Selling a home during divorce

A sale where two people have to agree, handled without taking a side.

The job is not only to get a good price

In an ordinary sale there is one client and one set of instructions. Here there are two people who may not be speaking, who may not trust each other, and who both have to sign the same documents.

So the work is different. Getting a strong price still matters. But the thing that actually determines whether this sale finishes is whether both parties feel they are getting the same information at the same time, and that nobody is being worked around.

That is the standard we hold ourselves to, and it is not negotiable regardless of who called us first.

Ask about a divorce sale

Prefer to talk? Call (925) 325-4663 Book a call with Jaynlin See how we do it, step by step

How we keep it neutral in practice

Both parties are copied on everything. Every offer, every update, every piece of feedback. No side conversations, no separate versions.
We do not carry messages. We are not a go between for anything that is not about the house.
Decisions get documented. When something is agreed, it is written down, so nobody has to rely on a memory of a phone call weeks later.
We work with your attorneys, not around them. If there is a court order or a settlement term that governs the sale, that governs the sale.

The practical questions that come up

Who is living in the house while it is on the market, and how showings work if that is contested. Who pays for repairs, and out of which side of the proceeds. What happens if one party wants to accept an offer and the other does not.

None of these are unusual, and all of them go better when they are decided before the house is listed rather than in the middle of an offer with a deadline attached.

Disclosure, done properly

California disclosure obligations do not soften because a sale is difficult. If anything, this is where getting it exactly right matters most, because a sale that unwinds later is a problem that outlives the divorce.

We are careful and complete about it, and we document that we were.

One more thing worth saying

We are real estate agents. We are not attorneys, we are not tax advisors and we are not counselors, and we will not pretend otherwise. What we can do is run the sale itself cleanly and predictably, so that it is not one more thing generating conflict.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you represent both of us?

We can list the property for both owners and treat both of you identically, which is how we run these. Both parties receive the same information at the same time. We do not carry messages and we do not take a side. Anything about the terms of your divorce belongs with your attorneys.

What if we cannot agree on a price?

We give both parties the same valuation and the same reasoning behind it, so the disagreement is at least about the same facts. Where there is a court order or settlement term governing the sale, that controls. Where there is not, we would rather surface the disagreement before listing than in the middle of an offer.

Who pays for repairs and staging?

That is between the two of you or set by your settlement, and it is worth deciding before the house is listed. We will tell you what is worth doing and what it costs so you are deciding with real numbers.