Interviewer: Today we're talking with lawyer Nicole Vincent of the law firm of Robinson & Henry, and welcome to the show.
Nicole Vincent: Thank you very much.
Interviewer: Glad you're here. We're talking about real estate--people getting divorced and selling their house, and the role that the lawyer and the real estate agent all play in this little soup.
Nicole Vincent: Yes.
Interviewer: So talk a little bit about that, because its kind of a complicated situation.
Nicole Vincent: Well, it's important to remember that these two parties have all of a sudden been thrust into a situation of high conflict, there's some trust issues, and as a realtor, it's very important to look back at how this home began. It started off as two people coming together. They bought the home jointly, they were joint borrowers on the loan, and the bank was okay with this in the beginning.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Nicole Vincent: Because they had two people to go after, they're both jointly and so, reliable. Now these parties are in the process of becoming individuals again, and unless one of them has the ability and the desire to refinance and keep the home, you have to help them sell it, and it can be very difficult when you have two parties who've lost trust in each other.
Interviewer: Yeah. So let's assume that they decide that. We're going to go ahead and sell the house, the realtor comes in the mix, and now we've got another partner that, you know, we may have some trust issues with it, is that correct?
Nicole Vincent: Yes, it's most certainly correct. It's very important as a realtor that you make sure your clients are now aware that you are, in fact, a neutral third party. You have, in a situation a wife who may think that her husband is trying to take advantage of her, or a husband who thinks that his wife is trying to take advantage of him. So it's very important, as a realtor, you make it very clear that you are working in the best interest of them both, and that you are, in fact, neutral and not really on anyone's side, per se.
Interviewer: And how often than not does the realtor deal directly with the attorney?
Nicole Vincent: It happens quite frequently when we're in the process of negotiation, the settlement agreement, selling the house is very important in these situations. So it's very strongly recommended that the attorney and the realtors actually communicate about these, about these issues, because it affects both of them and it can affect certain things such as alimony, maintenance for the wife, because that does make a difference to the judge in the court.
Interviewer: Now we should also say that in some cases these are amicable splits.
Nicole Vincent: Yes of course, there's...
Interviewer: But most of the time, not...
Nicole Vincent: Of course, yes. Unfortunately it's a very hostile situation in a lot of cases. If it's amicable and the parties agree, it's, you know, it can be very good situation for everyone but unfortunately, it's not that way most of the time.
Interviewer: So everyone may be same in this transaction?
Nicole Vincent: Right.
Interviewer: Lastly, what can, I guess, a realtor do, or what can the clients do, to make sure that they're not getting the short end of the stick, so to speak?
Nicole Vincent: The most important thing is constant communication and very clear communication, and because you're working with two parties who may not be communicating themselves, as a realtor should communicate, mostly by writing is what we would recommend, thats how we do it as attorneys, because that way you have a clear record of what you've said. It can't really get twisted, and generally we would recommend e-mail, because that way everyone can see, especially you know, nowadays, you can see who's getting the e-mail and then there is generally not a he-said, she-said problem later on, but it's important in that situation that you let both parties know that their, the information they are providing, it can be passed on to the other party and most likely will be.
Interviewer: Good information. Thanks for being with us. I appreciate it.
Nicole Vincent: Thank you.
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