What can go wrong?

If you're a practicing family law attorney, you already know the answer to this: plenty!

Listing and selling the house when neither party wants to buy the other out is a great idea.  You avoid disputes about value, hasten the division of personal property, and free up money so that the parties can move on with their lives.  With luck, the house proceeds will be sufficient to allow an equalization payment and the case will be that much closer to settled.

But the parties are probably not able to cooperate with one another, and traditional realtors are not trained to handle high conflict situations.  They don't have a game plan to handle disputes between the sellers about 

• list price, 

• repairs and improvements, 

• showings,

• contract negotiations,

• purchase contract compliance,

• distribution of proceeds,

• 1099 allocations, etc.

Also, traditional realtors readily take on roles as "dual agents" - they think nothing of representing both the sellers and buyers in a transaction.  Suddenly the sellers have nowhere to turn for advice, since by assuming the role of a "dual agent" the listing agent becomes, essentially, a scribe, with no ability to counsel any of the parties.  This is a problem even when owners who get along well are suddenly deprived of the advice of the agent they hired to represent them, but it is even more of a problem when the sellers are at odds with one another and are relying on the agent to help them formulate positions that are mutually acceptable.

So what can go wrong?

• Properties may not be marketed in an optimal fashion because the sellers cannot cooperate;

• Showings may be difficult or impossible because the occupying spouse does not cooperate;

• Listings can sit on the market for extended periods of time because the sellers cannot cooperate in maintenance, repairs and appropriate listing price adjustments, leading to a loss of equity;

• Properties can deteriorate due to lack of maintenance and repair, again leading to loss of equity;

• Purchase contracts can be breached, with resultant lawsuits;

• In extreme cases, properties may be foreclosed upon because the sellers were unable to cooperate sufficiently to ensure that the mortgages, HOA dues, taxes, etc., were paid.

Certified Divorce Real Estate Experts are trained to handle the issues commonly encountered when a divorcing couple tries to sell their marital home.  Master CDREs take it a step further: they participate in a minimum of 3 hours of training and discussion a month, and they have ready access to advisors and colleagues if a novel issue arises.  The support available to Master CDREs is phenomenal, and no issue involving divorce real estate will go unresolved for long.

CDREs involve attorneys when necessary, but generally handle the listing and sale of property efficiently and independently, freeing up attorney time for the many other issues in the case.

Far less can go wrong if you've stipulated to the appointment of a  Master CDRE in your divorce case!