Real Estate Values Needed for Divorce

A divorce and real estate don’t mix, and someone has to cash the other out, or the home has to be sold. That means the value of your Sequim or Port Angeles home needs to be determined by the first mediation hearing. Here’s what typically happens, and how you can save a lot of time and stress by doing it differently.

Normally, both attorneys tell their clients to get comps (comparable sales) from real estate agents, because they can get those free. So now both sides get a couple of agents to prepare comp reports. The spouse who wants to stay in the house and cash out the other wants the lowest value, and obviously the other spouse wants the highest value. As if a divorce didn’t have enough conflict, here we go again.

After the agents spend a lot of hours doing the comps based on the small hope they will get the listing, the attorneys suggest that since there is such a wide disparity in the estimated market value, they hire an independent appraiser to do a formal appraisal for $400. At this point, what choice is there?

What’s my point? All of this took a couple of months, wasted the time of several real estate agents, and cost both clients a lot of extra attorney’s fees, not to mention the extra stress. They could have avoided all this nonsense.

What’s the answer? Hire an appraiser in the beginning. Save time, money, and stress. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Need a referral to a good appraiser? Email me or call me, chuckmarunde@gmail.com or 360-775-5424.