Deciding whether to keep the house or sell it can be one of the most emotional decisions of all. There are so many memories associated with the home. Remembering how you both landscaped the yard, bringing the baby home, and all the happy times spent with family and friends. Who will keep the house, how to split the equity, how will the kids feel if the home is sold. All these are issues that can cause more rift in the process.

When the decision is to sell it brings reality to the forefront. WE ARE REALLY GOING THROUGH WITH THIS! Fear, Uncertainty, and loss of hope are emotions that come in to play making it difficult to make important decisons.

The problems that arise in selling the home a divorcing couple has been living in can create havoc in the real estate transaction. Couples can be at odds over the sale price. Work may need to be done on the house to get it ready for sale. Who will do the work? Who will pay for the work? In some instances, even a lockbox on the home can cause concern for who will gain entry into the home. If one of the spouses is not allowed back in the house, will they trick a Realtor to let them in.

Realtors need to take heed to all of these concerns when listing a home of a divorcing couple. Perhaps the Realtor will need to have the couple sign papers at different times in different locations. Negotiating sale price and request for repair can take Henry Kissinger negotiation tactics. However, concern and empathy for the divorcing families' feelings must be at the forefront of the transaction. In the divorce transactions I have worked with, I have seen couples work well together to accomplish the sale and it helped them work through a seamless divorce. Other transactions had so much strife, but with careful manuvering the sale happned easiliy and helped the rest of the divorce process.