Montague · Divorce Sale
Selling a Home During Divorce in Montague
A sale two people have to agree on, handled evenly, with both sides told the same thing at the same time.
What Goes With the House Is Its Own Negotiation
On the water here, a surprising amount of what makes a property desirable is not the building.
The dock and the hoist. The pontoon or the kayaks. The furniture in a place used seasonally. Whatever is in the outbuilding. Buyers in this town frequently expect some of that to be included, and sometimes pay for it to be.
Which means those items are both part of the marketing and part of what the two of you are dividing, at the same time. That is the one thing about these sales here that reliably turns into a problem, and almost always because it was left until a buyer was waiting on an answer.
Settled early it is a list. Settled late it is a negotiation happening under a deadline, between two people who are already negotiating about everything else.
Where would you like to start?
And Which of the Three Markets It Sits In
The value you are dividing depends on which water the property is actually on, and this town holds three.
White Lake and the channel is one. The White River carries its own frontage. And a Montague address reaches west to Lake Michigan itself out along Old Channel Trail.
A river property measured against lake sales looks like it is underperforming; a dune property measured against inland lake sales looks expensive. Neither comparison is dishonest and both produce a wrong number, and a wrong number in a settlement is not just a bad outcome, it is something to argue about later.
In their words
In their words
Going with Tamara as our realtor was a fantastic decision! She is honest, calm, professional, and a fantastic listener. I would most definitely recommend her to anyone!
The Same Facts, to Both of You
I go and stand on it, establish which of the three waters it is, and read usable frontage against the recorded number, depth at the dock and whether a dock is permitted, what the house needs, and access in every season. On river frontage, what the current and the bank are doing.
Then both of you get the same written picture at the same time, including an itemized view of what would normally convey here, so that conversation happens on paper early rather than under pressure later.
I do not take a side, and where something is a legal question it goes to your attorneys rather than becoming my opinion.
More than $4 million in closed sales over my last twelve months, up from under a million the year before. I was born here and have lived here my whole life.
General information about how these sales run. Not legal or tax advice; your attorneys handle the divorce and I handle the property.
Both Signatures, and None of It Waits
Offers, counters, addenda, disclosures, inspection responses and closing paperwork can each need both of you, each with a date on it.
Where one of you has moved or you are speaking through attorneys, getting two signatures inside two days is the thing most likely to cost you a buyer, and it is entirely avoidable.
So both of you know in advance what will need signing and roughly when, and nothing arrives as a demand one of you has to chase the other about.
More on the three waters is on the Montague area page, the full approach is at selling a home during divorce, and the number is at what the home is worth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the dock or the boat go with the house?
It is negotiable, and on this water buyers often expect some of it and will pay for it. That makes those items part of the marketing and part of what you are dividing at the same time. Settled early it is a list; left until a buyer is waiting on an answer it becomes a negotiation under a deadline, which is the version that goes badly.
How do we know the value is being worked out correctly?
Ask which sales it rests on. This town holds three different products, so a river property measured against lake sales looks weak and a dune property measured against inland lake sales looks expensive. I write down the comparison set and why those are the honest ones, so either of you can check it rather than take it on trust.
Can you handle this if we are not in the same place anymore?
Yes, and many of these run that way. Everything goes to both of you in writing at the same time, nothing relies on one passing a message to the other, and the signing points are planned in advance so no deadline depends on a direct conversation.
Montague
What divorce sale looks like in Montague
Three waters in one town: White Lake and the channel, the White River, and Lake Michigan out along Old Channel Trail.
Most people searching Montague are picturing White Lake, and White Lake is a third of it. The White River flows into it and carries its own frontage, and a Montague address reaches west to Lake Michigan itself out along Old Channel Trail.
Those are three products with three sets of questions and three different buyers, so the first useful question here is never how much. It is which of the three you are actually after.
The method
How I do it in Montague
Divorce Sale: keep exploring
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