How To Close A Deal When They’re Getting Divorced

Closing a deal with a couple who is going through a divorce is not fun at all, however it can be very profitable. So since 50% of all marriages end in divorce you’d better learn how to handle this sticky situation and profit from it.

First off, if you’re lucky the couple will be amicable and they’ll be speaking to each other. In my experience this doesn’t occur very often. But if you have a couple who is on good terms you simply close the deal like all other deals.

But what if the couple isn’t on good terms? Well… that’s the scenario you’re more likely going to run into. For instance, a while back I got a call from a guy who needed to sell his house ASAP because he was getting divorced. I gathered all of the property information and ran the numbers and it was going to be a home-run deal for me.

The problem was…

The husband and wife were not speaking and I had to get both of them to agree to the terms of the deal since both their names were on the deed. I ended up spending untold amounts of time on the phone with both the husband and the wife. I would talk to the husband and he’d say something along the lines of “you tell her we’re selling it at xxx price whether she likes it or not.” Then I would have to call the wife and she’d say “you tell that son of a gun I am not selling at that price and I’d rather let it get foreclosed on.”

I seriously went through this several times a day acting as the middleman between the parties. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity both of them agreed on a deal and I ended up buying the house.

I made a lot of money…

But there were far too many times were I thought it wasn’t going to close because it seemed like one of them was always threatening not to sign the documents at all. Even telling you the story right now gives me that uncomfortable feeling like bringing back a bad memory.

So if you ever have to deal with a couple who are not talking, I would first off make sure that both parties are on the deed. If that’s the case then you’re stuck working with both of them. I would also make sure that dealing with the hassle of a divorce situation is worth it. I made around $80,000 so it was worth it to me. However, if I was making a tiny wholesaling fee it might not be worth it.

I would also be prepared to have a lot of patience. Realize that you’re going to be playing a psychologist and that you’re going to hear a lot of complaining from the spouses which has nothing to do with the deal at hand. (In my case, the husband cheated on his wife.)

Also, most importantly, never give up. Do not take no for an answer. I thought my deal was going to implode numerous times but I kept the lines of communication open and did everything I could to hold it together and eventually close it.