Direct Sale: The Best Way to Sell Your House During Divorce

It doesn’t need to be said that facing divorce is a difficult and turbulent experience. When dividing shared property like the marital home, many divorcing couples would prefer to avoid the additional hassle of listing their house. Luckily, a direct sale can eliminate this burden. For couples looking to sell their house during a divorce, making a direct sale is often the smoothest and least stressful option for everyone. Here are a few of the benefits and a list of what you can expect when selling your house directly in Georgia.

What is a direct sale?

A direct sale is where you, the seller, can offload your property directly to a buyer without employing an agent or listing your property. Essentially, a direct sale cuts out all of the middle men. Assuming you don’t already have a potential buyer lined up, this means that you will likely seek out a reputable homebuying company or real estate investor in your area to see if they would be interesting in buying your property. These companies usually buy houses as-is with a cash payment. Because a direct sale eliminates the need for listing or getting loans from banks, it makes the process move much more quickly, which can be super desirable when you and your spouse are working through a divorce.

Save Time

One of the best parts of a direct sale is that it takes only a fraction of the time that is required for listing your property. The traditional house-selling method of listing with a real estate agent can often be a months-long process. This is because so many factors can impact the sale of the property, such as the state of the market, the condition of the home, and any necessary loans from banks. When listing, you have to account for these different variables, and that can seriously delay closing on your property.

Because a direct sale only involves the seller, the buyer, and probably an attorney to ensure the sale is legitimate, you don’t have as many uncertainties to worry about. This means that the sale can be finished in much less time, typically within a week for most professional house buyers. If you’re in a situation, like a divorce, where you want to offload your house and move on as quickly as possible, a direct sale if definitely something to consider.

Save Money

A direct sale also significantly reduces the amount of money you have to invest into getting your property sold. The traditional method of listing often involves paying for repairs and updates on the home in order to make it market-ready, as well as handling closing costs. You will also have to pay a commission to your real estate agent, which is a fee of about 2-3% of your home’s final selling cost.

With a direct sale, you as the seller don’t have to make any additional investments. You can bypass investing in repairs by selling as-is and completely avoid commissions by cutting out the middle man. In a situation like a divorce, where you may already be paying attorney and court fees, the convenience of saving money often makes a direct sale a very appealing option.

Less Hassle

“Less hassle” is a very vague thing to say, but it’s true in this case. A direct sale eliminates a lot of the headache that is often characteristic of house selling. When selling directly, you won’t have to worry about things like cleaning and staging your house, keeping the home tidy for months of showings, waiting for offers, or having sales potentially fall through. A direct sale allows you to bypass the most stressful parts of selling a home in order to get to the closing as quickly and easily as possible. When you are facing a potentially tumultuous process like divorce, this faster process can be a big pro.

More Flexibility

The house selling process is usually pretty inflexible. You work on your agent’s schedule and terms, and you have to wait on things like appraisals, inspections, and offers. In general, the process is determined by the schedules of other parties, and this leaves you without much control. It’s a different case when making a direct sale. In that situation, you can work with the buyer to set your own terms and schedule to ensure that the process goes smoothly. This is especially helpful if you are in the middle of divorce proceedings and you have other priorities and obligations to handle.

Are there drawbacks to a direct sale?

The biggest drawback to a direct sale during divorce is that your property will generally sell for less than it would on the open market. This is because a direct sale usually means that you are selling the home as-is, so you don’t invest funds that would increase your property’s price on the the market.

One other thing to be aware of are scams. If you are looking to complete a direct sale with a local real estate investor or house buying company, it’s important that you ensure they are reputable. Look at reviews from the buyer’s past clients, examine their policies, contact them directly to ask questions about their process, and see if they are an accredited business. This will help ensure that you an your spouse aren’t scammed during the already difficult time of a divorce.

Summary

Overall, making a direct sale in order to offload your house during a divorce has a lot of benefits. This method presents to opportunity to reduce stress, save time and money, and provide more flexibility for you and your spouse. These pros can be invaluable to spouses facing divorce and going their separate ways, allowing them to get closure and move on quickly and easily.

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