The involved process of selling a home takes a serious commitment of time and effort, and that becomes even more so if the sellers are divorced. To prepare both you and your former partner for the road ahead, let’s look at how to sell your house in Atlanta after a divorce.
Put Your Differences Aside
Before moving forward with anything else, it’s a good idea to attempt having an earnest conversation with the other party about working together to make your mutual home sale the biggest success it can be.
It goes without saying that selling your home after the dust has settled from your divorce means either creating legal safeguards for yourselves or allowing each of you to trust one another from beginning to end. Trying to get both of you on the same page from the very start is a worthwhile endeavor, even if it doesn’t quite work out and those legal stipulations need to be put in place.
Prepare Your Property
The usual deep clean and decluttering will turn any home into a spectacular sales specimen, but here we are more concerned with dividing up necessary tasks and holding one another accountable.
There is a chance you’re dealing with a former partner that is unwilling to assist with any part of the home sale, but we still encourage you to press onward toward the finish line even if they are providing nothing but excuses as to why a task is not or cannot be completed by them.
Giving one another some space when preparing to sell your house allows for some processing of emotions and preparing yourselves as individuals to relinquish your past lives and look forward to what the future may bring.
Hire a Professional
We always recommend hiring a qualified and experienced real estate professional to assist with selling your home, but here it can be especially important due to the potential volatility.
Try your best to find times for you and your former partner to meet with at least three agents. During your meetings, fill them in on the circumstances behind selling your home, any unique challenges your property may provide, and absolutely ask any questions you may have prior to signing on the dotted line with any of them.
This provides both of you with an opportunity to judge which agent will have your best interests at heart and clearly understands the ease or difficulty with which you and your former partner have when working with one another.
Break Down the Offers
As offers begin to come in, it can be easy to jump on the highest price and move on, but we suggest taking a step back and thinking things over.
Offers are composed of a price as well as contingencies, such as additional inspections and repairs. Go through every facet of an offer with your agent before choosing one.
Your agent’s professional acumen and critical eye can be a saving grace here, and taking their advice to heart is often a solid choice.
Divvy up the Proceeds
Hopefully, this was defined in your finalized divorce agreement, but your agent will help facilitate a gathering and distribution of any profits when you sell your house.
If you had already discussed and spelled out how profits from the home sale would be handled, chances are you have next to nothing left to do here. On the other hand, if this was left undefined, you could either find yourself needing to quickly negotiate an agreement or even end up back in court with the final say left to a judge.
If you do end up before a judge, expect both parties to leave feeling at least somewhat dissatisfied with the result.
Professional Help to Sell Your House After a Divorce
If you’re looking to sell your house in Atlanta after a divorce, contact us today at (404) 977-5054!