Don't let Divorcing Sellers Get You In Hot Water!

In the scenario you are about to read below, the Realtor needed to make sure that both Sellers going through the divorce signed the Listing Agreement. If there is a court order stating that one of the Sellers is responsible for selling the property, then the Realtor needs to receive the paperwork verifying that this is the case. The other thing that is important is that when dealing with people going through a divorce, your job is to be fair to both parties and sell the property. You are not there to take sides. The Realtor needs to be professional and handle the sale of the property. The Realtor should not get involved in talking about the divorce with either person.  This is the situation the Realtor encountered: I listed a property owned by a couple who are divorcing. I have been working with the wife exclusively, who is still living in the home. I’ve had the property in the MLS and a sign in the yard for about 10 days. I was just contacted by the husband who is demanding I take my For Sale sign down and remove the listing from the MLS because he wants to list with another brokerage. I don’t have the husband’s signature on my listing because the wife told me she had the sole authority to list the house. According to her husband that is not true. What should I do? Can he list the house with someone else without his wife’s consent? - See more at: http://ohiorealtors.org/2014/08/18/legally-speaking-dont-let-divorcing-sellers-get-you-in-hot-water/#sthash.fd9t8qgy.dpuf
Ritenour, P. (n.d.). Legally speaking: Don’t let divorcing sellers get you in hot water | Ohio Association of Realtors. Retrieved August 18, 2014.