Selling a house during a divorce

On Behalf of | Dec 27, 2017 | residential real estate

Couples around the country who file for divorce sell their primary residence 61 percent of the time according to a study from the real estate marketing firm Smart Agents, and one or both of the spouses involved may have good reasons for wanting to conclude a deal quickly. The upheaval involved in selling a home can strain even the strongest relationships, but many common pitfalls can be avoided if Florida spouses are able to put their differences aside and concentrate on their common goals.

Divorcing couples should find a real estate agent that they both trust before deciding how much to ask for their home. Experienced real estate professionals understand their local markets and will be able to reveal the prices that similar properties have sold for and how long they were on the market before selling. Real estate agents could also provide a list of repair jobs, such as fixing minor cosmetic flaws and sealing leaks, that should be undertaken before a home is shown to prospective buyers.

Spouses may also wish to discuss some of the decisions they will likely face. Tempers can flare even among loving couples when one spouse wants to accept an offer and the other wants to hold out for a higher price, and adding the emotional strain of divorce proceedings can make a difficult situation even more volatile.

Attorneys with experience in this area will likely have handled residential real estate transactions that took place during a divorce, and they may understand the pressure that the spouses involved were under. Attorneys could do their part to alleviate the emotional duress by anticipating legal obstacles and addressing them proactively, and they may also take steps to bring all of the parties involved to the closing table as quickly as possible once an offer has been accepted.