This was an exceptionally lovely home where the challenge wasn’t managing the dynamic between the divorcing spouses, but in finding the next home for the remaining occupant. As you might imagine, not all divorcing couples can’t be in the same room. We experienced nothing from any conflict or lack of cooperation between the parties, and as a matter of fact it was civil, but the remaining occupant faced a challenge.
For people who have been together for decades as these folks were, the difficulty was for the remaining occupant to adjust to moving and finding a new home after raising a family in the subject property for many years. And the solution to that challenge isn’t necessarily a unicorn type skill or special expertise; in this case it was just hard work. The client did have some anxious moments about timeframes and whether the next home would be a happy place after uprooting themselves. Sometimes it’s the anxiety, not the actual circumstances, that is the killer.
In short, we busted our tails looking for the next home for the client, and happily, it was eventually found. The timeframe was not long- no delay was experienced in the closing of the listed property. This was another case where having more than one agent in the mix made a difference. When I wasn’t free, my partner agent was, and she did yeoman work in helping the client in the home search. This, plus the support we offered overall helped the client minimize their initial stress and have a happy outcome.
There are many instances where the quality of life for one or both divorcing clients can be lower after married life together. The economic hit, the change in lifestyle, and the new home are all significant changes that can be unsettling and even traumatic. Our job, and I’m happy to say in this case we were successful, is to make sure that the client’s quality of life as as good as possible after they close on the sale of the matrimonial home.