Selling a house during a divorce is a situation nobody plans for — but it lands on Tulsa homeowners every week. Stephen Brocks, co-founder of MORE Agency and one of Tulsa's top-producing agents with more than 375 closed transactions, has guided many couples through it. And the first call doesn't always come from the couple. "Sometimes the attorney reaches out to me," he says. "Sometimes, if there's a judge involved, the judge could reach out."
Is selling a house during a divorce different from a normal home sale?
"I think there's a misconception there. People think that just because someone is getting divorced, their goal is different. Their goal is still the same, regardless of what situation they're in with their spouse. At the end of the day, they want to sell their property so they can move forward with their life and start their new chapter. The sale itself works very similarly to any other listing — it's the circumstances around it that change."
What's the hardest part of selling a home while divorcing?
"Communication — making sure everyone is always getting exactly the same information. Sometimes couples ask to be on separate group chats and separate email threads. On our end, we essentially copy and paste the communication so each spouse has it verbatim. Where it gets tricky is the responses: if they're on separate threads, one spouse may not see what the other has said or their thoughts on something. Getting everyone to align in thought process when communication is separate — that's the real work."
What happens when divorcing spouses disagree about the sale?
"That's the most common hurdle we face. You have to remain incredibly professional and neutral. Our job is to get the property sold, and we provide all the advice to do that — but we can't force someone to do something they strongly disagree with. I've had a situation where one spouse didn't want to spend a couple thousand dollars repairing ductwork under the slab, and the other did. So that spouse paid for it out of pocket, outside the contract, instead of out of the sale proceeds — and the other's resistance was almost removed, because the sale could keep moving forward. Ultimately, it's about compromise and finding the middle ground."
The one thing to remember
"In the moment, it will feel big and it will feel daunting — but there is an end to this part of the process, and we can get you there. People often start this in a very high state of distress. They probably never thought they'd be at this point, but here they are. And when we get them to the finish line, the sense of joy and relief they both experience, knowing they're about to start a new chapter of their life — that is the biggest picture to focus on."
One note: how proceeds are divided and what the court requires are questions for your divorce attorney. Your agent's job is everything else — getting the home sold and getting you to that new chapter.
If you're facing a home sale during a divorce in Tulsa, reach out to MORE Agency at (918) 884-7718 for a confidential, no-pressure conversation.
