Investors are always looking for motivated sellers. Divorcing couples can be motivated sellers but not always. In today’s two-income world, often, neither the man nor woman can afford to remain in the family home on a single income. That can mean both want to sell quickly so they can get on with their new lives. However, sometimes it’s just too complicated and time consuming to deal with.
Locating divorce homes for sale isn’t difficult. You may view a home and notice that master closet has the clothes of only one spouse. Or family pictures don’t show the couple together. It might be as simple as asking the listing agent. And in most states divorce court filings are online.
Once you find a motivated divorce sale, you need to learn if it is amicable or a bitter divorce. If the man and woman are represented by different selling agents or if divorce attorneys are involved the decision to accept an offer, it’s probably not worth your effort to pursue the sale. Even in an amicable divorce it typically takes longer to negotiate a sale because the offer has to go to both parties that are no longer living together. Your strategy should be to put a slightly longer but firm date requiring a response to your offer. If the couple fails to meet the date, it makes it easy for you to move on.
Another issue that can slow down the process of buying a divorce house is a short sale. There are more than 11 million upside down mortgages across the country right now. The divorcing couple might be super anxious to sell but the bank has the final say when it involves a short sale.
Investing in divorce houses can be a tremendous opportunity or a pain in the backside. Often, the divorcing couple is doing the best they can but this is a business to you. Do a little investigating and make a decision to pursue a deal based on what you learn and how they respond early in negotiations.

All the Best,

Peter Vekselman

PS: Private Real Estate Investment Coaching Available:
http://coachingbypeter.com/mki/