Death, Divorce And Debt

by Darrin DeRoches
May 23 - 29, 2013

In real estate there are the three big D’s. Death, Divorce, and Debt. Whenever these arise, you call in the real estate agent. In most cases you are looking for an Opinon of Value of your property before moving forward. The home is usually the biggest asset in one’s life so this is usually where everyone will start before making decisions. In some cases, a real estate agent is called in to value a home before the body is even buried or before the spouse even asks for a divorce. Everyone wants to know what their property is worth in today’s market and a lot of times the agent they call in is not the one who will list the property.

I deal with the three big D’s all the time and you have to watch how you evaluate a property until you have all the information. If you get a call for an evaluation and the first question is “how much does it cost?” then you know someone is just looking for a quick idea on how much their home is worth and may not ever really sell their home. A good client can call asking about their properties and without being too evasive I always ask “why?” It usually comes back to debt or divorce and it can be a touchy subject and can get pretty personal. Sometimes debt is tougher than divorce and it may even lead to divorce. Recently I had a client going through a divorce and they already had an agent come through and give them an Opinion of Value so they could decide to sell or buy each other out. His evaluation was about $30,000 over reality since he was trying to get them to sign with him. He was not aware of the pending divorce and some agents will give you a high evaluation so that you will pick them to work with. In this particular case, I was called in to give a “real” value to which I am now listing it for a price that will move it fast since they are not talking and want to get it done.

Some would think there is a deal here, since they are not talking and want to dump the house, but when you look further into it they are divorcing for a reason. This reason is usually debt and the house is just going to pay it all off and once they settle everything there is not much left. Selling the house is harder than signing the divorce papers since the money, debt, possession and memories all tie to the family home and you have to handle the situation appropriately. I deal with each side separately, very straight forward and business minded so they both will come out of the sale with the feeling that they have been dealt with fairly and had control over the final sale. You can come out ahead when selling the home due to divorce, it is all in the way you market it.