Divorcing Sale

I recently represented a divorced couple in the sale of their once happy home, the experience was somewhat reminiscent of the 1989 movie “War of the Roses.” I remember-not so fondly- when the husband, who wanted total control of the sale, insisted that only his name should appear on the listing agreement. ” He said he held sole title to the house, which he had purchased before he was married.” The wife balked, explaining that her attorney had attached a rider to the deed before the wedding.

After a title search was completed, the wife learned that her attorney hadn’t dotted all the rider’s i’s or crossed its t’s. Moreover, he hadn’t attached it to the tax records. Still, when the attorney produced evidence of the rider, he secured his client’s stake.
During the negotiations with the buyer I felt the human equivalent of a Ping-Pong ball. The wife would call me thinking she was being ripped off. The Husband would call and say that I was on the buyers side. I was just doing my job, but there was so much spite between them it was very difficult to be on neither side.

Such acrimony often occurs when the family home gets dragged into the tug-of-war over who gets what in a divorce. Many times it’s put up for sale since it represents the greatest financial asset. It’s also often the centerpiece of the couple’s emotional struggle, second only to custody of any children.
Here are just a few important tips towards a smooth transaction when confronted with a divorce situation.
-Check title and deed so you know whose name or names belong on the listing agreement so the sale is legal.

-Don’t try to get the realtor to pull for one side more than the other. A good realtor (marriage counselor)will remain neutral.

-The more cooperation there is, the more likely you will maximize profits. You need to come to an agreement on one agenda. Sell and divide the proceeds; agree that one will buy the other, or share ownership until some future time even though only one may live in the home.

-Get up to speed on tax law changes. Contact your attorney or tax advisor.

-Add contingencies- From a realtors perspective, in order to avoid a “he said, she said” disagreement add a provision in the listing agreement that if an offer is made within a certain percentage of the listing price it must be accepted. (A good realtor will leave nothing to chance.)

-Try not to publisize the reason for the sale. You don’t want the buyers to think is a fire sale.

-Sometimes it helps if you share the load as far as preparing documents and details about the house to prepare for marketing. That way the workload is spread evenly as much as possible.

-Divorce lawyers don’t need to get involved until the actual closing, however, when the sides really can’t agree, call in the attorneys it’l probably get worse before it gets better. Hopefully it’l work out if the buyers are patient enough and in love with the house enough.

-The closing. Do not attend the closing. Today’s technology is such that the parties do not need to attend. Everything could be overnighted or electronically sent.

There it is. Now lets all get along, adjust to new priorities and find happiness in a new home.

Richard Recuset - Multi-Million Dollar Producer-The Recuset Group - 786-287-9272 - email:Richard@RichardRecuset.com