Liz Shemaria is a journalist and founder of the organization Echopop. A third-generation Northern Californian, Liz launched a news site for AOL, where she spent two years covering real estate development, business, crime, education, and politics.
Fran Metz , Contributing Editor Fran Metz Contributing EditorFran Metz is a freelance content writer, editor, blogger and traveler based in Las Vegas, Nevada. She has seven years of experience in print journalism, working at newspapers from coast to coast. She has a BA in Mass Communications from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, and lived in Arvada for 15 years, where she gained her experience with the ever-changing real estate market. In her free time, she enjoys 4-wheeling, fishing, and creating digital art.
Divorce, even when it’s friendly, can get complicated fast. As you’re navigating the emotional rollercoaster of ending your marriage, you’re also hit with a mountain of tasks: Gathering info for your lawyer, sorting out insurance, figuring out alimony and child support, and tackling tax stuff. It’s a lot to handle all at once.
If you and your ex have decided to sell the family home, it can seem like an overwhelming and never-ending task. But once you push through the initial hassles, it’s a major step toward making a clean break — if that’s what you’re aiming for. It can be a huge relief and a fresh start, helping you both move on to the next chapter of your lives.
To keep the stress in check, check out this step-by-step guide we’ve put together. It breaks down how to sell a house during a divorce into small, manageable steps.
In the past, you and your spouse may have selected to hire a family friend or mutual acquaintance to serve your real estate needs. But you may find that staying away from personal recommendations is ultimately beneficial when you’re getting divorced. You need a neutral third party who’s got experience in divorce sales to navigate the logistics and communications throughout the process of selling your house.
Going through a divorce also is considered by psychologists to be one of the most stressful events that a person will go through, so you should look for an agent who can be empathetic to your situation while acting in a professional capacity.
“You’ll want to find a patient and understanding Realtor in a divorce situation,” says Ken Viele, a Divorce Specialist and top-selling agent in Naugatuck, Connecticut.
Someone who will truly care about helping you through that difficult time in your life. My challenge is balancing between knowing that I have a job to do and getting the home sold and being sensitive to what’s going on emotionally.
