How to help divorcing couples sell their homes
The Ins & Outs of the Divorce Niche
Leaving her husband was the most gut-wrenching decision Louise would make in her adult life.
Or, so she thought.
What to do with the family’s home as they separated soon rivaled the decision to leave.
Images of the kids being ripped from their friends in the neighborhood, sleeping in strange bedrooms and trying to settle into a new school made her question whether divorce was the right answer.
Then, there was the house.
The one she and her husband shopped for, fought for, fixed up to meet their needs, loved, maintained and in which they built memories.
Man, giving that up is a hard concept to deal with.
With the help of her attorney and a dedicated, empathic real estate agent, Louise overcame the turmoil and was able to move on with her life.
Yes, divorce rates seem to be on the decline in the U.S. yet 40 to 50 percent of American marriages still end in divorce.
Furthermore, divorcing couples sell homes and, often, purchase another. Although it sounds a bit mercenary, the divorce niche in real estate can be quite lucrative. 
Someone needs to help couples going through this challenge.
At the risk of sounding like we’re objectifying living, breathing human beings (humans who are in emotional pain), you won’t find a more motivated home seller than someone going through a divorce.
Whether it’s because of a court order or simple logistics, most (but not all) divorcing couples choose to include the home when liquidating their assets.
You don’t necessarily need to have personal marital break-up experience to effectively pursue divorce leads, but agents who do are one-step ahead of you.
What you need to know to work with divorcing couples
Working with divorced or divorcing couples isn’t easy. It isn’t for those who lack empathy, tact, diplomacy or patience.
It’s for the counselors among the agent ranks, the educators, those who truly want to help and aren’t in it for the quick commission.
Agent Scott Weeda, for instance, tells NPR’s Sara Lerner about just one of the strategies he’s found effective when working with divorcing couples:
“I never try to force them to communicate together, which means a lot of separate and duplicate communication, so that neither ever has the impression that I’m trying to force the agenda of one on the other,” he says.
This may mean coordinating separate meetings for everything from signing the listing agreement to acknowledging contingency releases, presenting offers and closing.
But that is one strategy in a process full of them.
How to generate divorce listing leads
You have several options when it comes to finding divorce leads. One of the easiest is, of course, to buy a list. Companies such as ReboGateway (started and run by former agents and brokers) offer lists that they obtain from mining court records.
We offer postcards that speak specifically to divorcing couples selling their home in our Life Event Postcard Series. These postcards integrate with ReboGateway. To learn more about how to export a divorced homeowners mailing list from Rebogateway into your ProspectsPLUS! account click here (from a desktop computer).
Or, consider mailing to quit claim deed filers. A real estate investor who specializes in divorce listings claims, in a thread at bigger pockets.com, that about 20 percent of responses to his quitclaim deed ads come from divorcing couples.
“Most of the time I am contacted from the person who decided to keep the house and now they understand they can no longer afford it,” he explains.
He also advertises in a local grade school’s parent newsletter. The ad directs the reader to a landing page he designed specifically for couples going through a divorce.
If you think that sending a divorce focused postcard is too direct send a postcard from our Get More Listings Series instead. This series is targeted at driving more listings. As long as you get your name in front of these couples you’re one step ahead of everyone else.
Get referrals
If you decide to make divorce real estate your sole niche, consider a program that teaches you how to work with the family law community to earn their referrals.
Laurel Starks, divorce agent and author of “The House Matters in Divorce” offers classes in how to get divorce leads and how to work with divorcing couples.
She is the founder of the Divorce Real Estate Institute and teaches agents about the “two paths to successfully serving divorcing clients.”
Since the 2019 real estate market remains up in the air right now, choosing the divorce niche may just mean the success of your business this year.
Send our Divorce: Curve Ball postcard from our Life Event Series to your list of divorced homeowners.
Remember to export your Rebogateway list of divorced homeowner into your ProspectsPLUS! account, click here to learn more (From a desktop computer).
Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
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