Divorce can be complex, and selling a home during this transition often comes with unique challenges.
We specialize in handling sensitive real estate situations with professionalism, discretion, and efficiency. From navigating emotional dynamics to ensuring a seamless sale, we work closely with attorneys to provide solutions that protect your client’s best interests.
Let’s work together to make the process as smooth as possible.
JoeHolmes@kw.com
hlpederson@kw.com
Selling or conveying real estate through divorce can be challenging. Your real estate team needs to have a wide range of tools & skills to allow the clients to take the process & timing as they need. Whether real estate is transferred to the remaining spouse or there are challenges with no contact orders, bankruptcy, condition of the home, health or otherwise – there is a process and method that your real estate team can create to customize the approach for any situation. We’ll dive into some of the larger concepts and we’re available for one-on-one consultations & training as well.
Cash offers, Facilitation & Full Listing Services –which is best and why?
Not everyone selling their home wants or needs to put their home on the open market. There are plenty of situations where listing a home isn’t necessary and if it is, needs to come with a real estate team ready to help with the process from start to finish.
Here’s a guide to help you choose the right sales method for various situations.
A Facilitator is a reduced role in real estate in which services are provided to a seller, buyer or both but doesn’t represent either in a fiduciary capacity. This is done when a seller and buyer are working with each other directly and simply need guidance on the terms, process, forms, pricing, title companies and generally just getting to a closing. This is usually seen when the home is being sold to someone the seller(s) knows like a friend, family member, or neighbor. Real Estate guidance is needed but the need to formally list the home isn’t necessary.
This is extremely cost effective and not a commission-based expense structure.
Less time intensive and very easy to execute.
Convenience & control for the seller.
For situations when a seller needs to add more convenience, control & certainty into a real estate sale. Reasons for this can range including the need for immediate sales, the condition of the home is very challenging, the simple conveniences of avoiding the fulllisting experience or simply to have control over timing and all aspects of the process.
Conveniences
Seller can pick a closing date or change a closing date
Leave behind personal property and/or debris
No need to clean
Holdover possession after closing
Rentbacks for a longer period of time
no showings, no repairs, no updates, no staging
Control
Change closing dates, adjust holdover possession or rentbacks, cancel anytime
Certainty
No appraisals / No loan approvals
Inspections are different
Close quickly if needed – as little as 10 days
Disadvantages
Sales price is lower than going “to market”
Less proceeds
A more traditional approach to the sale of a home. Generally, the strategy is to net the most proceeds possible, but need to do so while maintaining the home, routine life activities & dissolution process. Your real estate team should be prepared with a wide range of tools including handyman services, general contractors, debris removal, donation services, cleaning teams and anything else to fill in for the sellers. The sellers are typically transitioning from a two-adult (or more) home to less. Sometimes kids, pets and other circumstances apply that create challenges for the remaining spouse to manage while adding the to-do’s necessary to list the home. This is where your real estate team needs to step in for the client.
The open market should generate the highest sales price for the seller.
With the right real estate team – should be able to lean on them to coordinate all items needed at the home including:
• handyman services
• contractors: painters, plumbers, electricians, etc.
• cleaning services
• donation pickups
• debris removal
The sellers need to work & communicate together in some capacity
Can be challenging for high-conflict cases
The timeline to list generally takes longer due to communication between spouses and to-do’s at home
Can be challenging if one spouse has already vacated with needs left to the other
An appraisal and CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) are used for the same purpose but are different tools created by different professionals. The end goal of each is to suggest market value for a property by using sales data for similar properties compared to that of the subject property. An appraisal has a specific format to use, guidelines for the comparable sales and adjustments made. A CMA on the other hand does not have a specific form of use or guidelines on past sales or adjustments made to each. It’s more subject to the experience of the person doing the work. We’ll break down the advantages and disadvantages to each report and info and tips on each.
What is market value? - The price a buyer is willing to pay for a property in an open market. CMA
Goal: To establish market value To establish market value
Who:
When real estate is awarded to one spouse, what’s the process to convey title? How easy is that?
The divorce decree will dictate who’s awarded any real estate. In the past, this was typically all that was needed to record to convey title. However, in most cases today, examiners are requiring a Quit Claim Deed in addition to the divorce decree.
Is that an easy process to do and is there a cost to it?
A Quit Claim Deed is a very simple form and easy to execute and record. There will be a nominal cost to record this with the county. Additionally, in this case there is no state deed tax per MN Statute 287.22.
What do you do in cases where there are high-conflict issues like protection orders or no-contact orders?
One of the advantages the Realtor has in this circumstance is the ability to communicate with all parties as needed. Even with no-contact or protection orders from one spouse to the other, the Realtor is required to communicate with both spouses (individually) and can also do so with both attorneys. That allows the communication and process to continue on as needed, however, with a bit more compassion and understanding to work through the no-contact concepts.
As a real estate team, are you paying for those extra types of services when you list like the cleaning team, donation pick-ups, debris removal, etc..?
We absorb as much as we can through our commission structure and often able to take on extras like cleaning services, debris removal and donation pick-ups. If the sellers want or need more services added that we can’t fit in the budget, at times can cover that cost and add for reimbursements when the home sells.
Should the house be awarded to one spouse or the other prior to the sale?
Either direction, the same real estate process and concepts take place. Whether it’s awarded to one vs. the other may come down to trust in the valuation of the property or other logistics within the divorce process. If there are any concerns with the valuation or balance sheet, it may be best to finalize the sale of the home instead of awarding it to one or the other prior to the sale. There is no better way of exploring the actual value of a home than to list it on the open market for sale.
Should any work be done to the property prior to sale?
Our guidance is to keep things as simple as possible. Sometimes we do suggest basics like paint touch-ups, patching dings & dents, cleaning or replacing carpet. Those items can make a big difference in the presentation of the home and are easy to manage. However, the largest impact on resale value for the absolute lowest cost is simple cleaning and staging techniques and we cover that for the sellers.
