Divorce & Real Estate

Before deciding what should happen with a home, it is important to understand what it may realistically be worth in the current market.

Online estimates can be a starting point, but they cannot account for many of the things that influence what a buyer may actually pay for a particular property.

We can prepare a detailed comparative market analysis based upon the home's location, condition, improvements, recent comparable sales and current competition.

This information can be helpful whether you are preparing to sell the property, discussing a potential buyout between spouses, or simply trying to better understand the value of one of your largest shared assets.

Understanding the value of the property does not obligate you to sell it. It simply gives you better information with which to make decisions.

Once both parties have agreed, or have otherwise been directed, to sell the property, our focus becomes creating a clear plan for preparing, marketing and selling the home.

We Can Help With:

● Property valuation and comparative market analysis
● Recommendations for preparing the home for sale
● As-is versus improve-and-sell evaluations
● Contractors and repair professionals
● Cleaning, landscaping and property       preparation resources
● Professional photography and marketing
● Showing coordination
● Offer evaluation and negotiation
● Title and settlement coordination
● Communication with attorneys and other professionals when appropriate
● Transaction management through settlement

Every property and every situation is different. Our recommendations are based upon what makes sense for the home, the market and the circumstances—not simply on doing the most work before listing.

One spouse may believe the home needs extensive renovations before selling. The other may want to sell immediately without doing anything.

Often, the best answer is somewhere in between.

We can evaluate the home and identify which improvements may meaningfully affect marketability or value and which are unlikely to produce enough return to justify the expense.

Sometimes a few strategic improvements, professional cleaning and thoughtful presentation are worthwhile.

Other times, selling the property in its current condition makes more sense.

Our job is to help you understand the potential return before money is spent.

Disagreements about price, repairs, timing and offers can occur even in traditional home sales. During a divorce, those disagreements can understandably become more difficult.

Your attorneys or the court may ultimately need to resolve issues when the parties cannot agree.

What we can do is provide objective real estate information.

Rather than saying, “I think we should list at this price,” we can show both parties the comparable sales, current competition, buyer activity and market response supporting a recommendation.

When an offer arrives, we can explain the strengths and weaknesses of that offer so each party and their advisors have the same information.

Good market data can often take some of the emotion out of a difficult decision.

A divorce is personal.

Potential buyers do not need to know the circumstances surrounding the sale beyond information that is legitimately relevant to the real estate transaction.

We believe in protecting our clients' privacy and presenting the property based upon its features, condition and value; not the personal circumstances that brought it to market.

We also understand that communication may need to be handled differently than it would be during a typical home sale.

We will establish expectations at the beginning so everyone understands how information, decisions and updates will be communicated throughout the transaction.

A divorce is personal.
The Andrea Szlavik Team assists homeowners throughout Montgomery County, Bucks County, Chester County, Berks County, Delaware County, portions of the Lehigh Valley and surrounding communities.

Whether the property is a longtime family home, condominium, investment property, vacation property, vacant land or a home requiring significant work, we can help you understand the real estate considerations and determine the appropriate next step.