Riverside Realtor Blog - Alma Dizon

Alma shares her experiences and observations as a Realtor in Riverside California.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Revenge isn't always sweet in divorce and real estate

Divorce and real estate can be tricky, especially when the couple decides to get back at each other in ways that end up sinking the boat for both of them.

An agent I know worked for some months a while back with a couple that wanted to buy a house. There were very few houses on the market at the time, and they did go for a period without looking. Then they continued and finally found the right place. However, when the agent put a call in to the loan officer to prepare the contracts, he found out that the couple had had a falling out during that break in the home search. The husband had moved out, they'd prepared to divorce, but then they managed to work things out. During that time, the husband continued to put money into their shared checking account, and the wife was supposed to pay their credit cards and car loans. However, it turned out that the wife decided to get revenge by not making payments. She shopped a lot instead. After he moved back in, the husband got them caught up again, but the damage was done. Their credit was no longer enough for them to get the loan they needed. I never did find out if they stayed together after that discovery.

Another more recent situation that happened to another agent I know occurred with divorcing sellers who had gone on the market after the slowdown. The house was in his name, but his job had him travelling a lot, and she was living at the house. Every time the agent went by the house, something else was missing. One day, all the kitchen cabinets had been pulled out. It turned out that the wife was getting revenge by ripping out everything possible. After many months, they managed to get a low offer and got into escrow. However, only a week into escrow, they had to cancel because the bank repo'ed the house. It turned out that the husband had taken his revenge by not making payments for some months... Now, they have nothing to show for their investment, and they both have ruined credit.

A cousin of mine once told me that the best revenge is to live well. Sometimes, that means not taking revenge, especially when it can and will boomerang on you.

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