, the family home will hold a special place with your family. If you are like me, every birthday party for my son and daughter has been spent in our home and back yard. Every Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and any other holiday you can think of has been spent in our home together.
 
Needless to say, memories have been created and shared in our home. But what happens when married or cohabitating couples decide to split up? The real life answer is; divorce affects family members at every generational level throughout the nuclear and extended family, thus producing a crisis for the family as a whole as well as for each individual within the family. The journey, in all likelihood, will not be an easy one.
 
But when it comes to property division, as a Real Estate Divorce Specialist and a Realtor who has helped many a divorcing or already divorced couple liquidate marital property, there is a playbook for handling the situation with empathy while being a professional that enlists all parties in the help of accomplishing their home selling goal which is no different than any other home seller; sell the home for as much as possible and in the quickest time frame.
 
As I touched upon earlier, divorce is a traumatic event and can be an emotional roller coaster. But the one area that truly needs reasoned, dispassionate, businesslike treatment is what to do with your property. Easier said than done but definitely manageable.
 
Additionally, when you're emotionally distraught or angry, turning all the details and hassle of a divorce over to a divorce lawyer will seem like a perfect solution. Unfortunately, it doesn't always simplify things. For this reason, I have always treated both parties in a divorce equally, favouring none over the other.
 
Typically, if at all possible, I meet with both parties so expectations are made clear, allowing them both to ask me questions and listening to the answers therefore defining the process from beginning to end. This is especially important when one of the parties attorney referred me as the listing agent so the other party is already on the defensive.
 
The other party needs to know that I work for them equally as well, regardless of how I came to the transaction. At the end of the day, as I mentioned earlier, the goal is still to net both parties the most profit from the sale and laying out the process clearly in the beginning goes a long way to culminating with a successful real estate closing transaction.
 
As a Real Estate Divorce Specialist, I know that other issues also should be addressed, such as who will live in the home prior to a sale, who will maintain it, who will pay expenses and other details for the marketing and selling of the home(s). Again, setting expectations about how situations are handled, before they arise, is of paramount importance.
 
Solving property division issues is often one of the hardest parts of working through a divorce. Agreeing on a property settlement may come after rough negotiations with your spouse, or you may opt to take your chances and let the court decide property division issues in your case. But why would any divorcing couple want to take this route? The answer is; you shouldn’t!
 
Remember, parties to a divorce can contract the disposition of their marital property any way they agree to, but if you are unable to agree, a court may order the property sold. For this reason, it is definitely in both parties' best interest to come up with a solution and hiring an experienced, competent real estate professional who is not only certified and trained to work in this environment but has actually helped divorcing or already divorced couples liquidate marital property, is essential to guaranteeing a successful outcome.
 
Nobody gets married, starts a family and buys a home with the forethought that eventually they will end up divorced. And certainly it is not in our human nature to get married with an exit strategy already in hand, otherwise prenuptial agreements would be common place with every single marriage.
 
Again, we already know selling a home is an emotional experience for most homeowners, never mind selling a home as a result of divorce. As with anything, you have to manage the process, and I think more than anything, this is exactly what a Real Estate Divorce Specialists with great transactional experience brings to the table. At the end of the day, they are an integral part of the home selling process brought on because of divorce.
 
 
Lou Rodriguez is a full-time Real Estate Professionaland holds the designation of Real Estate Digital Marketer (REDM), Sellers Representative Specialist (SRS), Certified Probate Real Estate Specialist, (CPRES), is a Real Estate Divorce Specialist (REDS) and Author of the book “For Sale By Divorce; The Experts Guide to Divorce and Property Division”.
 
Lou is a home pricing and marketing expert with over 16 years of experience in valuing homes, analysing market trends and data in order to give his clients clarity about their unique home selling or buying goals.
 
To learn more about Lou, head over to www.LouRodriguez.me.